Please Give me the Bottom Line Regarding the Rocket 3

HELP! I am supposed to take delivery of a brand new 08' Rocket 3 Touring.
I'm hearing a multitude of horror stories about mechanical failures, FI problems, trani bearing blow outs etc. I have been riding street bikes for 33 years and road raced for 9 and I think I'm more scared by all of the mechanical failures that I'm hearing about than I was when I was racing a just reassembled race bike! I have never heard so many stories about blown
transmissions and bikes stranding their riders as I have with this bike. So, what's the bottom line? Am I in for a wait by the side of the road with some motorcycle malady. What's the bottom line on this bike?

Dan Gambini said:

HELP! ... What's the bottom line on this bike?

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I think you'll be just fine. I seriously doubt you'll have any issues with your new '08 Touring.

The few problems were on the first couple of model years and were well sorted by the '07's.

Get on your bike and enjoy the hell out of it.

Welcome.

Keep in mind that Member/Owner boards like this one are a place to seek out answers to maladies that you may encounter. The "horror" stories that you hear are not any more significant than other makes. The early Rocs did experience some teething issues but certainly by 08 the problems were sorted for the most part.

If you do decide on a Roc, you will most definitely be glad you did. If you need some help, rest assured that you know where to come for answers. This is an active board and has many knowledgable members.

Again, welcome to the site.

Bottom line???

Buy it!
Gas it!
Hold on to your nuggets!

All main issues fixed by mid. 2007.

Welcome. I've had some idle problems and a output shaft bearing problem on my '06, but these are known and are said to have been engineered out. +1 on the fact that Triumph stands by everything - even after the warranty has expired, but I understand your concern about getting stranded. I think the strandings are few and far between, and hopefully the major problems are a thing of the past. In my own experience, nothing that's happened to the R3 has ever left me high and dry and she always gave ample warning of her issues. Hope that helps.

Welcome! My '05 hasn't racked up the mileage of these other guys, but it hasn't caused me any problems yet.

Remember on any forum problems are emphasized, nobody starts a poll saying "who has 50,000 trouble free miles on their bike?" It's more like "Who has had XYZ fall off their bike?"

From what I can surmise, an R3 mile for mile is about as reliable and low maintenance as any car I've owned.

Take delivery and go for a ride.

I have an 2008 R3T and have only had 1 minor problem wwhich was taken care of by Triumph. I trust it to get me where I'm going and back. It's a great tourer, on weekend rides I rarely put less than 200 miles on at a time.

As noted forums are designed for *****ing and whining.

That is the problem with forums like this. Go on the forums for BMW or Honda and you can find similar threads where there are a whole litany of issues and yet those are two marks that nearly everyone will agree are so flawless that they are almost (almost) boring. I don't know many who have had to be towed in. Some idle issues or other things have caused the bikes to require service, and sometimes we get hung up waiting for a part, but it is well worth the wait.
And finally you got to factor in the effects of "tinkeritis". How many guys with BMWs change anything? And how many guys with Triumphs have left them stock? I love mine, but I had to sit out a few days when I blew the transmission apart. But I was attempting to hoist the front tire as I went by a Harley Shop and I missed second gear. Not Triumphs fault, that one sits totally on my shoulders. Buy it leave it stock, ride it for the next ten years with nothing but regular oil changes and you will be fine. But after a year or two, if you find it getting too calm for your taste, if you feel too comfortable and you wonder what it would be like if you had a little more bike, then come back to the forum and do a search for, "Tuneboy", "Predators", and probably you will want, "Boost is Good".
Then let the good times roll! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

My '08 R3T is just getting broken in at 17,000 miles. I've tweaked her a bit to recover the lost power the factory decided to take from the R3T and no problems so far.

Bottom line on Rocket 3

Thanks for the reply guys. I appreciate the fast response. I notice several
of you stated that the problems with the R3 were sorted out in 2007. Does anybody know exactly what was done? (ie the factory switched a bearing that was prone to failure to another type that is more durable)? Changed FI controllers etc. Does anybody know where a list of this info can be found? Maybe somewhere deep in the bowels of this forum? I'm really interested because of my mechanical engineering design background, I would like to feel that this thing isn't going to grenade the trani on me a long way from nowhere.