|  | Topic : The Big Brother |  |
| | | mad_angler1 | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 18/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 511 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 30 Apr 2010 - 22:32 Post title : The Big Brother | | | Today i managed to grab the below for 2 hours for a demo, thought i would post my thoughts compared to the Thunderbird.
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The Rocket 3 Roadster,
First impressions: its huge, when you look at it compared to the Tbird it really looks a lot bigger, you would think this bike weights a lot more than the thunderbird, well believe it or not there is only 28kg between them, what did shock me was when you sit on it ts feels lighter, although the Tbird is very well balanced but having the Rockets massive lump so high up really make is easy to put up straight, i was pleasantly surprised by this, when your on it you realise this is no low slung cruiser, the bars are a nice stretch not quite as far as the Tbirds drag ones, just nice.
Fit and finish: this is excellent, as most of the aluminium parts are powder coated black there is not much to worry about, i noticed the wheels are un-laqured with black coated centres, they do look nice but will suffer from the same problems as we have experienced, the clocks are also brand new on it, the have all the same functions as the Tbird but with added gear position indicator, these are centrally mounted and very easy to see at speed, overall i was very impressed with the quality of fit and finish, on par if not passing the Thunderbirds slightly.
The ride: the first thing you notice is the height, its a lot higher compared to the Bird, as they have now moved the foot pegs on the roadster back and up your legs sit up higher, it felt a bit off having my knees so high as first but i soon got used to it, no stretch at all, the steering is light at slow speed and i had no problems moving it around the car park, no real difference to the Bird there, the i went for a 50 mile run, at low speed you notice a small swing to the right when you open the throttle a bit fast, tihs is due to the inline triple, once your above 20mph this disappears. general riding i noticed it did have less vibrations that the Tbird, TBH this is to be expected as the inline triple will be naturally better balanced.
Handling: i pushed it thought the twists and i can definitely say the Thunderbird is easier thought the bends, there is not a lot in it but a few times i came in a bit hot and i felt i had reached my skill limit and backed off with the Rocket, with the Thunderbird i have never had this feeling, no matter how fast i have gone in i have always felt confident, the suspension is quite soft on the Rocket compared to the Bird, a lot more travel on the front end when breaking hard, overall handling was great, as i said not quite up there with the Thinderbird but certainly no train.
Performance: well at first i was surprised, it seemed quite tame even when i was giving it a little throttle, don't get me wrong its is quicker than the Bird but it does have an extra 500cc, however i was expecting more, then after 20 or so miles i got into the open with it, first through third gears are limited on the Rockets, i was going along at 3500rpm in 4th and opened the throttle wide, my god i have never ridden anything like that before, the acceleration was biblical, i slammed it into 5th and opened again, this time i had to back off i could barley hold on, there is a substantial difference in power above 4000 rpm, in the lower gears the power was only a bit more than my Bird but up the revs its something else.
also its surprising loud with the stock pipes, even louder than the TOR on the Bird.
Comfort: the stock seat was great, could not find any problems at all, all seemed great.
Thunderbird Vs Roaster: well i tell you what if both were on the cards last september when i got my Bird i would have a hell of a hard time making the choice, the Thunderbird is beautiful, powerful and very comfortable, the handling is better and you can better mould it to your particular taste , the Roaster on the other hand seems great value, ABS as standard, fit and finish is great, i don't think it looks as good or customises as well as the bird however the power is unbelievable i know the thunderbird is not a muscle bike like they now class the rocket but its hard to turn that power down.
both are absolutely amassing bikes, i do feel that people who ride both will buy the Rocket due to the power alone, however this is not a bad thing, this leaves the Thunderbird for the people who 100% behind it.
All i can say is am glad i don't have to choose
| | Post edited by mad_angler1 on 30 Apr 2010 - 22:34 |
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| | | TraderVic | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 02/02/2010 | | Posts | : | 274 | | Location | : | Manahawkin, NJ, United States |
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| | Posted : 30 Apr 2010 - 22:58 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: mad_angler1) | | |
Nice review, sir. 
