The Triumph Rocket III is a British motorcycle made by the Hinckley Triumph factory and has the largest displacement engine of any mass production motorcycle, (as of September 2010[update], at 2,294 cc (140.0 cu in). The Rocket III Project started in 1998 led by Triumph Product Range Manager Ross Clifford and started with a lot of research—especially in the USA where big cruisers were selling well. The main competitors were the Harley-Davidson Ultraglide and the Honda Goldwing so the initial idea was to develop a 1,600 cc performance cruiser.
The original model was released in 2004 and has remained in production with only minor modifications other than a change of engine colour from silver to black in 2006. This model was awarded Motorcycle Cruiser magazine's 2004 Bike of the Year, Motorcyclist's 2004 Cruiser of the Year, and Cruising Rider magazine 2005 Bike of the Year. This model is the newest exhibit at the UK National Motorcycle Museum.
Rocket III Touring
Triumph began developing the Rocket III Touring version in February 2004 following the launch of the original model, to target the large cruiser market which represents 50% of all US motorcycle sales. As well as a new design for the steel frame and swinging arm, the Touring model has more torque at lower revs – 209 N·m (154 ft·lbf) @ 2,025 rpm, but less horsepower at the top end. New features include tank mounted instruments and a scrolling switch on the handlebar to set the clock and indicate fuel ranges The five-spoe design used on the Rocket III was replaced with billet aluminium slotted wheels and narrower tyres were specified to improve steering with a 180/70 x 16 rear tyre to make it easier to fit detachable panniers that come as standard, together with a removable windscreen and Kayaba rear shock absorbers.