The making of the Rocket III

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Skip MMShadowT	The making of the Rocket III		Lead	[-]
Posts: 5679 06/24/07 2:09 PM	Tags : None Fred, is it true you have to watch this video before you can demo the Triumph Rocket III. "We want to be free... Free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man!"
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mktobob		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2311 06/24/07 9:21 PM	This is excellent! All motor bike companies should adapt these rigorous tests. Bob
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nicmert		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 12 06/24/07 10:37 PM	That is a good one. Remind me never to volunteer for a brake test!
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alepel		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 8083 06/25/07 6:35 AM	Very funny. I'm still laughing. You've got to hand it to those Triumph folks this was heart warming. alepel
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burninfilm		#4	[url]	[-]
HSATF 2nd Officer Posts: 464 06/25/07 9:17 AM Tail Gunner	I bet the guy on the grounds thoughts weren't on his heart being warmed !!!! hahaha...Bob <><
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ragtop69gs		#5	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 993 06/25/07 3:26 PM	Is that where the term crotch rocket came from ? Jay Patriot Guard Rider http://www.patriotguard.org/ 98' T Black & Chrome 69' Buick GS 400 Conv. " Never ride faster than your angel can fly" "Ask the American Indians what happens when you don't control immigration" *Some people are like a Slinky .. not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.*
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burninfilm		#6	[url]	[-]
HSATF 2nd Officer Posts: 464 06/25/07 3:47 PM Tail Gunner	Crotch Rocket..............That's funny Jay !!!!. Good one !!!.............Bob <><
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Fredrider		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6139 06/26/07 4:46 AM	Skip, That is an awesome video. Incredibly witty and extremely funny! I wonder how many of the Triumph engineers, technicians, assemblers and managers have seen this piece. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. It is hilarious and I wish I would have had to see it before taking a demo ride. Then I may have taken multiple demo rides just to see it again and again! I was following a Rocket III on a spirited demo ride last Friday. After a few tight turns the lady riding the Rocket III let me pass by. She knew that Rocket III, with its super wide turn resistant rear tire, could not keep up in the turns with the Triumph Tiger I was demoing. I was glad to have the opportunity to ride faster through those country-road curves. Despite all that special care taken in growing the Rocket III engine from an embryo the too wide rear tire kills too much of the fun for me to consider buying one. On the other hand that Triumph Tiger is very impressive in the turns. For an adventure-tourer Triumph has the suspension set-up very firm which allows for suburb stability when at full lean angle in the curviest of curves. Like Kirk/Fedspaz, who needs a 12-step motorcycle program, but is more like to have 12 bikes in his garage instead, I think the Tiger would have to be one of the 12 bikes in my garage if I could afford a garage that held 12 bikes. Fred
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tonythecarguy		#8	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 607 06/26/07 9:44 AM	Fred, I rode the tiger on Thursday (blue one with bags), and absolutely loved it, great sport Tourer. I thought the suspension was a bit soft (I was two up though). Triumph had a good route, much better than Honda, but I think BMW found some better roads than even Triumph. The Demo jockey had us going in excess of 100 in one stretch (he "only" had a R1200RT, while the rest of us had K bikes). I was about ready to have a Tiger in my Imaginary garage too until I rode the BMW K1200GT, I forgot the tiger instantly!! Not quite the same class, but holy cow I want 167 HP and that chassis, every thing was perfect, even the electronically adjustable suspension. I think I could only have the GT and be pretty happy. Tony
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Fredrider		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6139 06/26/07 11:09 AM	Tony, For riding as a single, the Tiger suspension felt no different to me than any cruiser with their shorter travel. Suzuki's V-Strom (DL1000) and BMW's GS650 are adventure-tourers that have such soft suspension with long travel that it just gets too shakey and weird in the corners for me and the way I ride. I rode the blue Tiger on Fri. I would have to agree with you regarding the K1200GT. I rode one during Daytona's Bike Week in 2003. It sure has a sweet and powerful engine. Last Fri. the demo ride I took on BMW's new F800ST was fairly tame, much more so than any other BMW demo ride I have ever taken. I must have had the wrong ride leader. I'm glad to hear you really got to test that GT out at high speed. Fred
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tonythecarguy		#10	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 607 06/26/07 12:59 PM	Well Fred, I'm sorry to say that my buddy is probably the reason your ride was tamer. 400 demo ride on Thursday, he crashed a K1200R sport into a tree just a few bikes in front of me. I came around a corner and there was the bike lying on the ground motor still wound up, coolant all over, and front end ripped off the bike. Thankfully he was sitting up on the side of the road with the wind knocked out of him only. He is one lucky SOB. The ride back to the park was a bit slower than the ride out. Meagan had just calmed down on the back of the GT and commented on how stable it was. She was a nervous wreck the rest of the week. I could barely get her back on the T to go home. As for the tiger, it is probably sprung like a cruiser like you said but felt under damped with the longer travel 2up. Probably just needed adjusted. Tony
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Fredrider		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6139 06/26/07 4:17 PM	Tony, I had been thinking that perhaps BMW had some trouble and that is why their normally spirited ride was so lame, I mean tame. I had no idea it was so recent. How did you buddy lose control of that K1200R? What does he normally ride? Fred
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NYMark99		#12	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 588 06/27/07 5:38 PM	That's a Classic...
