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Triumph’s newest motorcycle has surely been aptly named. Meet the 2020 Triumph Rocket 3, a mighty new bike wearing an evocative moniker it’s clearly worthy of, thanks to its three-cylinder motor, space-machine looks and time-bending power.
The original Rocket 3, released in 2004, was Triumph’s push into the high-power muscle bike world. The new Rocket 3, in turn, seemingly redefines the genre. The designation of “muscle bike” fits this new creation well: The new Rocket 3 comes with a 2,500-cc motor putting down an astounding 165 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and a peak torque figure of 163 pound-feet. As if that wasn’t enough, it also put the new Rocket 3 on a diet, resulting in a bike 98 pounds lighter than the previous model.
All these power stats have secured a couple notable accolades for the new Rocket. Its 2,500-cc triple is now the largest production motorcycle motor in the world; in addition, all that displacement also earned them the most torque of any production motorcycle. Triumph has never, in all its years of motorcycle design and production, made a more powerful bike.
Triumph didn’t only pile on the power. The company was kind enough to give the Rocket’s pilot the ability to actually ride the thing too. It has a number of technological safety and performance features like optimised cornering, ABS and traction control, four riding modes (Road, Rain, Sport and Rider-Configurable) and a torque assist hydraulic clutch. The company even saw fit to provide luxuries like onboard sat-nav, GoPro controls, heated grips and Bluetooth.
Two different versions are available: the extra-sporty Rocket 3 R, and the slightly-more-laid-back Rocket 3 GT. Prices for neither version are available yet — Triumph says those numbers will be revealed November 19th, ahead of the bike’s January 2020 on-sale date. Still, given the list of superlatives, don’t expect it to be cheap.
