When you’re already producing the world’s largest production motorcycle engine, someone must have been smoking something to come up with the idea to give it more power…!
Who remembers the advert for the Rocket III when it was first launched back in 2004? Check out the original Rocket III ad out on YouTube if you haven’t seen it. The comedy gold features a gaggle of men in white coats, looking like mad professors as they describe how a Rocket III was produced, with lines like it being fed ‘argument juice from the female brain’ for quick handling, and that each bike is put in front of seventies comedy shows to make sure it was fun. A stunt rider then pulls massive wheelies up and down a disused airport runway (apparently practicing getting home when the front wheel falls off, the commentator tells us…), while other scenes demonstrate the hooligan nature of the original model with skids and slides as the 2,300cc machine was unhindered by electronic intervention and safety aids. It was a real rider’s bike, and became an instant success. And the advert, whether it was a Triumph production or not, made the Rocket III an instant cult classic.
Since then, the Rocket III has undergone a few upgrades and model changes, with Classic, Roadster and Touring versions coming and going. But there are now only two variants of the bonkers British brute with which you can stretch your arms, as the R and the GT cover the bases for whether you are sporty or touring inclined. The differences between the two models are essentially limited to ergonomics, with the GT featuring a slightly more swept-back set-up, which sees the hand grips positioned 125mm further back, while the footpegs are positioned forward like a traditional cruiser. And if you’re looking to cover distance, especially with a pillion, then the GT gets a more comfortable saddle which is slightly lower, and a small pillion backrest which will hopefully stop said pillion disappearing off the back. But to be honest, chances are it won’t if you remotely open the throttle in any sort of anger. This is one mind-bending fast bike…
A Storm Is Coming
I departed a rather stormy-looking Auckland on the latest Rocket 3 Storm, meaning it’s been given a few tweaks and tucks to make it, well, even nuttier! The sheer size of the machine meant I wasn’t game to try and get it up the BRM motorcycle ramp into the back of the van, not wanting to get trapped underneath 320kilos of three-cylinder metal should I lose my balance. Or, more likely, when the foldable ramp decided to fold the wrong way mid-push. So, donning my Triumph textile jacket and turning on the standard heated grips on the Rocket 3, I headed for the motorway and reacquainted myself with this incredible machine.
While the black clouds above me promised a deluge, I figured they must have been scared of the Storm going on beneath them, as the Rocket 3 GT Storm is quite possibly the maddest and baddest motorcycle you can ride straight from the showroom floor. There’s no aftermarket tuning, performance parts or trick light bits added to make the 3GT this nuts – it’s like that in standard trim. Maybe the advert back in the day had a hint of truth in it, and there are men in white coats adding a drop or two of something into the tank before they release each Rocket 3 into the wild, as there’s no part of the Rocket that isn’t just a little crazy.
From the twin round headlights at the front, which are a nod to Triumph’s other bonkers machine, the Speed Triple naked that arguably launched the naked streetfighter genre, to the gigantic 2,458cc three-cylinder chunk of metal somehow shoe-horned beneath the 18-litre fuel tank, everywhere you look at the Rocket there’s another part which makes you ask the question, who thought of this and who then signed it off!
The front wheel is a standard 17-inch in size but features a monster 150-section tyre with a ridiculously tall sidewall. It can’t work, can it…? The rear isn’t much better, with the 240-section rear mated to an incredibly ornate single-sided swingarm. Well, you wouldn’t expect anything less, would you? The three exhausts all exit out of the right side in front of the swingarm-less side of the wheel, with the Storm getting the blacked-out treatment, something the designers said their fanbase enjoys. So, at least the paint adds a bit of subtlety to a machine which is anything but.
With tyres this size, you’d expect the braking to be typical cruiser fare, i.e. a bit of an afterthought. But no, the Triumph engineers feel there’s an air of superbike with the Rocket, so the Brembos at the front are top-shelf M4.30 Stylema 4-piston, radial monobloc items which we’d more expect to see on a Ducati track bike. Yet, even the rear brake of the Rocket is the same variety. Yep, nuts!
