Just a few questions about my new R3T.

So I've had my R3T for a few days now. Yup, love it. Getting a thumbs up from a guy in his new Bentley was a bit of a plus. Haha. But just a few comments, questions about it.

First, octane requirement. When the salesman was doing the delivery checklist with me, one item on the list was advising to use premium (92+ octane). He just shook his head and wasn't sure why it was on the list. The manual states to use 91 RON, and believe the rough calculation is 87-88 octane. My previous 1700 Kawasaki advised premium, but i believe this was due to it running somewhat lean from the factory. Same situation here? Or do most of you just run 87? At the moment I am just doing 89 mid-grade for that happy medium.

Second. I find the windshield a bit short. Its fine for the city, but think I will want a bigger/taller one for the highway. Triumph wants around $700 for theirs. Ouch. Any suggestions?

Third. Oil. Nope, not wanting to start another infamous oil thread. I had purchased some 10w40 Redline Synthetic oil for my Kawasaki, but since it got traded in, i kept it for the Triumph. Manual recommends a full synthetic (first bike ever) and from what I've read its a true Group 5 synthetic, some say as good as it gets, better than Amsoil, yadda yadda yadda. But my question is, anyone use it and have negative results? On a side note the manual mentioned (recommended?) a Castrol Racing synthetic. I've always thought that using a racing oil isn't a good choice for daily rider with 5,000km+ change intervals? Hmmm, interesting choice by Triumph.

Fourth. I like to be seen, and was thinking about getting a Back Off Brake modulator that will make the rear signal lights as running/brake/signal lights. Seems like the bulbs used are a little uncommon, but anyone know of the part number for a red bulb? Or is there a LED version that will drop in?

Fifth. The brakes are not linked, correct? Oddly I find that the back brake has more bite than the front ones. I was getting a feel for the brakes and found I needed a bit more effort on the front ones. On my Kawasaki which had linked brakes, for a normal stop I really just needed to pull the front lever with one finger. Maybe the Triumphs just need to get worked in a bit more. Bike still stops just fine really.

And lastly, this is just out of pure curiosity. Triumphs website advertises the power ratings as 106PS @ 6000rpm and 203nm @ 2500. The manual shows 106ps @ 5400 and 206nm @ 2000rpm. Which is correct? Like i said, purely curious. Realistically Triumph can simply just list the Torque as PLENTY @ 1000+ rpm, and I'd be fine with that. i just like knowing numbers is all.

So yup, loving the Rocket. Initially found neutral a bit hard to find, but seems to be getting a bit better now. Have to admit I miss the positive neutral finder in my Kawasaki. And if you made it this far, here's a high five and thanks for reading!!

Safe riding.

G'day Kendran,the brakes on the Touring are not linked at least on OZ delivered models and I doubt they are on other Countries Models, I run 95 Ron petrol in my Touring as I won't use Ethanol blend in anything I own and lower rating petrol in OZ is mostly blended with Ethanol our premium is 98 Ron but different countries have varied rating systems for ,on my 2011 Touring the front brake is far more effective than the rear ,grab a good handful of lever and it really works the ABS over but pulls up nicely

cusso ken said:

G'day Kendran,the brakes on the Touring are not linked at least on OZ delivered models and I doubt they are on other Countries Models, I run 95 Ron petrol in my Touring as I won't use Ethanol blend in anything I own and lower rating petrol in OZ is mostly blended with Ethanol our premium is 98 Ron but different countries have varied rating systems for ,on my 2011 Touring the front brake is far more effective than the rear ,grab a good handful of lever and it really works the ABS over but pulls up nicely

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I had my dealer tell me the bike was tuned for 87. that is based on Canadian ratings. But I tend to use 91 for the same reason as cusso ken, I am not a fan of ethanol blend and in Canada a good portion of 91 octane are not ethanol blended (at ultramar, shell, and a few others).

I ALMOST returned my bike because I was so disappointed with the lack of power and deceleration popping. I joined the forum and found R3T deristricting thread,bought the cable and am now quite pleased with the performance and torque. My comment to the dealer was "you give me a motor that size...and give me the power of a Harley"
I run 91 minimum,but I usually stop at petroleum Canada, most have 94,I find the bike runs considerably better.
700 seems way too much for a taller windshield, I think I paid around 300 for mine,I'll check with the good time center tomorrow when I'm getting my tires changed to see if it's cheaper here.
And, get used to people pulling up beside you in beemers, audis, benzs, rolling down a window to say nice bike,I get that a lot ,they don't really know why it's different,but they seem to like it.

