The first of a new breed of motorcycle, the 2.3 litre Triumph Rocket III will be available in Australia from May, 2004and will sell for around A$25,000. Forward orders are growing daily as buyers line up forwhat will surely be one of the most exhilarating roadgoing experiences available.
The 2,294cc longitudinally-mounted, in-line three-cylinder engine makes almost twice the peak torque of any other production bike - 147ft.lb at 2,500rpm. Triumph claims (quite reasonably) that two-up, the Rocket III will accelerate faster than anything else on the road, pulling 1.2g in the process.
The real character of the bike is best explained with the torque curves - it delivers over 90% of peak torque at 1,800 rpm, pulling similar figures all the way to 6,000rpm. The anticipated price is $4-5000 less than the bikes at which it is unquestionably targeted, the Harley Davidson Fatboy and V-ROD.