I had one of those for about a year. It was terrifying!
Iâve never actually ridden a bike on the road, and only a 125cc on private land, so I am very much an armchair enthusiast here. I imagine riding any of the bikes in this thread would lead to poo leakage
its all bravado, theyre not that fast, for engine size.
The Rocket III certainly wasnât as fast as a lot of sports bikes, but the sheer size and weight of the thing combined with the instant power delivery at any rpm in any gear made it a lot more intimidating to ride!
(Plus no ABS or traction control.)
I sold it after I half dropped it - it ended up at 45 degrees with a footrest wedged on a curb, and it took three blokes to lift it back to uprightâŚ
Back in the 70s, had several 3 cylinder bikes - started with a Triumph Trident, then during a mad-arse jap two stroke phase (addicted to the adrenaline rush from the ridiculous narrow power bands) I had a Kwacker 500 triple and later a Suzi 750 waterbottle.
I remember about 15 years ago my mate was selling a Suzuki GT380. My little bro, who was riding a 1200 Bandit at the time, said he would buy it as a second bike. Mate insisted he rode it first, so off he went.
Came back 10 mins later looking pale and shaken. Decided a 70âs 2-stroke triple with a frame made of toffee wasnât for hm, LOL.
Yep, been there with the original H2. You could actually feel the frame twist as you accelerated. Scary shit !
I think that Bike magazine used the word âthanatoidâ to describe the 500 triple Kawasaki.
My love affair in the 70s with Jap two strokes started with one of these - a Bridgestone 175. It had crankcase induction. Compared to the small Brit bikes at the time (Bantams, Tiger Cubs etc) it was incredibly quick. Had a power band about 1000rpm wide, but if you kept it there, boy did it move!
Mine was exactly the same as this
Had it for 11 months, when incessant wheelies (@ about 8K rpm, if I remember correctly), stupidly noisy rattling and the frame torquing made it all just a little bit hairy.
âŚand you didnât mention the fuel consumption - getting it down into single figures was easy
Owned two of those plus a 500 triple in the 1970s. Scared myself stupid a few times.
This is my current ride.
Went to an orthopaedic day conference at Stanmore, from Nottingham. Good summer weather. SoI I
turned down a lift offered by the Prof.(who was speaking) and took the R100RS instead.
I parked up on the tarmac and attended the morning sessions. Went outside for a fag at lunchtime to find the BMW lying on itâs side. The sun had melted the tarmac, so one side of the centre stand must have been the pivot point for the tumble. I had two or three goes at lifting it up, but the task seemed far beyond me. I paused for a minute and thought. I was on foreign territory, so there was no one to ask for help. Except maybe the Prof.,a bluff Dundonian who would have probably thought it a hoot.
So I decided it was now or never. I summoned everything I had and slowly it came up up, inch by struggling inch. Not sure it gave the Prof.increased confidence in his team when fifteen minutes break outside reduces one of them to a flushed and panting mess.
Yep another member of the Dunlop familyâŚ
Fuck, so much glory in that family, but at the cost of so much tragedy.
Posting it in this thread probably gives the result away.
Bikes rule. Full stop.
To be fair, the F16 didnât stand an awful lot of a chance, from a standing start.