So I did just that during the launch. A few times.
Just to make sure of… um, stuff.
Ladies, please understand that horsepower is a
wondrous thing. But torque… well, torque is God.
And redlining the Rocket in those gears is feeling
His hand propelling you at the horizon with such
ferocious intent, you’ll be holding your breath
and slitting your eyes. It’s revelatory. And smooth.
Sure, you’ll feel a bit of a thrum when the revs
start to climb over 5500, but that just adds to the
experience rather than detracting from it.
Around corners the new Rocket 3 is a far better
proposition than its previous incarnation. The
weight shedding and geometry deliver solid
cornering backed up by pretty decent ground
clearance. It doesn’t steer fast (did you expect it
to? Tsk, tsk, tsk…), but it steers true, and so much
better than the old one – and certainly better than
anything produced in the USA.
52 KIWI RIDER
The gear-change is slick (new helically-cut
gears in the box and a hydraulic clutch), and
shaft-drive is the right and proper thing on
a bike like this. It is quite the buffed-up and
modern drivetrain package.
The front suspension feels far more planted
than on the old one (hardly a surprise) and once
I got Cliff to dial up the pre-load on the rear top-
spec, fully adjustable Showa with its sexy little
piggy-back booster, it was pretty good. So good,
only the Diavel can play with it in the bends.
The riding position of the R made it my
preferred iteration. The GT and its lower seat-
height (750mm) is all cruiser – feet-forward and
arms relaxed – and it’s certainly more disposed
to…um, cruising, I guess. The R, with a 773mm
seat-height) is a very different ergonomic
proposition. It’s more aggressive riding posture
lends itself to a more spirited interpretation of
the Motor Traffic Act. You can cruise on it… but
why would you?