Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1197900
2020 TRIUMPH ROCKET 3 R & GT FIRST REVIEW P76 er reason the GT was the surprise packet, being noticeably easier to flick from side to side thanks to the wider, pulled-back handle- bar. Normally, I don't much care for feet-forward riding, but I was actually sorry when I had to swap bikes, having soon learned to tuck my heels in with the footrests nestling in my instep if I didn't want them chamfered down! Ground clearance was pretty good on both bikes, and the grippy tires certainly give heaps of confidence in riding these bikes hard. Do that, and you'll need the best brakes in the business to stop a bike this heavy, and fast—and that's what Triumph has equipped the Rocket 3 with. The last time I rode a motorcycle with the new Triumph's Brembo Sty- lema four-pad calipers gripping the 320mm twin front discs was the Ducati Panigale V4 R Super- bike homologation special—so that tells you the level the British firm is batting at here. The rear 300mm disc is even matched to a Brembo M4 32.4 Monobloc four-piston caliper, the same brake fitted up front to factory Ducati Superbikes until last year, here used at the rear! What's more, not only are these brakes fitted with Continental's Cornering ABS operated via its six-axis IMU which also delivers switchable TC, but Triumph has introduced electronically variable linked brak- ing on the Rocket 3, whereby when you squeeze the front brake lever, the ECU decides what proportion of braking power should be applied to the rear, as well. This is primarily determined via speed, weight transfer and lean angle, leaving you free if you wish to add extra bite at the back by working the foot lever, which doesn't also operate the front. I can honestly say that I really could feel the rear brake being operated via the electronics even though I was only squeezing the front brake lever—and this actu- ally is beneficial to the bike's 2020 Triumph Rocket 3 R & GT —Same but different Though sharing a common platform to the extent that all components are interchangeable between the two, the R and GT are very different in both appearance and riding experience. The roadster R-model weighing 641 pounds dry has a taller 30.4-inch tall seat with separate minimalist pillion pad, mid-mounted footrests and a flatter one-piece handlebar, which encourages a slightly more aggres- sive leaned-forward riding stance. The 648-lb GT is what it says on the label, a grand tourer with feet-forward footpegs, a lower 29.5 in. seat, a pulled-back handlebar behind a reasonably effective flyscreen, and an adjustable backrest behind a more accommodating passenger seat. Each Rocket 3 model offers a range of adjustable ergos in pursuit of rider comfort, so the R-model's footrests can be raised or lowered 0.59 in., while the GT offers three horizontal footrest choices over a 50mm span. But the engine and chassis platforms are common to both. The Rocket 3's all-new 2458cc Euro 5-compliant motor is actually a short-stroke design measuring 110.2 mm x 85.9 mm, versus the 101.6 x 94.3 mm format of the outgoing 2294cc engine. This allows Triumph's R&D team led by the firm's Chief Engineer, Stuart Wood (whose favorite ride-to-work bike is a 180 bhp Rocket III hotrod he concocted himself at home!) to use shorter conrods to reduce the height of the motor. This also allows a heady 7000 rpm redline, with peak power of 165 bhp delivered at 6000 rpm—a serious 14 percent hike from the old bike's 146 bhp. More to the point, though, is that the larger capacity new engine weighs a massive 39.6 lb less than the old, smaller one, 24.2 lb of that thanks to a new crank- case assembly (Triumph didn't have the capability to make its own crank- cases for the Rocket III, but it does now for its new-gen version), with the rest down to a new dry sump lubrica- tion system with an integral oil tank, and new balancer shafts. Plus, while peak torque is the same as before at 221Nm (163 lb-ft), this is delivered at 4000 rpm—but there's a vastly wider spread of grunt all the way through the revband, with 95 percent of available torque delivered over 60 percent of the revband, says Stuart Wood. "Be- tween 2500 and 5500 rpm, we have more than 200Nm (147 lb-ft) constantly available," he states. "The new Rocket 3 delivers 70 percent more torque than its closest rival. Our aim was to produce an even more effortless and more refined power unit, thanks to the extra capacity, and revised internals."