Triumph Motorcycles expands its Rocket family for the 2019 model year to include the Rocket 3 R. It carries the largest production engine with improvements in output to truly make this new Rocket model a bona fide beast. Minimal bodywork leaves little to the imagination leaving the massive engine as the dominant feature. A robust ride-control-electronics suite completes the package to make this a proper top-tier stoplight burner.

2022 Triumph Rocket 3 R Performance and Capability

There's a lot to love on the Rocket 3 R, to be sure, but it's all just a setting for the real gem, the massive 2,458 cc engine. The configuration is an outlier with a longitudinally-mounted inline triple instead of the typical transverse-mount arrangement.

A 110.2 cc bore and 85.9 cc stroke gives it a compression ratio of 10.8-to-1 to put it, more or less, in the mid-grade fuel category. The 2022 Triumph Rocket 3 R produces 165 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque.

Ride-by-wire throttle inputs inform the engine control system, but they are more like suggestions than actual demands. An inertial measurement unit reads the forces acting on the chassis to add a corner-sensitive component to the traction control along with the ABS feature for calculated interventions all around.

A quartet of Riding Modes lets you quickly switch between a trio of pre-made profiles: Rain, Road, and Sport. A fourth programmable mode dials in power-delivery and traction-control bundle to your liking.

A slipper clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmission with a shaft-type final drive. Overall drive ratio turns in a Rocket 3 R top speed of 139.8 mph.

Design

Triumph calls the Rocket 3 R a high-performance muscle roadster-style machine. It also carries elements from the bobber discipline with shades of café racer style for an interesting looking bike.

It leads the way with a pared-down front fender held close to the wheel by spoiler-style uprights that protect the exposed section of the inverted fork's inner tube. The factory takes it a step further with the small fender-support upright behind the fork that pulls the incoming wind inboard and funnels it into the radiator.

Dual round headlights split the night through LED technology. Stylish DRL features come built in for daytime safety to increase your visibility to oncoming traffic.

A color-matched flyscreen seems a lot like a vestigial café-racer fairing to me, or more generally, an old-school racebike look. Blackout treatment and bar-end mirrors just deepen the connection to the custom culture. Also, heated grips are a stock feature for you intrepid cold-weather riders.

A segmented, second-generation TFT screen acts as the instrument panel and rider interface for the electronic rider's aids. With the accessory fitted Bluetooth module, add the Triumph TFT Connectivity System for all the bells and whistles we expect from these connected apps.

Short-rise bars and the accommodating 30.4-inch seat form a constant upper line of the rider's triangle. Tweak the position of your legs through the adjustable pilot's footpegs. This gives you at least a modicum of control over the shape of the triangle, which is more than most manufacturers can say.

The stock Rocket 3 R also comes with passenger amenities. A p-pad and cleverly hidden, flip-up footpegs are completely out of sight when stowed if you want to go for that solo look.

Want to do some touring? The 4.8-gallon tank ensures relatively long legs, so you can count on some utility as a distance platform, especially in low gas station-density areas and fuel deserts.

Like the front fender, the chopped rear is past the limits of function. It relies on the swingarm-mount huggers to do most of the heavy lifting.

At the terminus of the bobbed tail, more LED yummygoodness makes up the taillight while the rear blinkers and license plate mount to the rear hugger for a very clean-looking rear end. Overall, the Rocket 3 R comes off looking beefy and muscular with lots of custom charm.

Chassis

The aluminum frame on the Rocket 3 R serves as the bones of the beast. A cast-aluminum, single-side swingarm completes the structure and keeps unsprung weight down out back. The swingarm also doubles as a housing for the shaft-type final drive.

Showa supplies the suspension goodies with a set of 47 mm usd forks. Out back, the piggyback monoshock takes care of business. Suspension travel measures 4.7 inches (120 mm) and 4.2 inches (107 mm) at the front and rear respectively, which is plush enough for a street machine.

The steering geometry is decidedly in touring territory. It rocks 27.9-degrees of rake with 5.3 inches of trail, both of which are indicative of low-effort control, even at speed, and rock-solid tracking in a crosswind.

The front end comes with adjustable compression- and rebound-damping values. The rear end supports the full trifecta of tweaks so you can dial in for comfort and preference.

Cast-aluminum wheels round out the rolling chassis with a 17-inch rim ahead of a 16-incher, an offset that adds to the custom look just a bit. The hoops are seriously fat with a 150/80 ahead of a 240/50, and they come in a “V” speed rating that indicates a tolerance for speeds up to 149 mph, which should serve as a barometer for the overall performance envelope.

Dual, four-bore M4.30 Stylema anchors bite the 320 mm front discs to provide the lion's share of braking with a 300 mm disc -- large for a rear disc to be sure -- and another four-pot caliper of the M4.32 variety. Cornering ABS comes stock along with Hill Hold Control that holds the rear brake for you so you can put your feet down when you a stop on a grade.

2022 Triumph Rocket 3 R Price

The 2022 Triumph Rocket 3 R in Phantom Black costs $23,400. If you prefer the Korosi Red package you can expect to shell out $23,750, while the two-tone Silver Ice and Cranberry Red fetches $24,000 MSRP. If you're looking for a Rocket 3 R for sale, they're in showrooms now.

TFT Multi-Functional Instrument Pack including

-Digital Speedometer

-Trip Computer

-Digital Tachometer

-Gear Position Indicator

-Fuel Gauge

-Service Indicator

-Ambient Temperature

-Clock

-Rider Modes (Rain/Road/Sport/Rider-configurable)

-Add the Triumph TFT Connectivity System with the accessory-fitted Bluetooth module

Competitors

Proper sport cruisers are fairly few and far between. However, I think Ducati can meet the challenge with its Diavel 1260 model.

Ducati Diavel 1260

A little bit more sport than cruiser, the Devil rolls with oodles of that unmistakable Ducati flair for a somewhat edgier overall look than the Brit. We expect that, don't we?

Ducati adds a chin fairing to the bodywork to reinforce the sport aspect of the look. This is especially true when combined with the intake scoops that ride abreast of the fuel tank.

The Eye-Tie falls far behind in displacement with a concurrent reduction in brute force. A 1,262 displacement is almost exactly half that of the Trumpet, Power predictably drops off to 157 ponies and 95 pounds of grunt against 165/163.

As for electronics, Ducati seems to meet Triumph nearly point for point. Consider both bikes top-shelf in that regard.

Unfortunately, Ducati's single color choice is a snoozefest with black-on-black, but the price drops off to $21,195. That possibly makes the Diavel more accessible, though what's a couple grand one way or another once you break the $20k barrier.

He Said

“To anyone doubting British engineering, this new Rocket family should serve as quite the eye-opener. Fast, powerful, and with top electronics, the Rocket 3 R has it all, with everything you need to surprise most of the potential competition you'll meet on the street.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “Goodbye Rocket III, hello Rocket 3. No, it isn't just a renamed version of itself. The Rocket 3 is a bigger badder version of itself, kinda the bike the Rocket III always wanted to be. There's 11 percent more power at a low, low 3,500 rpm and a higher redline. Let this sink in: Rocket 3 R does 0-60 in 2.73 seconds.”

Further Reading

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