2010 Triumph Rocket III Roadster - First Look

It's easy to know where to start with Triumph's new 2010 Rocket III Roadster: 15 percent more torque! Yep, this British bruiser's dohc, liquid-cooled, 2294cc Triple gets its output bumped from the "measly" 147 foot-pounds of the standard Rocket III and Rocket III Classic to a claimed 165 ft.-lb. No other production bike comes close! So even though the 2010 Thunderbird 1600 parallel-Twin joined the company's lineup this year, the three-cylinder Rocket cruiser series continues to evolve.

But as you can tell by the name, Triumph is trying to move the Roadster away from the cruiser class and into a more Yamaha/ Star VMax-type of muscle standard niche. Hence the "tough-up" on styling, primarily by way of hitting lots of parts with the black-out treatment. More important than cosmetics, though, are the changes to the riding position. A taller, cushier seat makes the reach to the bars shorter and more straight-ahead, while the footpegs have been moved reward and closer to the center of the bike to give a standard-style riding position and increased cornering clearance. Handling is improved through new shocks.

Thunderbird-inspired dual exhausts replace the trio of tailpipes of the standard Rocket. Anti-lock triple disc brakes are standard on the Roadster, while the Rocket Touring (winner of our "Battle of the Baggers" comparison test, CW, October, 2008) gets ABS as an option in '10. Bikes are expected at dealerships—in gloss or matte black—by early March, but price was TBD as of this writing.