my hubby bike

STILL the biggest-engined mass-produced motorcycle on the market, the Rocket 111 now comes in three guises. Joining the standard and Classic versions is this one, the Touring. Modified, as its name suggests, to cover ground with some comfort and practicality, the Triumph is one almighty bike with an ability to turn the heads of both bikers and those who’ve never ridden.

My first journey on it underlined what the Rocket is suited to best of all. The hundred mile unchartered trip I made on it, discovering some new routes in the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire was an extremely pleasurable and relaxing experience. Made all the more enjoyable by dry roads and a 25°C ambient temperature, the stroll through the countryside along deserted back routes was a scenario the Triumph felt right at home in. And thanks to its hugely torquey engine and unexpectedly good handling it’s nowhere near as challenging to ride as you’d think.

Considerations always need to be made to the cruiser’s size and weight and you constantly need to assess situations before you fully commit to them. But as time goes by, you’ll be surprised more and more by what can be achieved.

Something very easily summoned by the massive 2.3litre three-cylinder engine is extra speed. Tuned for slightly less power, but more torque on this version of the Rocket, as you’d expect from such a potent powerplant there’s always some impressive acceleration available. But it’s the relaxed and very friendly way that the mph gains are produced that’s all the more remarkable. Choosing the right gear or rpm level somehow seems to be an irrelevant requirement to going faster. As long as the throttle can be twisted then the job can be done.

The five gears it has are widely spaced with a high overall ratio. With the truck-like torque the motor has, pulling such tall gears is never a challenge with just small gains in rpm producing larger increases in mph. It’s hard to believe that there are things like pistons and con-rods moving up and down cylinders. All that sort of stuff would appear to be far too mechanically vulgar such is the easy, unhurried way the engine performance is produced. At times it feels more like some sort of nuclear reactor than internal combustion engine. Whenever a situation arises where more pace is instantly required the Triumph is fantastically obedient, and knowing that stuff like overtaking is going to be executed in a swift and safe manner gives the bike an even more laid-back character. Guaranteed achievement is always a nice thing to depend on.

A bit less straightforward is the way the Rocket’s chassis deals with life on the road. Of course it very much depends on the sort of environment you’re faced with as to how well it copes. On my summer evening’s run away from the traffic and urban hazards the most challenges were met easily. I think it helps that I’ve been riding motorcycles for a long time now, and being especially familiar with the standard version of the bike has assisted too. So as long as you are forward thinking enough, and know how to read things before they become too difficult to manage, you won’t have problems. It’s a bike that needs to flow with some consistency and not one that can react quickly enough to sudden demands of either speed or direction changes.

Suspension and braking performance is easily good enough to cope with the Triumph’s performance generally. But when a riding situation is more unpredictable and not all the changes are easy to predict, then you’ve got to ride with a bit more in hand. Allowing for the fact that stopping or steering round hazards (even with its much skinnier 180-section rear tyre, compared to the standard bike’s 240) takes time is an essential thing to realise on this bike. It’s a highly capable bit of kit, especially when you bear in mind just what sort of machine it is. But you can’t ask it to do the impossible, so riding through congested towns and cities needs plenty of care and attention.

Attention is something the big chromed cruiser is never short of. Quite apart from its ability to dwarf the majority of other bikes, the tall craggy black-finished engine offset by lots of Harley-aping chrome, extra lights and crash bars, catches the eye of plenty. And so it should. The British bike had lots of sheer presence, enough to either make people silent or slack jawed at the immensity of it all. More often, it encourages plenty to interrogate you and make petrol station fill ups last at least double the amount of time they should.

Thanks to the healthy tank size of just under five gallons, the digital ‘miles to fill’ reading on the tank-mounted instruments will register between 175-250miles depending on how hard you push the Rocket. If you intend to stay in the seat for a while there’s good news in that it’s sumptuous enough to allow the fuel stop to be the next time you’ll need to refresh yourself in any way. And with the quickly detachable screen giving total wind protection the risk of tiring is virtually non existent. With enough luggage capacity to cater for time away from home, as a tourer the bike ticks enough boxes, even if the hard and lockable panniers are too slim to hold a helmet. The only other thing to be critical of regarding mile-eating is the height and width of the bars, which in my case at least, put my arms at a slightly unnatural position. And though it never actually caused me any problems, I wonder if they would if I spent all day on a motorway essentially locked in the same position.

I’m not sure if that would be a wise thing to do on any bike mind you. And if the rich pleasure I got from my evening ride in the countryside was anything to go by, then long straight and monotonous routes like that should be avoided. Experiencing the best the Triumph has to offer isn’t something that should be missed.

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SPECIFICATIONS

TRIUMPH ROCKET III TOURING

ENGINE

Type: 2294cc, liquid-cooled, twelve-valve, flat triple

Maximum power: 106bhp @ 5400rpm

Maximum torque: 154lb/ft @ 2000rpm

Transmission: 5-speed

Final Drive: shaft

CHASSIS/COMPONENTS

Frame: tubular steel double cradle

Suspension: Front: 43mm telescopic forks, no adjustment

Rear: twin shocks, adjustable preload

Brakes: Front: twin 320mm discs with four-piston calipers

Rear: single 316mm disc with twin-piston caliper

Wheels/Tyres: Front: 150/80-16

Rear: 180/70-16

DIMESNISONS/CAPACITY

Seat height: 730mm

Wheelbase: 1705mm

Dry weight: 358kg