Is the RIII an every day ride?

[RicoSuave]

My Honda VTX is up for sale on Ebay. I already test drove the Rocket twice so my mind is made up but I was wondering about something. Some of the reviews I've read in the cycle magazines described the Rocket as "not a bike for commuting". Do you think they're talking about the weight? The handling in stop and go traffic? The reason I'm asking is because when the weather is nice here in NorCal, I love to ride to work as a little reward but wondered how many of you current owners ride the Rocket to work or around town as you would any other cruiser?

[Toystoretom]

Welcome RicoSuave!!!

I ride mine to work all the time. Its a heavy bike but it has good low speed manners. I have found it is best to pay attention when rolling up to a stop... you don't want to be daydreaming and stop off balance and have your foot slip on gravel and drop it. Once you make this a habit its just as capeable as any other bike... From what I understand VTX's have poor low speed handling and are somewhat top heavy. I get this from my next door neighbor who has a VTX 1800.

Once you get a Rocket you will do much more than commute... and you won't be able to quit smiling...

Another unbiased reply :-D :-D

Tomo

I have been riding 50 miles right into the City of London each day during the summer and it's been fine. Even though holiday season is over and roads are crowded again it's still a nice ride.

Just watch out for (if London anything to go by):
Idiot f***ing pedestrians walking out into the middle of the road - especially when wearing headphones so they can't hear anything.
Murderously minded taxi drivers doing u-turns on a sixpence (translation - dime).
Car drivers deliberately positioning themselves to block filtering bikers.
Pedal cyclists crossing against the lights.
Post office vans turning into the road towards you when you are filtering down the outside lane and the b*****d postman forgetting to lock the back door so it swings out into your face as he takes the corner.
Kamikaze courier bikers.

But, by far the worst

Bloody scooter drivers who want to prove they can go faster than you !

[choochford]

This bike is easier to ride around town then my old bikes were. The balance on the Rocket is really nice and it isn't a hard bike to ride. the hardest thing is controling the throttle. I just keep wanting to drive faster and faster.

[SteveRed]

OOHHH Slumvodka... You have just about listed all my pet hates, especially cars that deliberately position themselves to block filtering bikes... I flip the bastards driver side or passengerside mirrors when I scrape past... SMART-AR$E Scooters zip, zip. zip ziiiiipppppppppp!!!!!!

SteveRed

[sbljr]

I ride mine to work too. What can I say--it gets the job done and is NOT at all difficult to ride in traffic. In fact it is very pleasant, friendly and maneuverable "for a bike its size." Of course you do have to follow a few precautions like backing into downhill parking slots--but as you know that's true of ANY heavy bike except the few that have a reverse! All I can say is, anybody who finds commuting on a Rocket to be a daunting task should likely stick with bikes under 500lb and their life will be happier.

Okay, it's not the ideal "commuter bike" if a low-cost gas-miserly commuting appliance is what somebody is buying a motorcycle for. Maybe that's what they mean. But there's absolutely no reason you can't commute on a Rocket if you're currently doing it on a VTX. From what I hear from a couple of friends who have 1800 VTX's your gas mileage will probably improve.

[Diego]

Well, the Rocket certainly can be used for commuting. The reasons it's not the ideal choice should be pretty self-evident:

* fuel consumption (if that's is a trivial matter at your income level, you either make a lot more money than I do, or else have become accustomed to feeding a bigass SUV; 90-some percent of other bikes out there are better in this regard, not just the tiny ones)

* weight (especially if you have to deal with angle parking on a street with significant crown to it)

* the ride quality on poor paving (unless you've made all the high-dollar mods already; in which case, see the bigass SUV remark above )

* proportional to its size, less storage capacity than a lot of other bikes for the work-related stuff you may have to carry, or groceries picked up on the way home

* awfully high repair costs if some dip**** backs into it in the parking lot with his bigass SUV

* awfully high emotional cost if... (see above)

The plus side is that it can definitely make going to work seem less of a chore. When it comes to practicality for commuting, though, there are other bikes that fit the bill better. But it's OK for the occasional commuting you seem interested in, and certainly for around-town stuff on a nice day.

[RiderRocketman]

Is it an every day ride? Why the hell not!
The bike will give you so many grins that any negative will be offset, well... if those things Diego mentioned don't bug you. If you're a real motorcyclist though - someone that's truly passionate about riding all the time then there isn't anything better in my mind.

Seriously though, the heft and heat of the Rocket may get to you if you have to go through long periods of stop-n-go traffic and it's massive proportions are not ideal for splitting lanes, so if those things are a good part of your commute then the Rocket may wear you thin. In all other cases, give me my Rocket over anything else any day - rain or shine.

[vonbonds]

I know I am a fat bastard but the bike doesn't feel that big even in stop and go traffic. If you can flat foot the bike there is no reason to feel the weight lurch to one side or the other.

[Revenge]

I ride my Rocket absolutely EVERYWHERE! With my Leatherlyke saddlebags and luggage rack hauling cargo is not a problem so I take it to the store, the gym and of course to work. I only have to go 5 miles but it is all stop and go. The only challenge is having to deal with hotheads who want to race coming off of red lights. Since buying my Rocket I have traveled 1500 miles compared to <200 on my car.