Try Triumph Rocket 3 Storm R and Storm GT: the monster with a big heart TEST

For its twenty years, the Rocket 3 gives itself 15 HP and 4 Nm more and an even darker look and becomes increasingly monstrous with its exaggerated 2,500 cc three-cylinder engine. Could we not try it?

April 28, 2024

ANDt was the end of the last century and a group of engineers in Hinckley were trying to solve a complicated dilemma: can an “American-style” cruiser be made, but starting from a three cylinders in line and a shaft drive? And how big could this engine be to leave everyone speechless? Soon, as you can imagine, they got carried away. That engine took on increasingly monstrous dimensions and could no longer be mounted transversely as they were used to doing with the Thunderbird or the Trident, under penalty of no longer being able to make a curve without scratching the crankcases. So how to do it? At a certain point someone stood up and said: “Eureka! Let’s turn it around!”. Thus was born the Rocket 3, still the largest production motorcycle on the market today.

The 2004 Rocket 3 and the 2024 Rocket 3 Storm R

ORNow this isn’t the official version of how things happened, but it’s not too far from the truth either. The fact is that a project that perhaps appears bizarre, certainly exaggerated, has managed to become a point of reference in a niche but prestigious market in twenty years. A lot has changed since the first Rocket 3 in 2004 in 2019 there was the real revolution with a completely new model that focused everything on a pleasant and decidedly sportier ride than in the past. Today, for the important twentieth anniversary, a new edition called Storm arrives which, to an even darker look with attention to the smallest details, adds power (+15 HP) and torque (+4Nm) and removes a kilogram of weight from the wheels. There are two versions proposed: R and GT are distinguished by a set-up which, in fact, can be switched from one to the other. So if one day we regretted having taken the R we could easily transform it into a GT and vice versa, or we could even do a mix of the two if we were particularly demanding or capricious. The differences are all in the riding position: the R is sportier with greater load forward and central footrests, the GT is more relaxed with forward footrests adjustable in distance, saddle with different design and handlebars closer to the rider’s torso for a more comfortable posture. erect. Then add the windscreen, the heated grips as standard and greater comfort also for the passenger who can count on a raised saddle and sissybar.

Monster yes, but with a big heart

Cwhether you want the Storm R or the Storm GT, the substance to ride does not change: you are dealing with a monstrous engine, of 2,458 cc whose pistons have an exaggerated bore of 110.2 millimeters and as they slide they give off a drumming of a unique tribal rhythm. The maximum torque of ben 225 Nm is already reached at 4,000 rpm but what’s even more magical is that you never need to “climb” up to 4,000 rpm. To be clear, in sixth gear at 3,000 rpm we are at 130 km/h. At that point if it opens you have a further push to leave any occasional opponent in place. Despite these data, the Rocket 3 has a velvety and soft delivery which makes it much simpler and more “human” to use than you might think. Having overcome the initial embarrassment of dealing with a motorcycle 320 kg in running order (317 for the R), it turns out that it is a motorcycle made for curves, contrary to the cliché that cruisers are only suitable for highways. It dances in changes of direction much quicker than one would imagine when stationary thanks to a very high level chassis and great balance. You rely on the infinite rubber that you have with a 150 mm front and a just 240 mm rear of tread… Practically that of a sports car. The sporty and fully manually adjustable suspensions do not offer a great deal of travel so they do not get along well with bumps and potholes but when the road is good they give an impeccable feeling. The brake sector is also truly remarkable because to stop this giant you need to be able to count on power and progression and the Brembo system with Stylema radial-mount front calipers do exactly this. Considering the type of bike and the long wheelbase, you also use the rear brake a lot and you do it with ease. The Rocket 3, however, is not a bike to be ridden with the brakes in hand, but only by teasing the engine and taking advantage of the engine braking accompanied by release from this ancestral drum. Speaking of sound, it must be said that with the standard exhausts it is extremely civil and muffled, leaving the pleasure only to the driver without annoying passers-by. So much mechanical exuberance is obviously a little thirsty, although not in an extreme way: during our test we estimated a consumption of seven liters of petrol every one hundred kilometres. This is why, although the tank holds eighteen litres, stops at the petrol station could be quite frequent.

The gearbox and transmission work perfectly, so much so that you don’t feel the need for a quickshifter both for the always precise shifts and because with so much torque you don’t have all this need to change gears often. Having the cardan shaft, then, is another unique feature that should be appreciated: it also contributes to the notable traction and reduced maintenance. Service intervals are every 16,000 km or once a year.

Above all, however, what you are left with from a driving experience on the Rocket 3 is the feeling of control of such a monster. From a standstill you would have bet that you would have difficulty managing it but instead in the saddle everything appears so soft and perfect that you feel like you have always ridden it. When you rotate the throttle, however, you realize that you are on the back of an apparently tame monster.

An elite motorcycle

Lat Rocket 3 Storm R is proposed to 25,695 euros while for the Storm GT eight hundred more are needed. It is certainly not a price for everyone, but if we analyze that it is a unique motorbike also from an industrial point of view, with specific components and without economies of scale, with high-end components, refined paintwork and first choice materials and which is built in England, it appears more proportionate and perhaps less monstrous than this unique racing car really is.