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Rocket III Max Horsepower HOW-TO's

39K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  rainman123 
#1 ·
Captains;

I am contemplating opening up this beast to produce more HP. I believe somewhere in posts of past someone provided guidance on how to do this, by modifying the butterflies or removing them and re-mapping the codes.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
 
#3 ·
Doug;
I have an open mind. I am retired (once) and still work.
I understand that in 10 mins and a quick mapping change will increase HP to 150. I understand this can be accomplished very quickly.
Then if one is willing to remove the butterflies in the fuel injection system and remap the codes, it will produce 225 HP. While I do not know if any of this is true, that is why I am asking.
Or... I will put the bike up for sale and buy a hot rod.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Let's assume you can use software (Tuneboy ($500) or TuneECU (free)) to open the secondaries 100%. You can't just rip them out and get optimal results.

First, are you talking about the 2005 R3 or the 2008 Touring? You won't get 150 hp with the stock exhaust and intake on either. If you had Triumph off road mufflers (TOR) on the 2005 plus the cat bypass pipe, plus triple filters on the throttle bodies, you could get 140-150 hp with an existing custom map for that setup. For the Touring, I believe catalytic converters are in the mufflers so this is not an optimum muffler for that bike.

For about $1200, you could get a full Jardine system for either bike. I know a guy with a Touring with Jardines and triple filters + a custom mapped Power Commander PCIII (~$650) who got 157 hp and 150 ft lbs).

For the Rocket, you can get what is basically a race kit from Carpenter Racing which includes head work, cams, and domed pistons which will give you 230 hp for over $6000 if you drive it to them. It's cheaper if you send them the head and do the work yourself.

You can also get a Turbo Connection turbo from Boostisgood for $5500 - 200+ hp and torque. This is a pretty easy install. Or a Rotrex supercharger with 200 or 300 hp depending on which kit you get for $5000+ or $6000+. They also have a 400 hp version which requires custom pistons and cams. The mapping for these additions require the Tuneboy software to install the custom maps.
 
#6 ·
Doug;
Thanks a million for sharing this information. Excellent !!!! I now have some choices to make, and money to parse out for the best option.
It is the 2005, Rocket that I have, with 25K on it. I sold the 2008 about 6 months ago, with 10k + on it.
I have two other bikes in the stable, BMW, LT and Royal Star Touring Classic, that I keep active with as well.
I am an IT guy, since 1969, so GEEK on SPEED are some words that have been used.
In my younger days I use to build engines by night, then wrote computer system programs by day.
Right now, this is very tempting as I was considering selling the bike and use the money for a Hot-Rod, or just an OLD CAR to putz with. But a 400HP Motorcycle is exciting.
I have Corbins Beetle Bags, TrimTab wind deflector, and Dual Touring Saddle.

Again, Thank-you so much for sharing.... Charles
 
#10 ·
Hey Royal. Warp here I built my own motor with components from other shops/ 11.8:1 compression pistons. 2 mm larger titatium intake valves 443 lift intake 425 exhaust all Carpenter racing components plus his CNC porting. I also added the Rotrex Supercharger and intercooler combination this bike has some pep but can be very dangerous so I detuned her down to around the target of 420 rwhp. Already blew one dyno up so I try to keep a low profile.

Your best bet is to stay NA so you do not have to fart around and worry aboutthe quality of gas at the pumps. Carpenter can give you plenty in the 240 to 270 hp range. The bike will leap out from undeer you so be carfeull. the have broke into the 8s with there 270 hp street machine. The question is how insane are you and is you life insurance up to date. The standard Stage one will pull low 9's and I bet with a good pilot high 8's yet still run on 87 octane pump gas all day long. If I woere to make a suggestion that would be the way I would go. she will pull over 200 mph if you can hold on:D
 