With a bike that’s 320kilos combined with a powerplant which produces a claimed 180hp @ 7,000rpm and 225Nm @ 4,000rpm (oh, both those figures are up for this new version…!), the suspension needs to match the performance of the rest of the machine. Showa came to the party with a set of 47mm upside-down cartridge forks which look big enough to support the wheels of a jumbo jet, although thankfully the damping isn’t quite as harsh. Instead, the suspension, including the fully adjustable Showa piggyback rear, happily soaked up the jolts and corrugations of Auckland’s motorways before I peeled off the two-lane and headed for a bit of fun in the twisties. Well, I was hoping it was going to be fun…
Think you’ve ridden, driven, flown, jumped off something and it’s been fast? Yeah, how cute. The Rocket 3 is one of those machines we daren’t allow anyone to ride who has even the vaguest connection to those who make laws (and usually ban fun/dangerous/naughty stuff). With wet roads, crappy traffic and lots of crazy Auckland drivers getting me a little nervous, I swallowed my pride and selected Rain made on the funky three-screen dash. But that instantly had me questioning, if this much power could be available in the nana mode, what the f#ck was Sport going to be like…!
It’s the roll-on in top which first had me giggling like a child, and each time a gap opened on the motorway, I couldn’t resist hitting turbo-boost (that’s rolling the throttle on slightly) and demolishing anything else around me that had the slightest inkling to ‘give it a go’. Yeah, Nah. Goodbye… And that was in Rain mode!
As the roads dried, I swapped into Road mode, and the performance of the Rocket jumped noticeably, with less twist of the wrist required to achieve the same blurry result. Everything turns to a blur, especially the speedo, which I soon discovered is much better left as a digital number rather than choosing the alternative layout option with the speedo as a digital dial. It looks nice. But the needle moves so fast it’s almost impossible to see just how much trouble you’re likely to get in.
It wasn’t until finding some quiet backroads that I risked a switch to Sport mode. OMG. As you can imagine, things start happening real fast, especially if you (theoretically) pull out from an intersection and hold the throttle on the stop for a few gears… I’ve never experienced anything else like it (and if a policeman asks, I still haven’t!), but I suddenly got to understand why the swept-back handlebars of the GT look like they’re made from metal thick enough to be used for scaffolding. If they were anything thinner, I bet I would have bent them; such was the force I was putting through them simply by trying to hold on. Thankfully, the Rocket has a sophisticated traction control system that is lean-sensitive along with the ABS. With typical Waikato backroads featuring lots of dips and crests thanks to the soft land, the Rocket felt like it was launching into space at times. And while all I could do was frantically hold on with the throttle pinned open, the TC dulled the after-burner slightly till the rear tyre found traction again when it was unleashed once more.
Okay, so a power cruiser, which is essentially what the Rocket 3 can be called, can’t go around corners, can it? Especially with those large tyres and an overall length of just over 2.3 metres. Well, the men in white coats have worked their magic again. And while I wouldn’t describe the steering of the Rocket 3 GT as fast, it’s certainly quicker and more capable than anything this big has any right to be. And while they were giving the new Storm a bit more mumbo, the designers also took a bit away, with lighter cast aluminium wheels saving a bit of unsprung weight to sweeten things up.
Hitting typical Kiwi backroads can be described more akin to ‘carving’ through turns than ‘flicking’, with long fluid movements more the style of the Storm than hard braking and late dives for the apex. Keeping it smooth and planning is the name of the game, and a couple of times when a corner surprised me with a tightening line, I suddenly became aware of the size of machine I was currently taking liberties with. It’s a serious chunk of metal when you suddenly need to scrub speed mid-turn and tighten a line.
Still, with cornering ABS meaning I could grab a handful if required (I didn’t try it…), the Rocket 3 GT handled with relative composure, and it was only the hardest of bumps which saw the limited suspension travel running out of travel and giving me a jolt through the large saddle. Still, I didn’t care, as the rest of the package is just so bloody off the chart!