I have the 2014 R3T and use the 87 octane as per the manual; works great for me.
I usually ride at 85MPH indicated with no worries from wind. I am 5'9" tall if that helps.
I have no problems with my brakes at all. Even had the opportunity to test the emergency ABS at 85MPH. They hauled me down safe and fast to avoid two spinning cars in front of me.
I can't really help on the others but am sure someone has the answers or at least their ideas. Ride safe brother

87 Octane is fine...89 if it makes you feel better. I usually run a tank of Shell Premium Nitro Enriched about every 4th tank. Cee Bailey makes a nice direct replacement windshield for your bike...pick your size...you won't be unhappy with it. Stay with the the 10/50 Castrol Full Synthetic as recommended. You can get a 6 pack on Amazon for a cheaper price. I don't waste my time with modulators. More trouble than they are worth...I did love my badass tailight I had on my Harley but not available for the Triumph. Can't speak for the brake linking as I don't have ABS....simpler to bleed. As for horsepower and torque, put the Power Tripp tune on and don't worry about the specs. Just enjoy the ride and smoother/higher performance. You will lose a little MPG though.

@Kendan the quote good time center gave my a price of $234 plus tax for the taller windshield for the R3T

Kendan said:

First, octane requirement.

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It's a relatively low compression engine. High octane is needed to make fuel harder to burn so it doesn't ignite too fast. The Rocket requires just normal low octane fuel, and will no doubt run better on it.

Kendan said:

Second. I find the windshield a bit short. Its fine for the city, but think I will want a bigger/taller one for the highway. Triumph wants around $700 for theirs. Ouch. Any suggestions?

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Motorcycle Windshields & Custom Windscreens | Clearview Shields - I got a 19 inch with recurve. You reuse the original hardware, you just get the shield. How tall you need is up to you.

Kendan said:

Third. Oil. Nope, not wanting to start another infamous oil thread.

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Follow the manufacturer's recommendation or the equivalent.

Kendan said:

Fourth. I like to be seen, and was thinking about getting a Back Off Brake modulator that will make the rear signal lights as running/brake/signal lights.

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Vizible Technologies | vizi-tec - there's a Supabrake 3 for the Triumph. Open the right-hand side side cover, unplug the rear harness from the front harness, plug in the Supabrake connectors in between there, close the cover. 30 second operation and you have modulated brake lights, with some intelligence (won't flash incessantly in stop-go traffic, etc.) A bit pricey, but it's truly plug and play and works perfectly. Worth it, in my opinion, mine is fantastic. Especially after I put LED's everywhere, an 18 hz flash rate (18 times a second) is an eye-catcher. With normal glowy bulbs you don't want it that fast, they can't keep up. It comes with a slower rate out of the box.

If you mean you want running/brake lights in the turn indicators also, you're going to have to do wiring for it. I completed that project myself during the winter season, and it took a fair bit of wiring, soldering and shrinktubing to get it done. I wanted to do it right, too. I used Custom Dynamics Clusters2 and Ringz. There's a thread in the accessories section if you want to see what I had to do.

Kendan said:

And lastly, this is just out of pure curiosity. Triumphs website advertises the power ratings as 106PS @ 6000rpm and 203nm @ 2500. The manual shows 106ps @ 5400 and 206nm @ 2000rpm. Which is correct? Like i said, purely curious. Realistically Triumph can simply just list the Torque as PLENTY @ 1000+ rpm, and I'd be fine with that. i just like knowing numbers is all.

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Immaterial, since there's zero point in revving this bike beyond 4000, and you'll find it won't want to do it either. It revs to 4k and then it just dies, so you may as well short-shift your way to speed. Lean on the torque, not the HP.

Sooner or later you want to read the sticky "R3T derestricting" thread in this forum. That gets you an engine that revs cleanly to 6000, gives you 140 horsepower at about 5500 and more torque across the board. For a total investment of $20-ish for a cable from Lonelec

Sensfan said:

My comment to the dealer was "you give me a motor that size...and give me the power of a Harley"

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The bike was made originally to take market share from Harley. They didn't want to frighten the poor dears, when you're used to 50 horsepower, getting 106 was probably scary enough. 140 would have given them coronaries.

Again, all good info. Thanks to all.

@Sensfan Is this a Triumph Windshield? Quite a bit different than the $700 listed on their website. I looked at the Cee Bailey and the Clearview as listed and both look like solid choices. However the Clearview has a vent option, and a recurve so thats looking like a nice option.

This ECU upgrade sure looks like the way to go. But maybe best to wait until the bike is off warranty?