Why compare Apples (Rockets) to Oranges (Diavels)

[Tripps]

I thought I was the only one that liked the Rune, Fred. Kind of a proto-Rocket.

 

[zimtuff]

I havent seen many good comparisons of Rockets against other cruisers in magazines or utube.
They all seem to want to put the rocket up against a vmax and vrod etc.
A good comparison would be up against bikes in the same weight range like the big kwaka,g/wing,ultraglide victory cross roads or a roadking.

To me,the Rocket is a great bike for touring,it has loads of room and the added weight is not even noticed.
What does the let the rocket down is the lack of rear luggage option and fairing when you are comparing bikes in its weight class.

 

[albertaduke]

I thought I was the only one that liked the Rune, Fred. Kind of a proto-Rocket.

I liked the rune as well particularly the radiator I imagined mounting it on the rocket in place of the ugly pizza box called rad, but at $1800 for the part I keep the pizza box and forgot the rune rad. that bike was so overengineered that honda apparently lost money anytime they sold one but what a statement and workmanship!!

 

[TriumPhil]

VTX is a great cruiser, not a wannabe at all. Handled better than most and plenty of go once you let them breath. Honda was mad to discontinue them IMO.

I couldn't agree with you more, which explains why I owned two highly customized examples of the 1800s, a C model and this Hot Rod Retro:



Still, by R3 standards, it is a wannabe, bt, then, what other cruiser isn't.

I am also a Rune fan... that sucker was ahead of it's time!

 

[Brenna1960]

The Diavel was brought up in one of the welcome threads and I started to type a rant, but stopped myself because that's not what the welcome posts are for! Instead I'm going to post some thoughts here and see if I'm all alone in my opinions.

If you look up the Triumph Thunderbird, you find endless comparisons with Harley, Victory, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and all bringing high displacement low riding twins to the shootout. If you look up the Rocket, you find a couple of these... but for the most part our big beasties are being compared to the Ducati Diavel and Yamaha Vmax. Although I'm proud that an 800 lb Brit has the guts to enter that pageant, it doesn't seem like a fair fight.

Rake angle and seat height do not define a machine, they just describe wheelbase and frame shape. The Rocket is a cruiser, and a thoroughbred. It is spacious, at stock is quiet but with a warm rumbling cadence that is pleasing at highway speeds, and maintains unmistakable cruiser styling along with its undeniable cruiser attitude. It would be difficult to claim (even for the Roadster) that the Rocket was designed without CRUISING and touring in mind. It just happens to be the biggest, fastest, meanest cruiser in the world!! It should be stacked up against the m109 (which is also a fantastic machine), the Vrod, perhaps the Victory Hammer, and any other bike that was designed to provide comfortable cruising for the horsepower addicted hooligan.

The Diavel is an utterly fantastic machine, but a cruiser it aint. It's comfortable compared to a sport bike or even a naked, but cramped for long hauls (at least at 6'2" it is) no room for bags, it's got a great engine note but it's too high strung to really comfortably pack on miles, fairly short range on a tank of gas, and generally misses the mark on every element that defines the niche. It's a great competitor for the Vmax because it's a supremely powerful and excellently balanced 2 wheeled machine, but to compare it to the Rocket seems misguided. One is not clearly better than the other, they simply have different design goals. Invariably, reviewers side with the Ducati because it is lighter, more aggressive in corners, and has general performance characteristics not found on the Rocket. Am I the only one who doesn't understand this? Folks are calling the Diavel a "Power Cruiser" but there is very little cruiser to it. The bike was clearly not designed for cruising... doesn't that make it "not a cruiser"?

Really the same set of arguments apply for the Vmax, I just didn't include it throughout. The only things those 2 bikes have in common with any cruiser (from what I can tell) is rake angle and seating position. Does that really make them cruisers? If Harley took a sportster and cranked the seat up 20 inches, moved the controls to the passenger pegs and pulled in the front fork, would it be a supersport?

In the end, I bought the machine I loved most. I could have pulled the trigger for a Diavel or a Vmax, but whatever anybody calls it... cruiser... street fighter... I adore my Rocket. I may add to my stable as time goes on, but I can't imagine my garage without her generous proportions dominating the room.

I agree 100% I never understood that comparison? I have owned a Diavel and was probably my second most fun bike until I got this Rocket X . I think the Hayabusa was the most fun but not great for long distance. But heck...put the Carpenter kit in this X and I got both in one bike!! Almost, except for the handling

 

[Brenna1960]

I liked the rune as well particularly the radiator I imagined mounting it on the rocket in place of the ugly pizza box called rad, but at $1800 for the part I keep the pizza box and forgot the rune rad. that bike was so overengineered that honda apparently lost money anytime they sold one but what a statement and workmanship!!

The Rune is bad ass, I had one of them too, wish I still had that bike, I got it cheap brand new 16.5K in about 08, it was the chrome model also.

 

[cusso ken]

The other day an old Mate of mine called in on the way back from Western Australia with his wife of many years on the way back to Qld ,last time I saw him he was riding 19 year old Harley Electra Glide ,and he turns up on a Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager 1700 ,I walked around the big beast and was impressed with the overall finish and creature comforts, linked ABS,cruise control, factory CB 4 speaker sound system,huge side boxes and top box,
they had crossed the Nation in what he described as absolute comfort trouble free ,so I suppose it qualifies as a Cruiser , getting away from the stigma attached to oriental Harley Clones this IMHO is a nice bike and the quick trip around the bloke was a surprise for me how nicely it sounded and rode, there are other options out there for someone looking for a comfort cruiser,

 

[FunkSoulBro]

I liked the rune as well particularly the radiator I imagined mounting it on the rocket in place of the ugly pizza box called rad, but at $1800 for the part I keep the pizza box and forgot the rune rad. that bike was so overengineered that honda apparently lost money anytime they sold one but what a statement and workmanship!!

Spray it black. Ten bucks.

 

[grampi]

I have seen all types of bikes wrongly compared over the years...probably the one comparison that irks me the most is when someone compares the V-Rod to the big cubic inch cruisers. Yes, it's fast, but that doesn't mean it's comparable to 1800cc or bigger cruisers. 600 ******rockets are fast too, so does that mean they're comparable too? The V-Rod is a tiny, little woman's bike IMO and it should only be compared to other bikes in its size category. Maybe the go/no go line should be that a bike must produce a certain amount of torque, rather than whether or not its designated as a cruiser...

 

[HarleyToo]

This can be summed up best with the following infographic;

Sport Bikes----Street Bikes------Cruisers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rocket------------Busa---NASA Booster rocket



Note: Infographic best displayed on a 21" monitor or larger....