Hi All

New to the site, don't own a Rocket yet, but been looking at them for awhile. I am 53 and have an 02 Bonneville which is a great bike. I don't want to get rid of it but the wife says I'd have to trade the Bonneville in, in able to get the Rocket. What I want to know is would it be worth the upgrade? Haven't ridden one yet but heard a lot of good ratings about them.
Also I heard the black engine was a temporary special edition for 06' There is a nice yellow with black engine rocket at the dealer. Or I could order one. Are they going back to the silver engine in 07?

Welcome alselec. My father has an '02 Bonneville also. Very good and fun bike, but there isn't much of a comparison between the Rocket and Bonneville. All I can say that the Rocket has a lot more potential to be a lot more fun. After riding mine some my father is also thinking of trading the Bonneville for a Rocket. However while it has about 3 times the power it weighs twice as much and handles much differently then the Bonneville. So make sure to do a test ride.

Triumph hasn't said what they are doing for next year yet. The dealer meetings are in Sept and that is when they will reveal what the next model year changes will be. I have a hard time believing that they will discontinue the black engine. I think every '06 that my dealer has sold this year has been a black engine. It comes standard on the Special Edition and Classic models and is optional on the standard model.

Hi alselec!!

Like the PigMan said... the Bonnie and the Rocket are two very differnt bikes. You will find yourself taking long trips on the Rocket that you wouldn't even had considered on the Bonnie. Also... with the Rocket comes power and prestige... it's not a flagship bike for nothing. It is heavy... but it does handle well. Take that test ride... it will be hard to go back to the Bonnie.

Anyway... welcome to our site and I hope you join in :bch:

Hi Alselec,you should be able to find out just about everything you need here.I'm a relative new owner 6-06 who did his homework for 2 yrs. and I did not test ride it and hadn't riden much in 25yrs.I'm 56 and very happy with this machine as there is no comparison.Wouln't wait if I were you unless you wan't the 07 model.That yellow with black motor sure looks good though.Good luck

alselec said:

New to the site, don't own a Rocket yet, but been looking at them for awhile. I am 53 and have an 02 Bonneville which is a great bike. I don't want to get rid of it but the wife says I'd have to trade the Bonneville in, in able to get the Rocket. What I want to know is would it be worth the upgrade? Haven't ridden one yet but heard a lot of good ratings about them.
Also I heard the black engine was a temporary special edition for 06' There is a nice yellow with black engine rocket at the dealer. Or I could order one. Are they going back to the silver engine in 07?

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Well, I have 'em both. I'd never sell my '02T100 maybe because it has a sidecar attached and maybe because it took 2 years to put together. They are different bikes, as different as night and day. The T100 is light and agile and a good around town bike but the R3 is a freeway mile eater. The R3 is heavy but the T100 motor might be a starter motor for the R3. The R3 will top out in 3rd gear at what a Bonnie will do flat out. The brakes on the R3 are superior both in feel and stopping power. The T100 is a peg scraper whereas the R3 can ground the pegs but isn't happy about it. The T100 gets good mileage, the R3 gets fair mileage. Riding in a cross wind on the T100 will push you sideways, the R3 is rock solid. The seat on the T100 after 100 miles makes you want to get off and sit in a hot bath tub. 100 miles on the R3 and you are ready for another 300. Don't ever expect the R3 to handle like a T100. The low speed manners of the R3 aren't there like the T100, but the R3 is several hundred pounds heavier than the T100 and the Cg., seems like it's a bit higher too.

One thing has become quickly apparent to me and that is the owners of the R3's are a breed different than the Bonnie owners. I guess that's because you have to have steel hinges on your wallet compared to owning a Bonnie.

Go take a demo ride. I did. Actually I rode on 2 demo rides before I bought mine, once last year on a Tribal bronze R3 and this year on a Classic. After the first ride last year, I knew I was going to get one and the incarnation of the Classic sealed the deal.

I expect that some participants on this site will disagree with me on this, but the WOW factor for the T100 is appreciably more than the R3. The R3 is, no doubt a beautiful bike, especially the Classic in red and cream, but T100's are beautiful no matter what the color or model. The T100 is the incarnation of the '68 Meriden classic whereas the R3 isn't. The original Rocket 3 was a British Small Arms 750 transverse triple. The Triumph was a Trident. My primary reason for purchasing the R3 was the Classic 2 tone paint and I wanted a mount that my wife and I could long distance tour on in comfort, comfort that the T100 can't afford even with a sidecar. I could have purchased a Gold Wing or Harley Tour Glide but I'm a Triumph fan through and through.

No better reason than this............

http://www.triumph.co.uk/usa/3178.aspx

All '05 and '06 models have low financing.

Try To Keep Both Bikes!

Hi Alselec....So glad you could join our electronic family. I can only speak for the R3 since that's the only bike I have. Try your best to see if "Mama" will give in a little and let you have both. Use the " I want you to ride along with me" for the R3 and " With the price of gas, the old bike will be so economical for transportaion". You never know!

Though I'm a dyed in the wool RED owner, I think my second choice would have been the yellow and black combo. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll not regret the R3's performance, feel and especially the stares and questions you'll get from people wanting to know all about it.

Pig9r said:

No better reason than this............

http://www.triumph.co.uk/usa/3178.aspx

All '05 and '06 models have low financing.

Click to expand...

Maybe I should talk about this and maybe not but I will 'cause I'll feel somewhat relieved though not entirely happy.

Triumph's GE Money Bank financing is a joke. I went that route and I have excellent credit with a score in the 700's. I've never been denied credit, always pay early or on time, have a good paying job, longevity, etc. I've financed items costing appreciably more than the R3 with no money down and walked out with the item.

I applied for the 4.99/24 promo program and was turned down for the full amount, $18,200.00. I actually had to put down 7K before they (GE) would accept the contract. I was a little put off but the finance officer at the dealer where I bought the R3 told me that she'd never seen GE finance the full amount on any promo deal. The 7K didn't bother me, I just dug up a mason jar and put it down (the money, not the jar).

The other problem with the promo plan is that the interest is 4.99 for 24 months and then advances to 22%. The payment is $99.00 for 24 months and then becomes a gob stopper at 22% until it's paid off. For me, that's not a problem. I'll do the 4.99/24/$99.00 and pay it off in 2 years, but if you consider this plan, you need to project your finances in 2 years as you could get hit with a whopper payment. There is no way I'd pay a credit card rate on any vehicle.

Be aware of the pitfalls of the GE Plan. They are out to make money and will make a bundle at your expense if you aren't careful.

I had the total opposite experience with GE moneybank. I had purchased a Speed Triple with the same special financing. Got approved right there. They were going to even let me finance accessories and gear if I wanted. I put a few thousand down and paid it off early.

The plan advertised is 4.9% for 60 months. I agree the $99 thing is not a good deal, but the 4.9% is.

Bonneville vs. Rocket

I have a fully restored 1968 Triumph TR6. Thought about selling it when I bought my Rocket, but very glad I did not. Don't ride it much, but it is the first bike I owned. I would suspect that if you do go for the Rocket, the Bonneville will sit parked alot. The Rocket is a dream and I actually love to ride it around town, not just on trips. Whatever you decide to do...Triumph rules!!!