#12 ·
Ok just my opinions and I am no expert. The turbos are to small and spool up to fast. This will screw pistons up that are not made for turbos. Also when you power dropps mine is still climbing. the turbo starts loosing its snoot around 5500 to 6000 I can not tell you when mine looses it because it had so much I had to take boost away My max boost stops a 9000 rpms. That and I wanted to tame it down a bit. I did not know if the tranny could handle 540+ hp helll I grenaded the internal clutch hub and bent the input transmition shaft shifting into fifth gear at 180 mph the torque was trememndess. If you want to freak yourself out have the engine and transmition lock up at 80 to 90 mph and keep it upright. The bike was all over the road and I was searching for a place I could jump the ditch and punch out in a yard if things were not going to fair out well. My suggestion is do not be a idiot like me you can put a turbine engine on a bike but it does not mean you can control it. Yes I was talking to god while this was happening. The only reason I think I lived is he was not ready for my opinion just yet. Or he figured He will wait for me to get a little more awnry and send me to hell to fuc with satian :D

Believe it or not there is such a thing as to much. I am serious if you went with the stage one Carpenter Silver back and could use all of first gear you are a MAN of MEN. it will leap out from underneath you. Anything else is just pissing money down the drain. Save the cash and do two Rockets then you can decide which bike you want to screw with. No V-maxes or any other sport bike in my area will even play with me anymore. The guy who owned the dyno I blew up will not let me on it anymore. Other Dyno operators are not being friendly either so you will loose a lot of fun. Now if your going to do soem LSR racing well then you just might want to go bonkers. I hope to but might have two more surgeries on top of the 4 I have had. ( Never work in a prison it can get dangerous believe me and not just for the thugs ) If you want to calll and talk about things that can and I have broke doing this insaine stuff go ahead I will PM you my phone number.

Now here is the most reality check that might help you. Bill Warner fastest sit up busa in the world 311+mph standing mile at Lorin Maine. Pulled wheelie at 265 mph at the texas mile slowed down to 235 mph before getting a close look at the track. He has not raced again since. But unlike others he did live so there is a good side to bad things. He broke some ribs punctured a lung broke a anckle. But says the worse is the blunt force trama to the body.

Serious you line up against a busa with a stage 1 beast. your off he hits his speed limiter at 186 mph you then smile and shift into fith gear. I ask you do you realy need any more then that? !/4 mile well thats different but if your not going to spend the mponey to lengthen the bike you will still be pulling the wheels up at the finish line which means you will be letting off the throttle. if you want any more then that one might think your crazy.
If so I have some ideas for you but will not be responsible for the funeral.

So in short I went over board but I had the blower first which was great, the only reason I added to it was because I knew I would not get the money back out of it if I tried to sell it. If Carpenter had their stuff out first thats where I would have went. With Na and no spray you do not have to worry about detonation and who are you going to find to make the next set of stronger head bolts that might hold the head down? Which is where I am at right now OEM studs are not the strongest and I got into soem cheap gas from a station and it detonated quicker then stink on crap. at 40 mph so I was not even getting on it. I think it was the summer/winter mix change or the cheap basturds ran out of premium and sunstituted 89 octane in the tank. I have figured out ways around it now but the fact is with NA you just don't have to worry unless you spray NOS.

Here is my Number I am happy to help anyone I can. the only thing I will not answer is anything about the new Triumph streamliner it is deamed Classified.

309-202-1298
I retire at 10 pm central time during the work week.
 
#26 ·
Ok just my opinions and I am no expert. The turbos are to small and spool up to fast. This will screw pistons up that are not made for turbos. Also when you power dropps mine is still climbing. the turbo starts loosing its snoot around 5500 to 6000 I can not tell you when mine looses it because it had so much I had to take boost away My max boost stops a 9000 rpms. That and I wanted to tame it down a bit. I did not know if the tranny could handle 540+ hp helll I grenaded the internal clutch hub and bent the input transmition shaft shifting into fifth gear at 180 mph the torque was trememndess. If you want to freak yourself out have the engine and transmition lock up at 80 to 90 mph and keep it upright. The bike was all over the road and I was searching for a place I could jump the ditch and punch out in a yard if things were not going to fair out well. My suggestion is do not be a idiot like me you can put a turbine engine on a bike but it does not mean you can control it. Yes I was talking to god while this was happening. The only reason I think I lived is he was not ready for my opinion just yet. Or he figured He will wait for me to get a little more awnry and send me to hell to fuc with satian :D

Believe it or not there is such a thing as to much. I am serious if you went with the stage one Carpenter Silver back and could use all of first gear you are a MAN of MEN. it will leap out from underneath you. Anything else is just pissing money down the drain. Save the cash and do two Rockets then you can decide which bike you want to screw with. No V-maxes or any other sport bike in my area will even play with me anymore. The guy who owned the dyno I blew up will not let me on it anymore. Other Dyno operators are not being friendly either so you will loose a lot of fun. Now if your going to do soem LSR racing well then you just might want to go bonkers. I hope to but might have two more surgeries on top of the 4 I have had. ( Never work in a prison it can get dangerous believe me and not just for the thugs ) If you want to calll and talk about things that can and I have broke doing this insaine stuff go ahead I will PM you my phone number.

