Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

1.~_Trj_um.. :. _p h_Ro_ck_et_II_ 1 _ ! tie of valves and pumps , and a deep, distinctive, burbling blat from the triple slashcut exhausts, which tells you th is is a Hulk of a motor that's full of muscle . Still, there seems little hint of the outrageous performance and muscular acceleration that The mega-tri ple's substantial weight is held very low down thanks to t he dry sump engine fo rmat. as evidenced by the way it's so unexpectedly easy to maneuver around tight corners and how stab le it is over bumpy sur faces in fast sweeping cee of gee . Blipping the throttle in neutral when idling at a traffic light will see the Triumph rock slightly to the right, but the inertia fo rces of the lengthways crank are effectively canceled out by the counterbalancer "But let's face it: This bike is all about the engine, and what a fantastic and thrilling, as well as addictive, ride it makes, too." lie on tap at the twist of your wrist. The Rocket III moves gently 0(( the mark, growling away gently to itself as you snick through the smo oth -action gearb ox in best-behavior mode, trawling through town under the watchful gaze of the Califo rnia Highway Patrol. Feet-up U-tu rns are easy on t he Triumph. thanks to t he res po nsive. controllable throttle pickup and a clutch action that is ultralight in spite of all t hat powe r and to rque to be harnessed , plus the beautifully balanced feel to the Rocket Ill's arc hitecture, in spite of its massive bulk - so rry, Hulk. 64 JUL 7 . 2004 • Y CYCLE NEWS turns, when the plush fro nt suspension and stiffly sprung twin-shock rear, which will toss you up in the seat over serious irregularities in the surface, make light work of all but the worst bumps, aided by the heavy 704-pound dry weight of the Rocket III, which makes it sit down we ll. Thou gh yo u'd never call t his a nimble bike, in spite of the gi-normous 67.B-inch w hee lbase, which inevitably makes the Triumph feel a bit of a truck at low spe eds in tight turns , it's re latively easy-steering and unexpec tedly light-handling for such a massive piece of kit - again presumably thanks to t hat low run ning para llel to it, which together with the gearbox turns in the opposite direc tion. The only time you notice th is is if you back 0(( the throttle in a fast right-hander, perhaps because you're start ing to run out of gro und clearance cranked hard ove r w ith the he ro ta b on the right steel-andru bber foot rest, w hose classy design is typical of the attentio n to detail on the Rocket II I, scrapi ng t he grou nd. Do so , and the re's a slight tenden cy for the Triumph to unde rsteer, pushing the front whee l and sometimes obliging you to back 0(( the thrott le so you can haul it back o n line. 40th Anniversary Apart from that single handling trait you need to watch out for, the Triumph was a surprisingly capable ride through the twisty roads of Sonoma Valley and Pacific Coast Highway, and the Dayto na 955 i's sportbike front-brake package st opped it we ll, too thou gh in best cru iser fashio n the meaty single rear disc, with its pedal perfectly placed just nestling beneath yo ur right toe , is a lot of bra ke and can be used all the time , o nly calling on the front pair when they 're urgently needed to sto p t he Rocket II I hard. Using the rear firmly is also desirable in order to reduce the substantial weight transfer you get if you squeeze hard on the adjustable fro nt brake lever, provoking noticeable fron t-end dive, tha nks to the heavy bike and soft fro nt suspen sion. Surprisingly, there's not a lot of engine braking, in spite of those meaty cylinders and hefty cra nk, pe rhaps because of the low B.7: I compression rat io. This makes slow ing for co rne rs o r runn ing up behind a queue of slower traffic quite decep tive at first , unt il yo u learn to start makin g allowan ces for this. No t really a problem, just strange, that' s all - same as the fact that the co mbination of t he twin front head-

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