TRIUMPH ROCKET III
Radical new Triumph Rocket III to be unleashed this summer
Triumph will release an allnew Rocket III in 2019 and the styling and spec suggest it will be serious weapon, aimed at kicking Ducati’s new Diavel squarely in the V-twin.
This official Triumph design sketch was revealed to dealers at Triumph’s annual conference in late October last year, swiftly followed by a pre-production test mule being briefly ridden across the stage. But despite the firm releasing a raft of new models since, there has been no official public confirmation of the return of the Rocket III. However, MCN has learned that the new bike is scheduled for release in 2019, and will boast classdefining performance figures. When it was revealed to dealers at the closed-door event in October, Triumph claimed the new Rocket III would deliver in excess of 180bhp from a new 2.5-litre inline triple engine. In addition to the monstrous power output (21bhp more than a Diavel), it has also been suggested that the torque on offer will exceed 170ftlb at under 3000rpm; that’s about 80% more than the Diavel delivers at half the revs.
Performance cruiser
The wide fat-bars will provide great leverage over the beefy triple clamps and huge forks, residing at the bottom of which are a set of Brembo M50 calipers and large floating discs attached to an all-new design of cast alloy wheel. The rear wheel is also new, and now sits on a singlesided swingarm, with the 3-into-2 exhaust exiting through twin stubby slash-cut silencers.
The rear light is located high in the stubby tail unit, while there’s a swingarm-mounted numberplate hanger and rear indicators. The seating position is clearly mid-peg on the sketch and the test mule, but the sketch appears to hint at a secondary mounting position that could make a feet-forward peg position possible; something that will help its evolution into XDiavel and bagger/tourer territory.
Tech revolution
In addition to heavy engineering and brute force, the new Rocket is likely to be bristling with IMU driven tech. Traction control, cornering ABS and multiple rider modes are a given, and we’d expect a full TFT dash with multi-mode display, rider modes, and Bluetooth connectivity with GoPro and Google Maps enabled. All lighting will be LED, while keyless ignition and cruise control are likely. We may even get launch control. Triumph have refused to confirm or deny the new model, but we believe it will be announced in early 2019, for a Summer 2019 arrival.