No Headaches

[sonny]

I am amazed at all the troubles people are having with the rocket. If I were new to this site or just browsing it would just about scare me out of buying a Rocket. Not such the case. Almost 22,000 miles and not one issue with the Rocket X. The only problem I have had with the bike was due to a ill trained mechanic at a dealership who could not even change out a tire correctly. After the fact we now do are own work on the bike. Could some of the problems folks are having with their Rockets be due to aftermarket mods and lack of proper maintenance by Dealerships? I have noticed that a lot of adjustments need to be made on items that are listed on the service intervals. Not just a check and go which I imagine a lot of dealerships practice. Even something as simple as adjusting the clutch cable properly could explain a lot of problems with the bike if not done within specs. A good torque wrench and common sense combined with taking your time would probably eliminate a lot of valve cover gasket leaks. Paying attention to how the bike handles and knowing the tattle tale signs of bad wheel bearings could save a lot of headaches. It is one thing to fix a bike up a bit, it is another to maintain.

 

[R-III-R Turbo]

ah i'd say every model of vehicle has its problems if you look as close as we do and know the vehicle as much as we do. to be fair i think just about every issue i've had with mine is due to me rooting & bolloxing with it lol. the cost of R&D i guess

 

[Nat67]

I think you hit the nail on the head there @sonny . Motorcycling to me has always been as much about maintenance and knowing the bike inside and out as much as the riding experience. In all , a lifestyle !
I do realise that alot of people are only interested in the ride and have no time or interest in fettling and have the disposable funds to just chuck it to the dealers and let them take responsibility for the up keep and fair play to them .
Unfortunately , trustworthy people are becoming harder to find in this modern world and many dealers and workshops are more than happy to try and baffle you with Bull**** or blind you with science , and many of their so called technicians are nothing but fitters and have no more skills than a dedicated home mechanic , far less in fact IMHO .
Fitting sub standard parts and the cheapest fluids seems the norm these days in an effort to maximise profits and poor workmanship in a repair shop and the failures resulting from this always seems to come back as the customers fault in some way or another ?
There are some great garages and technicians out there , just getting harder to find it seems . Maybe a whole thread can be devoted to good and bad repair shops world wide ?
Ultimately tho , the better one knows the mechanics and workings of their bike , the less problems one will ultimately have with it and the less chance they would have of being ripped off by unscrupulous techs !
One of the reasons this forum is so great ! I bet collectively it has saved us captains thousands of pounds or dollars and I for one am grateful for that !

 

[Richard in Wales]

Hi

The thing is with forums like this not many people start a post with "no problems here"

 

[scot in exile]

Hi

The thing is with forums like this not many people start a post with "no problems here"

Sir Richard over the years I have indeed quoted that line many a time, I keep saying out of my three triumphs and two Hondas my 2005std has been by far the most reliable bike on this forum with over 70000miles it has never broke down once I do all my own maintenance so I know it is done correctly plus I keep my bikes spotless a clean bike is a good running bike the lazy gits(you know who you are) who never clean their bike shame on you, like the modern day football players never clean their boots bloody disgusting.

 

[RKTNMYPKT]

Sir Richard over the years I have indeed quoted that line many a time, I keep saying out of my three triumphs and two Hondas my 2005std has been by far the most reliable bike on this forum with over 70000miles it has never broke down once I do all my own maintenance so I know it is done correctly plus I keep my bikes spotless a clean bike is a good running bike the lazy gits(you know who you are) who never clean their bike shame on you, like the modern day football players never clean their boots bloody disgusting.

You've just shamed me into going out to the garage to clean my bike

 

[Blackthou]

I agree totally with Richard and The Scot.