On to my fourth R3T

[El Toro Rosso]

A couple of months ago I traded my third R3T to get a bike with cruise control. I just finally got tired of not having it.

I love the bike with cruise control (it is a leftover 2016 Kawasaki Vaquero 1700 ABS), but I missed the serious torque of the Rocket III.

So I traded my 2009 FJR1300AE on a leftover 2016 Kawasaki ZX14R ABS SE .... Wow, what a great ride. Reminds me of my old BMW K1300S bikes.

But ... the ZX14R, fast and smooth as it is, it just didn't fill the niche that the R3T filled.

Today I bought the 4th sample of the R3T that I've owned. It is a leftover 2015 in the black with gold and red pin stripes livery. I like it better than the red with black two tone of my 2014, but that's just a matter of personal preference. I need to hang on to this one and stop trading.

The rain held off and temperatures were mild, so I got to put a few miles on the bike. Of the four I've owned, this one seems like it's the smoothest the earliest.

So ... the collection is back up to 4 bikes in the garage. I try to keep it under 4, but sometimes it's just not humanly possible. There's the 2015 R3T, the 2016 Vaquero 1700, and the 2016 ZX14R.

The fourth bike in the pack is the 2002 100th Anniversary T100 Bonneville. I note with interest that these early modern Bonnies are moving up in KBB value, as they should.

2017 marks the 50th anniversary of my legal, licensed adventure on the public roads. And it is Triumph's 115th anniversary. I need to plan something special.

 

[Boog]

I too like the idea of multiple bikes but as I have no garage at present, one is it. My last four bike garage was a VMAX, and CR500 dirt bike, the wife's EX500 and the boys' XR100.

 

[TRIIICK]

It amazes me how cheap it is to pick up a used Rocket. A guy in the next town over was selling his 2015 for $14K , i bumped into him a while back he told me he let it go for $9K. I live in a predominantly Harley infested area,but would buy another Rocket in a heart beat.

 

[Joesmoe]

Several of us have the McCruise cruise control from Australia -- with the R3's abundance of torque the cruise control is "effortless".

And the kit has been recently upgraded to their electric servo (a more compact and straightforward installation).

Install that and you can have your cake and eat it too.

 

[D04011]

Currently have 5 bikes in the stable. In addition to the 3 listed below, I have a 2012 H-D Fat Bob and a 1984 Honda V-65 Sabre with Hondaline Sport Fairing and each one has a special place in my heart. The R3R and my ZX-14R SE are both incredible machines and both fill my "serious" needs but in different ways. Have to admit though that the ZX-14R is my "hooligan" bike. Hate to even consider it but if I could only have 3 bikes, they would be the R3R, C-14 Concours and ZX-14R, probably in that order.

 

[sonny]

I have two bikes. A Rocket X and a 2010 Harley Fatboy which is fixed up a lot. Anybody want to buy a Fatboy? I do my own maintenance and repair and find owning two bikes is not only time consuming on keeping them up but a real pain.

 

[Joesmoe]

Well, you might trade the Fatboy in on a Honda of some flavor -- far less demanding on maintenance.

My garage has the Rocket, and 2014 Honda CTX700D daily rider (true dual clutch automatic transmission for traffic); 2001 Honda CB-250 Nighthawk; 1984 Honda CB-125S (purchased new !).

 

[rocketjohn]

800 bux for cruise control? No way, no how.

 

[Joesmoe]

Then maybe we should trade hands and wrists, and you might see life differently. Still, it's a wonderful world where one man's trash is another's treasure and most of us can be happy.

 

[sonny]

Well, you might trade the Fatboy in on a Honda of some flavor -- far less demanding on maintenance.

My garage has the Rocket, and 2014 Honda CTX700D daily rider (true dual clutch automatic transmission for traffic); 2001 Honda CB-250 Nighthawk; 1984 Honda CB-125S (purchased new !).

Would like to get rid of the Harley but in today's market would not get much for it. A lot of used Harley,s for sale around here and the price for a used one keeps dropping. A lot of that is caused from the lack of work in the oil industries. One bike is enough for me.