Rocket 3 R (MY2020)

Triumph built this bike around the largest engine in production motorcycling, and the number is the whole point: 2458 cc of liquid-cooled inline-three making 165 hp and 163 lb-ft. What keeps it from being a novelty is everything wrapped around that engine. An aluminum frame, a 47mm Showa inverted fork and Brembo Stylema calipers are hardware you would expect on something far lighter, and shaft drive keeps the drivetrain as clean as the styling. ABS, traction control and ride modes come standard, along with cruise control, a TFT dash and keyless ignition. It sits in the power cruiser slot and owns it.

On the road the mass reads differently than the 642 lb spec suggests. It carries low, the 66.0 in wheelbase settles everything at highway speed, and the 30.4 in seat means most riders get both boots flat. This is a machine for someone who wants to be looked at and wants the thing under them to feel mechanical while it happens. The honest caveat is ownership. There is an open safety recall on the rear brake and ABS system, oil weeping from the left side of the engine has come up often enough that you check for it, and any used example deserves a slow inspection before money moves.