Who Needs It?
The GT has the pretences of being a two-up tourer, although the small rear saddle might generate a raised eyebrow or two. There is a backrest, and you can add some Triumph panniers to make it a bit more versatile. It’ll go for 300-ish kilometres on a tank of gas if you can keep your right hand under control, and the lower 750mm seat height of the GT compared to the 773 of the standard 3R should help if you struggle to touch the floor. And to be honest, with the low seat and the magic the men in white coats have worked, the Rocket doesn’t feel like a 320-kilo machine. In fact, it feels lighter than many other bikes I’ve ridden, which might tip the scales with a lower figure yet carry their weight higher, making them feel unwieldy.
So, it could be a tourer.
But what the Rocket 3GT Storm is all about is giving the rider an experience which should probably have been banned many years ago, like all the other exciting things we used to love back in the day. Yep, they may have been slightly risky, but most of us made it home okay, and the experience helped shape who we are today.
If you want to experience the raw spirit of motorcycling, you wouldn’t necessarily expect it to come from a bike with a 2 ½ litre engine and massive wheels. Yet, that’s exactly what I discovered after a day on the Rocket, it simply made me yearn to ride it, twist the throttle, scare myself, challenge myself, then go home and dream of doing it all again.
Opening the tap on the Rocket 3GT Storm must be reminiscent of being in a rocketship, just without any straps holding you in. The force generated as that rear 240-section Metzeler digs into the road and launches you forward is mind-blowing, every time you do it. And I can tell you, I did it A LOT! Yet, somehow, that doesn’t define the Rocket 3GT. It handles, is surprisingly comfortable (although the headers on the right sit close to the inside of your leg, making things a tad warm), and the tech is top-shelf. And if you can persuade someone to get on the back, it’s pretty good two-up. Kerry just raised her eyebrows, and I gave up asking.
There’s cruise control for when you need to behave, hill hold control to stop you rolling back, keyless ignition and a USB connector that all add to the versatility. But, to be honest, I wouldn’t care if it had none of it. The motor is by far the star of this story, as it has been since that very first time we saw men in white coats wheel-standing a Rocket 3 in the brilliant Triumph advert. And that’s a miracle in itself that Triumph has managed to retain the madness of the three-cylinder powerplant while keeping within the ever-tightening emissions restrictions.
If you’ve not ridden a Rocket 3, put it on your bucket list. If you’re looking for a bike that will excite you while also being practical enough to handle longer rides, yet still gets you all tingly when you set eyes on it in the garage – go get a Rocket 3. The Storm has made the R3 fit for NZ (it’s our favourite colour, black!), plus it’s added 13-ish horsepower and 4Nm of torque while also dropping a bit of weight. The package is refined, yet there’s more than enough mongrel to let you know this is a special motorcycle.
At A Glance
Name: Triumph Rocket 3 Storm GT | Weight: 320kg (wet) | Power: 180 bhp @ 7,000 rpm / 225 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
Engine
The latest evolution of the world’s largest capacity production motorcycle engine has gained 13hp and 4Nm from its 2,458cc capacity. And it’s still bonkers!
Wheels
The wheels are lighter on the Storm saving some unsprung weight to aid handling. And the rear single-sided swingarm sets the rear wheel off!
Electronics
There’s an IMU meaning the aids are lean-sensitive, with traction control your best friend on the R3. There are power maps for when it all gets a bit much, while cruise control is there when you need to behave.
Blacked Out
Being Kiwis we love anything that’s painted black, and the Storm has been made to look more moody with the engine and exhausts all coated in a satin black colour. It’s cool and means there’s less chrome to polish when you get home.
Dash
The dash isn’t one of our faves, with the centre dial okay but the side smaller screens are cluttered and difficult to read when everything else is happening so fast. There are different layout options to choose from.
Visit for more info https://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.nz
Photography by www.twocreative.co.nz