Now here is the most reality check that might help you. Bill Warner fastest sit up busa in the world 311+mph standing mile at Lorin Maine. Pulled wheelie at 265 mph at the texas mile slowed down to 235 mph before getting a close look at the track. He has not raced again since. But unlike others he did live so there is a good side to bad things. He broke some ribs punctured a lung broke a anckle. But says the worse is the blunt force trama to the body.

Serious you line up against a busa with a stage 1 beast. your off he hits his speed limiter at 186 mph you then smile and shift into fith gear. I ask you do you realy need any more then that? !/4 mile well thats different but if your not going to spend the mponey to lengthen the bike you will still be pulling the wheels up at the finish line which means you will be letting off the throttle. if you want any more then that one might think your crazy.
If so I have some ideas for you but will not be responsible for the funeral.

So in short I went over board but I had the blower first which was great, the only reason I added to it was because I knew I would not get the money back out of it if I tried to sell it. If Carpenter had their stuff out first thats where I would have went. With Na and no spray you do not have to worry about detonation and who are you going to find to make the next set of stronger head bolts that might hold the head down? Which is where I am at right now OEM studs are not the strongest and I got into soem cheap gas from a station and it detonated quicker then stink on crap. at 40 mph so I was not even getting on it. I think it was the summer/winter mix change or the cheap basturds ran out of premium and sunstituted 89 octane in the tank. I have figured out ways around it now but the fact is with NA you just don't have to worry unless you spray NOS.

Here is my Number I am happy to help anyone I can. the only thing I will not answer is anything about the new Triumph streamliner it is deamed Classified.

309-202-1298
I retire at 10 pm central time during the work week.
 
#14 ·
Warp9.9
Thanks a million for the ton of information and the suggestion. I do have the insurance paid up, and the wife likes that. But at my age, 63, I am not risk averse. The 270HP does sound good, but 420 is such a nice round number, like 3 X 140, or 140 per cylinder. NOW THAT IS SMOKIN HOT !

I will keep thinking it through.....
 
#17 ·
All depends what you are looking for,
I used to ride my R3 harder when it only had 200+hp
400+ is unbelievably fast, slaughtering supercars & everything else
I have come across on the road, but it is too much for me & prettymuch anyone I know except a couple of racers maybe.
Make no mistake S/charger & built motor is not for you unless you are f**cking good, barking mad or both.
My advice as Warp says is stay naturally aspirated tuned as far as you want to go, 150mph in 9sec, reving over 8k is still a long way from slow :cool:
 
#21 ·
Les is right running both type kits makes the bike a monster. The more you run it the better you get at knowing what is going to happen and how to control it. Like you said Doug Practice makes for perfect or at least close to.Les and my set up were close but not exactly th esame. I went fo high rpm where he stayed arounf the normal bike designe rpm. So I would say he biult ower quicker while I made power longer. My main reason was I was looking to learn to control her above 200 mph and my normal criusing when I was having fun was around 160 mph I live in Illinois where we do have a lot of longer straight or semi straight roads. I noticed a large difference when I went to the Dragon tail and ran roads around there. I had to relearn judgment on some of the gradual curves (I sucked on the dragon) but on the road where the curves could be taken at 70 mph I had trouble with both tires sliding outward towards the guard rails above 160. I would actually have to stand up and jump down on the bike to get the tire to bite and stop sliding. I think I should have had asofter compound rubber so it stuck better. I ran the Avons. Now the Conti Race attack tires were sticky and I had no problems except I would only get abot 3400 miles out of a set. But man if you want a tire that sticks they are the ones. The shinkos lasted 4300 miles on the rear before the cords showed thru.They have another softer compound I wil try whenI hit the LSR track that are W rated 186mph+ I suspect they might be a soft compound also. For regular road rge riding the Bridgestone exedra max seems to be the most durable along withthe Michelin commanderII on the front. The Avon on the front is good also but the rear agian burns down fast. I have a couple sets of rims so I can match what I am going to do. I also had a 16 inch OEM rim made into a 18 icnh. I am looking for another rear so I can get it made into a 17 inch as I want to try the 245 perrelli they use on the Ducati diablo.

