2010 Triumph Rocket III

We often describe certain bikes as massive, but they’re all wannabes compared to the Rocket. Everything on this mega motor­cycle except its 27 mpg is genuinely giant, from the 6.3-gallon fuel tank with a heart-shaped top big enough for two tankbags, to the 150/80-17 and 240/50-16 Metzeler Marathon bias-ply tires, the latter on a 7.5-inch wide wheel. The tractor-sized engine as stressed frame member dominates it all, of course, as does its power output—the huge liquid-cooled, 2,294cc in-line triple has 4-inch pistons the same size as a Chevy 350 V-8’s. The last time we dyno tested a Rocket in 2004 it made 127 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel—more torque and displacement than any other production motorcycle. Heck, that’s more than most compact cars.  So naturally Triumph had to fix this insanity for 2010…and make the new Rocket Roadster even more powerful. Say good-bye to the 2009 Rocket’s and Rocket Classic’s measly 140 horsepower and 147 lb-ft of torque at the crank; the new 2010 Roadster replaces them and gets a bump to 146 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 163 lb-ft at 2,750. This bike will easily start out from a stop in third gear, and it accel­erates more like a cruise missile than any rocket. We’re talking a Yamaha Vmax-like power-to-weight ratio now but, of course, we’re still talking 806 pounds of fully fueled Rocket, too.  -RIDER MAGAZINE