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tonythecarguy		#13	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 607 06/28/07 9:20 AM	Fred, he normally rides his 1994 Honda Magna, so apparently 80 HP is OK but twice that is to much. actually he ran just a bit wide on a 30MPH corner and got in the gravel a bit. the guy directly behind him said he thought he was going to save it as he got it back on the road but ended up crashing on the opposite side of the road about 200 to 300 feet past the corner. The BMW guys said that bike had stability control, so that may have had something to do with him almost saving it, however i did not see it listed on the BMW web site. he told me he just didn't lean it enough, to use to the cruisers i guess. I had made me ride in front of him the whole beginning of the week to keep him from riding too fast on the unfamiliar roads, he gets in front of me for just a few minutes and look what he does. It's almost like he knew he couldn't trust himself. Tony
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Fredrider		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6139 06/28/07 11:07 AM	Tony, Was BMW angry? Did your buddy have to pay any damages? Did they have to get a trailer for the K1200R and a car for your buddy? How badly was a bike beat-up? Fred
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tonythecarguy		#15	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 607 06/28/07 2:52 PM	BMW was surprisingly cool about the whole thing. they were more concerned about him than the bike (as it should be, but even after he was up and walking around they still didn't care much about the bike, hey it's not theirs, I guess) They told me and Megan that it doesn't happen all that often; as some one under 30 was rare at these events, but they told my buddy it happens just about once every time the truck goes out to an event like this. So I'm not sure which was true, could have been trying to make him feel better. I think all the BMW people handled it about as well as they could. Probably just a little ticked off about delaying dinner and all the paper work they would have to do. He didn't have to pay a thing, I was surprised by this but going back to all the demo rides paper work all did not hold the rider responsible for the bike. I think they are so worried about you trying to hold them responsible for your injures that they don't care about the bike. They had a pickup that they loaded the bike into and brought him back to the tent in, and then one of the BMW employees ended you taking him to the emergency room in their car. He didn't need to go but BMW corporate told the BMW guys there to make sure he went. The bikes front end was completely severed, only the brake lines where holding in on. The BMW guy told Megan and me they where designed to break off in a 25 mph or more accident. The plastic was pretty much shot and the radiator was dislodged and lost/most of the coolant. Tony
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Fredrider		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6139 06/28/07 3:52 PM	Tony, Sounds like quite an ordeal. It is very fortunate that nobody behind him collided with your buddy while he was careening from one side of the road to the other. The most difficulty I have seen in the ~ 70 demo rides I have taken is a guy dropped a BMW K1200LT at a stop light on a road with a bit of a pitch to it. BMW did not make a big deal out of that either. They just helped the guy pick up the bike and rode on. Fred
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tonythecarguy		#17	[url]	[-]
HSATF 1st Officer Posts: 607 06/29/07 9:50 AM	The k1200lt's are quite tipsy, i wouldn't be surprised if that happens a few times each event. on the K1200lt.net forum they made "droppers anonymous" pins and all say it is not a mater of if you drop it but when. fortunately they have those big tip over wings that take the bulk of the punishment. just about every used one I've ever looked at had some scuffs on those wings. it's the higher center of gravity that makes them out handle the wings by a long shot. the one i demoed last year felt a lot like the K1200GT i loved last week. Tony
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The making of the Rocket III

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