Rocket perception

RockOn said:

Triumph stopping short of becoming a 2 wheeled car is a good thing in my book.......Honda Goldwings can keep that honor.......I loved my Valkyrie Interstate but it did not compare to any Rocket model in terms of handling and speed.....IMHO.

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R3Tex said:

I've done some long rides on a Rocket and none of them were conducted at anywhere near the top speed or maximum torque of a Rocket. Interstate cruisers have their place and in my opinion the Rocket would make a **** fine platform, but the end product would be de-tuned to save on tire wear and fuel consumption, have every weight reduction I could come up with, and have every creature comfort known to man. When you've been in the saddle for 18 or 20 hours it matters. Say what you want, but given a choice on long haul, multi-day endurance rides I would take a Wing, a Harley touring bike like an Ultra, A BMW, my Tiger Explorer or any other touring bike over a Rocket any day of the week, and yes, I've ridden my Rocket on a couple of 5,000+ rides. I did everything possible to set up an '09 Rocket standard for a long distance touring bike (Ironbutt type stuff) and mostly achieved a comfortable long distance ride, but I could never get away from the rear tire life. I love my Rocket, but there is a reason when I choose to ride 11,600 miles in 14 days I don't ride it...I'm too **** old to get beat up like that anymore for one thing (my current one has no fairing or windshield...just a fly screen) and I hate changing tires in the middle of a timed ride for another.

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ToledoBendTom said:

Thirteen years ago, almost every conversation about my Rocket either went I thought they went bankrupt or I had one usually a Bonneville. Yesterday, met four gold wing riders traveling to a meet outside Jasper Texas, east Texas. They all knew about the rocket and several thought the bike was just too fast to ride. This comment simply amazed me as these men clearly were experienced riders on bikes that well might get beat in a drag race but certainly could transport them at any insane speed of their choice.

My comment was exactly the same, I wish Triumph had followed the evolution of the gold wing from naked bike, cruiser, to full dress touring bike. In my opinion, the Rocket touring is where the Honda Valk was with Triumph not taking the next step, too bad.

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bigprop said:

What's the point of having a beautiful looking bike like the rocket then hiding it behind loads of fairings MHO

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