New to the Rocket III Roadster with questions

[popageorgio]

Hello everybody,

I purchased a 2011 Triumph Rocket III Roadster about 2 weeks ago and i believe it to be one of the nicest cruiser bikes I have ever rode. Not to mention it has some serious bawlz when the throttle is open. I Went through the 80's bike thing to start, then rode a Honda VTX1800 for 3 years. Rocket III tops the VTX in many ways.

But here are my questions.

from what i researched the Cat Converter is in the 2 silencers on this bike. Is this correct? If so do i eliminate that bottle neck purchasing these accessory mufflers. Because i love the stock look but would like to open it up but not spend 1400$ on a complete system. Which from what i have looked on the internet are hard to come by on this bike. I believe there are only 2 systems to choose from in all the world.

The previous owner had a PC5 installed on the bike and its completely stock. He also had the oxysensor autotune gadget which i can tell he has used and mapped the bike for. It ran fine except for 2 engine cutout situations i ran into after running the bike pretty hard on the highway. i updated the firmware on the PC5 and also returned it to stock mapping. This did seem to resolve the misfiring issue since it has not done it in a week. Does anyone know if there is any real performance increase using a PC5 on a stock Rocket III Roadster? Any similar experiences with the PC5 causing missing or backfiring.

The third thing that im curious about is that i have a slight tick at at low rpms on the exhaust manifold side. Wondering if this is normal valve chatter or i need to do some adjustments. 22K miles on the engine. I also have a slight shiver chatter when the bike is neutral up front. wondering if this is common cam chain tensioner issue or maybe the clutch is getting goofy in the bike.

any information or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Love the bike but still a giant noob on all the nuances and what not.

 

[HansO]

Firstly Hi and Welcome from Auss
If you send me a pm I can give you an AFR map I created for the PCV + AT that will give you good fuelling and will adjust itself when you change exhaust but you need to also consider getting a TuneECU cable ($20) and the free software so you can either download another tune or modify the one in you ECU to fix the retarded ignition in the restricted first three gears and also look at opening the secondaries or removing them altogether as most have done there are more than two options for exhaust but you have to remember because this not a common bike you will need to pay a little extra as the systems are hand made not by some automatic plant and the Rebands are one of the best out there or if you are looking to make your power up higher in the revs the the Carpenters are good also there is another system being developed as we speak by Wayne Tripp who is one of the best tuners in the states.
I hope this helps, if you are wanting AFR Map for your PCV send me a PM with your email address.
Cheers
Hans

 

[norseman]

I'm not sure why the previous owner would install a PC5 and AT on a stock configuration... that seems like a fantastic waste of money.

On the bright side, if they're already on the bike and you know you want some exhaust changes, it saves you the money! Unless I'm mistaken (which I very well may be) the cat is located in the collector between where the 3 headers come together and where the 2 mufflers split off. You can buy the Triumph Off Road silencers which will give you a nice sound, but they are just slip on so you won't be eliminating the cat. Some folks on here should have experience doing a cat delete on the stock Roadster system but to my knowledge Triumph does not offer a factory solution (for the Roadster... I understand they have something for the Classic that might be modifiable to work).

If you remove the cat and put on the TORs you should consider opening up the intake as well. Removing the stock air system and putting K&N filters directly on the throttle bodies seems to be the most accepted method. This is inexpensive but DOES generate quite a bit of new noise out of the left-hand side of the bike. I love the sound, but it bothers some. There are tons of threads on both the exhaust and air mod topics, and lots of helpful knowledgeable folks here as well.

As for available exhausts, I've found only a handful.
Reband (of Australia) makes a full system for about $1800, Carpenter Racing has their Brute full system for $1200, Zard makes a couple for about $58,439,424,309,487.99 (plus tax), Jardine "makes" a pipe for $1500 but don't expect to see one ship for a year or so.

If I were to make a suggestion, I'd say look at Staintunes. They have exceptional quality and make a nice collector and muffler that fit the stock headers. If you're trying to escape for under $1000 you may be out of luck, though.

 

[popageorgio]

Thanks for the information i will pm when i collect the 2 posts the forum software requires before messaging =).

 

[popageorgio]

I ask about those Cats being in the silencer assemblies because bike bandit's parts fiche of the exhaust shows what would like to be the cat to be 13: EXHAUST LINK PIPE ASSY also not having the typical price of a catalytic converter. This article refers to them being in from of the silencers

Triumph Rocket III.

So im confused a touch as well. and thanks for the information on the exhaust systems.

 

[skydog1000]

Welcome from the great state of Oklahoma

 

[Power-Tripp]

On the Roadster, the cats are in the silencers. The link pipe is a restrictive diverter that channels most of the flow to the left side silencer.

I have a customer with a set of TORS (Triumph off road silencers)that have less than 1000 miles on them, and will sell for $400 if you are interested.

 

[popageorgio]

I read in this forum that they have stamped on the bottom of the silencers whether they are stock or off road and it looks like the guy that had it before me put the off road mufflers on. Now the PC5 makes sense. I went and put his orginal mapping back on to get it back to his autotune. The thing is all stock except the TORS he had put on.

 

[R3Tex]

If I were you I would download the operating manual for the PCV and Autotune and read them. Unless you have the AT turned on in the PCV software it is just a very expensive box attached to your bike that does nothing. I am running a Roadster that for a long time had stock cans on it while I was waiting for Jardine to ship my pipes (finally gave up). Hanso's PCV tune will pep up your bike and if it has TORS on it the auto tune will compensate accordingly. You should also get TuneECU so you can open the secondaries to prevent them jacking with your power in 1 - 3 gears. Just my opinion...not a recommendation...your mileage may vary

 

[popageorgio]

Thank you guys for the information. I did get the auto tune on the pc5 connected and working last night. took it for a 100 mile ride moving it through the throttle positions blasting down the great straight highways of Kansas. Got home and looked at the trim adjustments which it made all kinds of corrections. mostly leaning out the stock map on PC5 Website. It is starting to run quite good with lotso of power. I did notice in the PC5 box this guy did have the ecu cable purchased. I didnt know what it was for until i seen one on ebay but tonight ill get it hooked up and see if he changed anything. I found the TuneECU software site. Is there any specific instructions on disabling the secondaries and the ignition limitations in 1-3 gear with the TuneECU software?