My personal opinion to anyone who owns a Rocket is use the exedr max on the back and the Michelin or cobra on the front. they wear great and you can get almost 10 k out of the exedra.
The metz hooks up good but melts to easily. And their front wears weird. I think its got something to do with the tread pattern.
 
#23 ·
No problem dude. I wish I was good in the twisties but in Illinois ther is not much to speak of. If there is a curve its usually because of a river or a ditch that the farmers could not plant in:D

So you het a lot more practice at straight line running or there abouts straight line. We have gradual curves but nothing I would call kneee draging like down south in the smokies. I must admit I do love runing say 140 for 5 miles or so striaght as long as the fields are bare. Otherwise you have to watch for the deer to stepp out of the corn field which can be a bad thing at high speed. so Fall and Spring are the best times to run fast. Beside the Supercharger loves cooler air anyway. You can cram more into the cylinders :)

I go to Maggie Valley every year as they have a Rockets Across America event there in May. Guys from everywhere show up and if you don't have a Rocket it does not matter. This is where you get to meeet the faces you talk to on these sites. I find it to be a blast even if I cannot ride like the boys that are from the area. The only advantage I have is if there is any distance between the curves I roll boost and go right by them. Personally I would still recommend the 240 NA packages as they are fast enough to eat sport bikes and not have to worry about getting a load of bad gas. You won't need to run all the extra electronics like I do which makes it more afordable. Unless of course you run NOS then you will need a few things like the vampire unit I use and a way to monitor your fuel ratio to much NOS and not enough octane can still detonate the motor. So I say stage 1 240hp is really alll you need, and you can run 87 octane.
 
#25 ·
Well if your wallet ever says yes and your not wanting a new one. I can say I have a 05 and 06 and love both of them although the 06 is the horse power monger and the 05 is basically stock except things like a aftermarket pipe And a new Air cleaner set up I am testing. in fact I am testing to diffferent styles one with three ITG filter and Velocity stacks. and one with a single Pippercros filter and OEM velocity stacks. Both will also be tested woth the OEM velocity stacks and a set made by Velocity of sound. Which ever makes more power is what I will use. I suspect they will both be very close though. The only real difference when its done is what type of bear claw do you want to run. By this I mean full uncut, slightly cut, or half cut to conform to the Pippercross filter. All cut models will be using Outerwear pre-filter covers to shead any rain. I found that tey work great as I ran one on my Blower intake filter in a monsoon rain for 200 miles and di not notice any difference in how the bike ran. Of course thoperator got soaked to the bone in areas that his rain suit failed. I did have to slow down a little to 70 MPH when the hail started as it just hurt to much at 90 mph :(
All in all I highly recommend the outerwear covers for both rain and added dust protection. They also work well with custom modifications as they did not make anything to fit the Pippercross filter. Most likely because it was made for a Porsche and would be under a hood not out in the open. Yet they took my set up and made custom covers for it. So I recommend them to anyone who needs something special. Steve Giebel is who I went thru for the custom work in case you guys need to know.
 
#27 ·
Hi Warp,
Read your articles on the Rocket 3, very impressive. I'm considering using a rocket 3 engine in a drag bike.
How strong is the clutch , transmission and drive shaft.Would really appreciate your advice and input.
I'm an old dragracer from the 70s and want to build something new, not sure how competitive a rocket would be in street trim due to the weight etc.
I like the idea of just utilising the engine minus that counter balancer thing and also do away with the clutch and transmission, turn the engine sideways and drive off a sprocket on the crankshaft end.
The local rules in Australia have no max. capacity as long as it is an original motorcycle engine.
I think it might be like letting the fox loose amonst the chickens, what do you think.
Anyway hope you and your family are all safe in these most difficult times. Look forward to your reply.
 
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