Your Harley is gorgeous Daniel. I don’t blame you for hanging on to it. By the way it was 11 Degrees Centigrade here today. Almost tropical.
My son-in-law was running late today so, as I was passing, I killed 15 mins checking out the R3 in the flesh. Somehow photos make it look massive (svelte riders!) but in the showroom it is surprisingly compact and less of a chunk than the previous model. It is not particularly to my taste but unless I reverse some of my Christmas belly bonus I’ll need 2.5 litres to haul my carcass around
As yes, makes sense. But then I've not had the occasion or inclination to have to dismount that near the roadway. Fortunately, And knock on wood. And hopefully I won't have the occasion (and definitely not the inclination!) to high side myself. Thanks for looking out for me, Ken.
Waspy sounds perfect for you @BonnieCat, and like it's a definite keeper. It's great when you find a bike that just "works" and is your steadfast friend. Plus for me I start feeling a sentimental attachment to a bike when it carries me safely and steadfastly on a big trip. That scooter sounds rather fun, too!
@Callumity, I definitely agree with you that the Rocket 3 seems surprisingly compact relative to previous Rockets. My friend, Greg's, 2008 Rocket seems so much larger to me than the bike I sat on in the showroom recently. Aesthetically I find the new model more appealing than the older models though I like those as well. I already like what I saw from reviews, photos, and the Triumph website, but I like the R3 even more after sitting on it and hearing it. I'd best not test ride it!
Hi SandiT; Didn’t mean high side literally, just stop the bike and climb off the high side. Something I can’t do with my little legs. Ken.
You are right, Ken, sometimes I watch goggle-eyed, when someone climbs aboard while the bike leans AWAY from him... Mostly GS‘s though... But seriously: I thought about what Ken pointed out and it is true: all bikes (Japanese ... left hand drive; Italian ... rgt hand) have their stand on the left. I think it is based on how we climb onto a horse: most of us are right-handed. So we use the strong hand to pull us up since it is easier this way. Which means, we mount a horse from the left side. What do you think?
Tell you what I think, Winglad, I think, that if we mounted our bikes from the right hand side, our swords would get caught up with our left leg as we swung it over, in fact, just like it would with a horse. Ken. PS. Assuming you’re a right handed swordsman.
Well, it's good to avoid both kinds of high sides, Ken. I prefer not to climb off the high side unless necessary--just in keeping with doing motorcycle things consistently and mindfully. If I started changing up which side of the bike I got off of, before you know it I'd forget to put my side stand down and, well, that would be bad. When I started riding I made it a point to prep, get on my bike and start it up, and shut my bike down and dismount the same way each time. If I vary that, invariably something goes awry like I forget to unlike my forks until my gloves are on, etc. So I try to do things the same way each time. I call it "procedural memory". Works well for me for the most part. I do have the occasional lapse. It usually related to forgetting to put my ear plugs in until my helmet and gloves are on.
I suspect it's related to riding a horse, too, Winglad. And I used to ride horses in my younger days so it's always felt natural to get on my bike on the left side. Now that I think of out, the same holds true for getting on a bicycle. And it makes sense that it's also related to handedness.
Like @Kenbro said, lefthand side mounting is related to carrying a sword. You can't get on a horse on the right hand (off) side whilst carrying a sword. That's also the reason that initially all traffic moved on the left hand side of the road, either walking (marching) or riding - so that your sword did not clash with the oncomer's. hence we mount our horses and motorbikes on the left hand (near) side.
That's really interesting, Vulpes. I'm sure glad that I don't have to add carrying a sword to all the stuff I prep to ride my motorcycle. Although some days having a sword while riding would come in handy. Is this related to driving a car on the left hand side of the road, too--a carryover perhaps?
It could well be a carry-over, Sandi. in 1300 AD on the continent we were forced by the Pope to travel on the right hand side because too many people were falling off the left hand side of the St. Angelo bridge in Rome... And they could not swim...
OK. In the interests of analysis and science, yours truly went to the local Triumph dealership to see what all this Rocket nonsense is all about. Walked into the showroom and there wasn’t one. “No Rockets in?” I enquired. “Yes” says sales guy, “but a sold one in the workshop”. He takes me through to look at it and after removing some plastic let’s me sit on it. Wow what a surprise, much lighter than I was expecting and yes I could get it off the side stand. Turns out it’s about 30 kgs lighter than my Trophy. I could wheel it about as well. Sales guy says it about 40kg lighter than the old one. He also told me he had a guy come in and order the R, the GT and a scrambler 1200. He was going to wrap up one of the Rockets and only use one of them. Guy must have won the lottery. So again in the interests of Science I asked what he’d give for my Speedmaster. It was a good offer and promised me a test ride on the ‘R’ in a couple of weeks when his demo bike comes in. I’ll probably do the test ride end of February. So there you have it. I’m curious what it’s like to ride but doubt I’ll hand over a significant amount of dosh plus the Speedmaster.
That’s awesome, @BonnieCat! See what science and data can do for you?! I will eagerly await your Rocket 3 test ride review!