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| | | DVR | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 651 | | Location | : | I'm Denis, from Belgium |
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| | Posted : 30 Apr 2010 - 23:23 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: TraderVic) | | | Great read, since my bike was delayed I had the option to go for the Rocket Roadster sitting on the showroom floor of my dealer.
Sat on it, felt like climbing a mountain and quickly decided to wait for my 1700.
I think they will attract different customers to be honest.
| 1700 limited edition phantom black
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| | | paladin | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 20/04/2010 | | Posts | : | 172 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 01 May 2010 - 03:09 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: mad_angler1) | | | Hey, Glad you posted this, I was getting set myself set for a test ride of the roadster at an upcoming triumph rally.
On the face of it I would hate to have to choose between the 2, the roadster is serious value for money.
As you say the t Bird is more a custom to give your own identity which is a main reason I bought one.
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| | | Keets | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/02/2009 | | Posts | : | 453 | | Location | : | Australia |
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| | Posted : 01 May 2010 - 04:17 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: paladin) | | | Good write up mate.
Nice to have a integrated gear position read out...we'll probably see that on the next years 'Bird, maybe. I don't know about Big Brother...I think it should be something like "freaky cousin".
If you haven't seen it this is the mad video Triumph UK released for the Rocket III...British humour at it's best. Link
Release video for the Roadster...check out the crossed up burnout Link
I still wouldn't swap it for the 'Bird.
| Cruisin' on thru the junction i'm flyin' 'bout the speed of sound
Noticin' peculiar function i ain't no roller coaster show me down.
I turned away to see her woa! she caught my eye
But i was rollin' down movin' too fast;
...Doh!
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| | | daz | | Zeus | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/05/2009 | | Posts | : | 7,709 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 01 May 2010 - 05:35 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: mad_angler1) | | | I wonder whether it's really very different than the regular R3. As far as i know the only notable differences are the pegs being positioned differently and it's tuned a bit stronger. But i believe for the most part it's the same bike slightly changed to boost sales. A bit better, but pretty much the same. While waiting for the long rumored Tbird i grew tired of waiting and I demo'd the regular R3 when i had my speedmaster. The one and only thing i preferred was the power of course. But in all other respects i preferred my speedy. Then the Tbird comes along and i preferred that far and away over the speedy, so i think that sums up how i felt about the R3. the power is absolutely thrilling and i loved that. But it sounded like a car, handled ok but not great, felt bulky, and one thing that makes me wonder what they might have changed after your review, it vibrated worse than the Tbird. Maybe not how much vibration it had, but It was very high pitched like a 2 stroke being wound out. TBH the speedmaster was better than both the R3 and the Tbird in that way. It had the perfect degree and pitch of vibration. Probably the only thing i miss about it, tho the birds vibes have grown on me some.
Anyways, if not for the god like power i doubt they'd have ever sold one R3. Imagine that bike with Tbird specs....do you think anyone would buy one? Thats really the only attraction IMO. A great one no doubt, but i just couldn't justify buying a bike for that alone. so i'm extremely glad i waited for the Tbird.
| 2010 Blue/White Thunderbird, "Brutus". 1700 kit, short tors, gutted cat, UNI filter, filter seal off, custom tune. Brutus in his native habitat: Link
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| | | fasteddy | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/10/2008 | | Posts | : | 963 | | Location | : | Wisconsin, United States |
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| | Posted : 01 May 2010 - 15:36 Post title : Re: The Big Brother (Re: mad_angler1) | | | Ditto, nice write up. I took one for a couple of rides a couple years ago while waiting for service on my America. I was amazed then by the handling for it's size, far superior to a Harley and brilliantly engineered. And the Power? You said it. I like the blacked out look, very cool in flat black.
| www.fasteddysports.com
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