Triumph Revamps the Rocket III for 2019

Triumph Revamps the Rocket III for 2019

Triumph Motorcycles appears to be developing and delivering an all-new Rocket III beast in 2019, lining up Ducati’s new Diavel in it’s crosshairs. An official design sketch was revealed at the annual Triumph dealers conference back in the fall, with a brief glimpse of a “test mule” ridden across the stage to corroborate the artwork mock-up. That was it- no further info was offered at the time.

Now some spec details are emerging, and the upgraded bike looks to be a muscular marvel indeed. Triumph asserts the new Rocket III will make in excess of 180 bhp via a 2500cc inline triple powerplant, delivering over 170 ft lbs of torque to the rear wheel at under 3000 rpm. That smokes Ducati’s Diavel by 80%, at half the revs. Freaking. Insane.

Key components look to include a single-sided swingarm housing a driveshaft rather than dual-sided, a single large monoshock instead of a traditional pair, and dual front Brembo radial mounts pinching possibly 330mm floating discs. Noticeably absent are the old Rocket III chrome dual pipes, replaced by shorter 3-into-2 slash-cut sport pipes exiting past the rider’s right foot. Pegs look adjustable, but will be squared up under the rider instead of feet-forward.

Regarding modern tech specs, Motorcycle News of England offered the following speculations- “In addition to heavy engineering and brute force, the Rocket III is likely to be bristling with IMU driven tech. Traction control, high-spec cornering ABS and multiple rider modes are a given. In addition, we’d expect a full TFT dash with multi-mode displays, and Bluetooth connectivity with GoPro and Google Maps enabled. All the lighting will be LED with a DRL headlamp, while keyless ignition is certain to feature, along with cruise control, and we may even see launch control.” A high-tech beast, indeed.

There is a suggestion that the new Rocket III could be part of Triumph’s planned “TFC” (Triumph Factory Custom) range, which will focus on making relatively low-volume or limited-edition bikes using higher-spec components than their mainstream range, according to Cycle World. While Triumph refuses to confirm nor deny any of these, they have indicated more news will come in early 2019, with a model reveal by the summer.

Happy New Year!

Rob Brooks