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/128230
ea sy- t o- r e a c h c ont rol s and a co m forta ble riding p o sit ion . T he re w ill b e a lo ng li st of T riumph accessories avai la ble for t he Ro cket III, ev ery t h ing from saddlebags, wind shi elds , custom-looki ng pa int, and lo ts o f ch rome. T he bike will be avail ab le in two colors, Jet Blac k and Cardinal Red. T r iu m p h hasn 't r el ea sed prici ng yet but p lans to k eep it und er $20,000. The sad part is that we'll have to wait until the sprin g to throw a leg over it, and you'll have to wait u ntil n ext summ er t o do the sa me, bu t i f Tr iumph 's Hayabus a -eating ac c elerati on c lai m s are true, it' ll be w orth th e wait. eN It may look big from the side, but the ergonomics were designed to be a similar layout to the Bonneville America In terms o f riding position and se at height. Th e res t of the bike isn't too big , unl es s y ou count the significantl y large 240/50/16 rear tire. The engine makes the bike look large by dom i nating the b ike 's profile , but it's in scale w ith any powercru iser on the market. Sure it's wide , and sure the 6 .6-gallon fuel tank looks huge, but the rest of the bike seems to be rela ti vely to scale. Su spension is handled by a pair of pr eload ad justable shocks out back and 43mm upside down forks up front. The brake sys tem features twin 320mm rotors up front with four -p iston calipers right o ff of th e Daytona 955 i , and a hug e 316mm rotor out ba ck w ith a tw in p iston c ali per. All th in g s con sid ere d , the 704-pound dry we ight that Tri umph is claiming doesn 't sound that heavy for such a motor-on-wh eels . T h e c hassis is a steel -spin e design under which the engine is hung. The left side of th e swingarm houses the shaft d rive b ut is comp letely indepen dent from th e engin e due to the eng in e ' s l a yo u t, which pla ces th e alternator at the back of the block . It m a y have the larg est m o t o r in production from a major m anufacturer , bu t a Boss Hoss i t' s no t. Th e ergo no m ic layout was designed to be very similar to the company 's b estselling B onn ev ill e Amer ica, wi t h Specifications Jd/OXOJ4J 7I1R?J1ITJJiMlJPlBl IR?lIJ)(CJIDE1r IIIIII It looks reasonably to scale here , but that rear tire i s huge - it 's a 240/50- 161 The Rock et III featu res twin pipes ru nning down the right sid e of the bike, with a si n g le p ipe crossing under the b ike and down the l eft side. U ST PRICE , N/ A DISPlACEMENT 2294cc ENGINE TYPE Liqui d-cooled, DOHC, longitudinal in-line 3·cylinder, 12 valves BORE x STROKE 101.6 x 94 .3mm COMPRESSION RATIO 8.7: 1 CARBURETION Multipoin t sequential electro nic fuel injection ignition IGNmON Digital -jnductive type - via electronic engine management system TRAN SMISSION Five- speed STARTI NG SYSTEM Electric FUEL CAPACITY 6.6 gal. WHEELBASE 1690mm (66.5 in.) RAKEITRAIL .32°/152mm SEAT HEIGHT 29.1 in. FRONT TIRE 150/80- 17 REAR TIRE 240/50-16 FRONT SUSPENSION ,43mm inverted forks FRONT-WHEEL TRA VEL N/A REAR SUSPENSION Chromed spring twin shocks with adjustable preload REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL N/A FRONT BRAKE Twin 320mm discs, 4-pisto n calipers REAR BRAK E .3 16mm disc, 2-piston caliper FINAL DRIVE Shaft ClAIMED DRY WEIGHT 704 lbs. ClAIMED HORSEPOWER 140bhp @ 5750rpm ClAIMED TORQUE 147 ft.-Ibs. @ 2500rpm COLORS Jet Black, Cardinal Red cue I e n e "" S • S EPTEM BER 3 , 2003 31