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Triumph Rocket X: the big bad wolf

22 February, 2015

For well over a century, Triumph has defined ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ motorcycling — the British, gentlemanly motorbikes contrasting with their brutal, street-thug engines. Texan racer Johnny Allen’s 1956 achievement, hitting an average speed of 214.17mph in a Triumph-powered streamliner, remains to this day one of Triumph’s defining moments in history. The ‘world’s fastest motorcycle’ came through again in 1969, at the Isle of Man Production TT — Malcolm Uphill piloted his Triumph Bonneville to the first-ever Isle of Man lap at speeds in excess of 100mph.

So, how are Triumph faring well into the 21st century? The current Triumph line-up is broad, catering to just about every taste in motorcycle. From their stable, the Rocket III is the king of the jungle in this respect, powered by its giant 2.3-litre, three-cylinder engine, and is celebrating 10 years as the world’s largest-displacement motorcycle in mass production.

That fuel-injected 2.3-litre Triumph Triple is a far cry from the simple power plants of old, boasting double overhead cams, twin-butterfly throttle bodies, and a raft of sensors working with the cutting-edge ECU to actively tailor the torque curve to the gear ratio selected. The mighty engine delivers 163lb·ft of torque as low as 2750rpm, providing sublime acceleration at just about any speed in any gear, always accompanied by the Triumph Triple’s aggressive signature snarl.

To commemorate the Rocket III’s biggest and baddest milestone, Triumph has released a limited run of 500 Rocket X motorcycles. The 2.3-litre engine is obligatory, and the Rocket X also wears a host of aesthetic additions asserting its street dominance. Its paint finish is in a high-gloss jet black against patterned grind-effect stripes, courtesy of premium custom paint specialists 8 Ball. Fittingly, the exhaust has also been blacked out, as have various necessities such as the handlebars, mirrors, and levers.

Triumph has positioned the Rocket X as a perfect middle ground between a cruiser and all-out sports bike, without compromising on either counts. It’s fast, raw, and can see itself around a corner, but does not sacrifice on comfort and refinement — it also looks bloody good to boot. The Triumph Rocket X has an on-sale date later this year, to be confirmed soon.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

11 September, 2024

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”