Now owing Rocket 3, how do you tolerate other bikes? What would your next bike be?

A1A Rider

Go big and go broke
Joined
Dec 26, 2024
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220
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Rocket 3 Storm GT 2025
Being one of the lucky few with that absurd low-end torque, how do you tolerate bikes?
Is there any bike out there that could actually eclipse the Rocket in your eyes, what will be your next bike?
 
If you'll note A1A I have 6 bikes in my garage. The Rocket is NOT the fastest or lightest, that belongs to my Speed Triple RS: It dyno'd at 150 RWHP and weighs 437 pounds.


For just taking the mail down to the post office and cruising around town, it's hard to beat my Bonneville Bobber with all its suspension upgrades:


If I'm headed out of town and doing a highway drone for hours on end or doing 2-up duty, my Thunderbird Storm is just the ticket:


For blasting around the suburbs and being a general nuisance the Thruxton R in SPORT mode is just the ticket:


And for those days I just want a light weight easy handling fun ride with adequate everything it's the T-120:


The only drawback to this is how crowded my garage is:
 
I've got a GSX 1400, used to have 2 but sold 1 since getting the R3GT. The 14 was never sold in the US, so doubt most of you guys will know the bike, they're an early 2000's Suzuki muscle bike. Super strong engine & a very capable all rounder.
The Rocket will be my last bike, I love it to bits & can see me running it for 10 years or so. I would of liked to have a K1600 or a new gen Goldwing, I didn't fit the previous version of GW, just felt too cramped would ya believe? Haven't had the chance to try out a new gen GW though. I did fit the K1600 though & toyed strongly about getting one for 2 up travel, then sort of realised she would probably only go on the back 2-3 times then not do it any more & I'm left with the K1600 when in reality I just love the Rocket, so that's what I got myself, a 2023 R3GT.
When we were young a bike was a cheap means of transport and enabled us to escape & explore the place. Now we're older (most of us anyway) bikes are not our primary means of transport, we have them because we like riding & do it for pleasure not necessity. The majority of us are not interested in being the fastest biker around, sure we love a spirited ride & we get great enjoyment from that, but we're not trying to prove anything to anyone, well, maybe ourselves once in a while, but you get the idea. We ride to have fun & enjoy it. I'm not looking for a bigger more powerful bike, I can (used to) get myself in enough trouble on a 250 dirt bike.
 
I'm more of a minimalist and one bike at a time kind of a guy, just the thought of having 2 is too much for my brain. I also don't go through bikes like underwear as some do and tend to keep whatever I'm riding for quite a while so just having bought my '23 last February it will be with me for quite some time. Then when I get old and decrepit it'll probably be something lighter with more creature comforts, such as wind protection, though I've always preferred getting into the elements head on. When that time comes it won't be a matter of trying to top the Rocket but more of a change of pace.
 
I get where you are coming from on this one. I've ridden bikes that are as fast but it's just not the same.

It's easy to make a bike fast when that is the sole purpose of the bike, but they feel sterile compared. Making just about the biggest/heaviest bike on the market also one of the quickest just makes the experience so much different, it's like living the fevered dream of a madman. Anyone can make them quick, that's easy, making them massive, quick, and (somewhat) sporty; that is truly inspirational/insanity.
 
I’m very happy with my Rocket and Scout and don’t see getting anything else for quite awhile. While my Scout isn’t comparable in terms of pure numbers, it is still very nimble and quick and equally fun to ride.
If I had to compare the two, to me my scout is like a 65 Chevelle and my rocket is like a Maserati. Not in terms of numbers, but the scout just has this rawness and old school feel vs the rocket which to me feels incredibly refined for what it delivers.
They provide completely different riding experience which is exactly what I wanted and appreciate.
 

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For me, bikes fulfill a lot of very different roles, but one of them is that they are pieces of art. In the same way that I wouldn't constrain myself to a specific number of art works, I simply enjoy having multiple motorcycles. Some of them are beautiful, and some of them are more pragmatic, but they're all enjoyable in their own way:

My Rocket is beautiful, powerful and voluptuous, the Standard Valkyrie is incredibly fun and cool (probably the single most fun motorcycle I've ever owned), the Valkyrie Interstate is a combination of fun and practicality for longer distances, the Electra Glide is ... well, about to be sold, the Street Triple is sleek and rebellious, and the KTM 690 Enduro is full of adventure and exploration.

Also, I never get bored, since there is always a project that I can work on for any one of them.

I'd still like to get my hands on a Vmax (1st or 2nd gen, or maybe both) and a Honda V65.
 

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