No flaming ,and agreed the Valk is a fine machine but I spent way too much time with bike machanics and cannot agree on the R3 statement.
As for the R3T, it's a fine bike and will do whatever you want with style and grace. The HP issue is not, but Triumph TORS add back 17 hp the easy way. The bike comes stock with 99 rwhp to meet Euro regs and it's very easy to add plenty of the HP back, as mentioned.
As for 250,000 miles on a motor-IMO that's not a given on ANY bike. There are way too many variables to say ANY motor will go that long. And at what price? There was a story in the AMA mag a while back about a guy who put 1,000,000 on a H-D-something like 13 rebuilds and all kinds of other stuff- but that's to be expected.

I have 2 years on a Rocket in all kinds of riding and it does everything well and some things outstanding-just like any machine. It does nothing poor-tire wear being the most common issue-but what do you expect with all that torque? as every engineer will tell you, there is no free lunch and everything is a trade-off. It just depends on what area(s) you want to favor.
Ask Wayne at Power-Tripp about the R3 motor as he is up to speed on the entire thing.
They also install blowers on the R3 in germany, get over 200 HP, and don't blow them up.
 
There's a guy in our club that has a Valk. He has over a 100K on it and the only issue I've seen with it is a couple of electrical gremlins.

p.s. It's ZERO fun push starting a Valk! :mad:
 
There's a guy in our club that has a Valk. He has over a 100K on it and the only issue I've seen with it is a couple of electrical gremlins.

p.s. It's ZERO fun push starting a Valk! :mad:

I'd be willing to bet it was from some accessories he added....although there is the known starter relay issue which requires the relay to be removed, contacts cleaned, and some dielectric grease applied. I do this every 3 or 4 years...

At my age and physical condition it's no fun push starting a scooter....
 
funseeker57,
welcome aboard.
Just get the Rocket,
whichever one floats your boat.
whichever one "feels" right to you.
The touring model is fine,
so are the standards, and classics, roadsters nice too.
We've got two and I've been on harleys since I was 17 and I'm a 57 model myself.
Get the Rocket, you won't be sorry.
 
Its funny the things that make you angry or disgusted along the way. My Harley just went through its third set of front rotors. They are fancy dancy full floaters, but they appear to have more problems than regular rotors. They warped horribly causing braking to have a bad shimmy. All have been replaced under warranty or extended warranty. I really babied them too.
My first year of ownership they put a new cylinder head on the rear cylinder due to porosity. Oil actually leaking through the casting of the head.
Now I am going to upgrade to hydraulic cam chain tensioners instead of spring loaded tensioners.
Sometimes you just get a little crazy and start looking in all kinds of directions for the bike that never has any problems. Its kind of like the chrome illness we get.
The Rocket is one of the few bikes I would consider changing to. I'm also waiting to see if Honda ever is going to come out with the next generation Goldwing. Maybe the Kawasaki Concours is on the list too. Lastly if Harley comes out with a liquid cooled touring bike I would consider it.
 
Welcome to the site. It sounds like you and I are on the same page. I just sold my 07 Classic in April when I was last home on R&R. There was nothing wrong with it, only had around 8,400 miles on it, original rear tire with plenty of tread left. It's just that while working over here I didn't get to ride it much so I sold it. When I am done over here next March or May (2011) I am planning on buying either the new Gold Wing (if it is out yet and can see what it looks like...I've had two Gold Wings/03 & an 06) or a new R3T with a possible Thoroughbred Motorsports Stallion thrown in for good measure.

When I was home on R&R in December Rocket Daryl and I went on a roughly 380 mile round trip and on the way back we traded rides (he had the R3T and I had my 07). The R3T, as has been stated, was plenty fast, I didn't flog it or anything but a couple of times I did open up on it and it accelerated just fine, felt pretty smooth and made my mind up that if I did get another Rocket it would be the R3T as I liked the hard bag set up. Other than the single headlight and gages on top of the tank (like a Harley) the only other major difference (other than HP) was the gas tank capacity was slightly less (.4 gallons) and the seat seemed pretty comfortable.

If you go for the R3T I don't think you can go wrong. As has been mentioned some Rockets have had issues but in most cases (even if out of warranty...2 years/unlimited mileage) Triumph stepped up to the plate and fixed them.

Good luck on your decision.

Dennis

09 dtg KAF
13 dtg Dubai
14 dtg Home
35 dtg Ray's
 
Maybe the Kawasaki Concours is on the list too.

As much as I like my 05 Rocket, I would trade for a Concours 14, but even if I sold it myself, I just wouldn't get enough for it to make it worthwhile. Best just to wait and save and have the concours and the Rocket.

Lets face it, we all love to buy new motorcycles, its one of the great joys of life. No matter how much you might like your current bike, at some point buying a new one is more fun than riding the old one. We are sick, deranged, and hopeless, but it sure is a good time.
 
Ugarte, I ressemble those remarks...and to add to a previous post, it's not any more fun to push start a Rocket...can't be done, but if you don't know that...it sure is tiring at the time.

Dennis

09 dtg KAF
13 dtg Dubai
14 dtg Home
35 dtg Ray's
 
As much as I like my 05 Rocket, I would trade for a Concours 14, but even if I sold it myself, I just wouldn't get enough for it to make it worthwhile. Best just to wait and save and have the concours and the Rocket.

Lets face it, we all love to buy new motorcycles, its one of the great joys of life. No matter how much you might like your current bike, at some point buying a new one is more fun than riding the old one. We are sick, deranged, and hopeless, but it sure is a good time.

Hello, my name is Crazyman, and I'm a ............
Yep. Always looking for the next great bike. :rolleyes:
 
The real bottom line here is that there truly is nothing else available on two wheels that matches up to what the Rocket III line delivers. It is a very different animal than your Harley.

My answer to you funseeker57, is that if The Rock talks to you deeply enough, then you should make one yours. Should you do so, I don't think that it will prove to be a regrettable decision. You can always revert back to normalcy.;)
 
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