Triumph Rocket 3 Storm (2024 - ) review

Beyond the mean and moody black finish little has changed fundamentally for this new Storm version of the Rocket 3, which is no bad thing given it was already one of the most extraordinary and extreme production motorcycles of recent times. That enormous engine rightly takes centre stage, the hydroformed triple exhaust headers a Rocket signature, ditto the huge 240-section rear tyre hanging off the back on a single-sided swingarm showing off the new wheel design introduced for this new Storm version. Everything is oversized on the Rocket, the fat 47mm upside down Showa forks and chunky brakes adding substance to the look. As before you can choose between roadster-inspired R with a slightly higher seat and more conventional pegs or a GT with cruiser-style feet-forward pegs, higher bars, flyscreen and a pillion backrest. Colours now comprise red, blue or grey pinstriped two-tones with contrasting black, the colour on top for the R and the other way round on the GT. Each to theirs but, for our money, the more aggressive R carries the whole Rocket look more successfully.

For all its intimidating size and weight the Rocket 3 is, in fact, a more conventional bike to sit on than some of the more extreme, low-slung cruisers like the Harley-Davidson Breakout 117 or BMW R18 you might also be considering. True, the GT has a lower seat and that feet-forward seating position took a bit of getting used to but it’s comfy and relaxed without feeling like you’re dangling from the bars. The R has a racier, more stretched out position that feels like you’re hugging the tank, your feet falling easily to the more natural position. Both have adjustable pegs to fine-tune the fit and, switching between the two, we’d say the GT is probably the one for long days in the saddle while the R is more suited to Sunday blasts and those looking to really get the most from the incredible performance.

You don’t buy a 2,458cc bike for practical reasons, the size and weight making it a bit of a lump to paddle round at low speeds while the mirrors on the ends of the already very wide bars limit your filtering options in traffic. Not that you’re going to be commuting on it! A bike like the Rocket is all about the minimalist look, especially on the R. As such few owners are going to want to spoil that with bags, luggage and other accessories. Saying that if you do want to rack up some miles the GT wears Triumph’s official baggage more sympathetically, the flyscreen and sheer width of the bike giving you something to shelter behind at motorway speeds while standard-fit cruise control takes the stress out of long distances, hill-hold similarly helpful in stop-start traffic. There’s also the option to run the Rocket in single- or two-seater configurations, neat fold-out pillion pegs maintaining the clean look if you prefer to keep it solo. Which is probably the ideal, given even with the GT’s little backrest we’d not want to spend much time on the back of the Rocket.

We’d award an extra star or two here if we could, because the Rocket 3 Storm is truly in a class of one in terms of its performance. It’s suitably extreme in both quantity and quality, the massive engine now packing 182 horsepower (up from 167 horsepower) and an incredible 225Nm of torque. It’s this latter attribute that makes the riding experience so unique and special, and even at tickover it will pull away with alarming vigour as you release the clutch. You soon adapt, the hydraulically assisted clutch and gearbox easy to use and a new thrill available in every gear, with second enough to trouble the traction control, third unleashing fierce acceleration from any rolling speed and the Rocket happy to pull from any of the higher gears without any sense of bogging down. A deliberate degree of imbalance in the engine sends a fizz of excitement through the saddle and grips, the gruff bark deepening in tone as you roll the throttle on and chuntering angrily as you come off it, carefully orchestrated pops and bangs adding to the drama. By the time you add even an athletically built rider to the 300kg-plus weight you’ll be north of 400kg, so it’s reassuring to see the Brembo Stylema brakes have been carried over from before, braided lines meaning a comfortingly firm bite to the lever while the similarly potent rear brake has more say than on most bikes given the size of the tyre it’s working on.

Whether built for long-distance comfort or as style-focused cruisers there’s an assumption big-capacity bikes are more about straight-line speed than cornering heroics. Triumph seems to have missed that memo, though, and for all its intimidating size and performance the Rocket is actually fun to chuck around a twisty road as well. Far more fun, indeed, than it has any right to be! For all the stability of that long wheelbase some nifty geometry tweaks to the front end gives you confidence to fling it into the bends even with the GT’s taller bars. A low centre of gravity means it tips in predictably, the fat rubber giving you plenty to lean on and the smooth throttle pick-up meaning you can meter out the power with real precision. It’s no chuckable little roadster but, bar a bit of peg scraping on the R, you can carve the turns with more enthusiasm than you’d ever have credited by the looks of it, to the point even the racier Ducati Diavel V4 might struggle to shake a well-ridden Rocket. Decent rear suspension travel by cruiser standards also keeps it relatively comfortable over the bumps compared with trad rivals like Harleys, Indians or BMW R18s.

While more expensive than an Indian Chief or entry-level BMW R18 the Rocket 3 Storm’s starting price actually looks relatively reasonable given its Top Trumps winning stats, even with the £1,200 increase over the previous Rocket 3. Triumph will say you’re getting more power and the blacked-out look was previously reserved for more expensive limited editions in return, and even the more expensive GT undercuts the starting price of a Harley Breakout 117. Purchase price is only half the story, though. And while shaft drive means you don’t have to worry about that beast of an engine chewing through chains and other transmission components it’s safe to say the brakes and tyres are going to have to work harder than average while fuel, insurance and other running costs are going to be as hefty as the bike itself.

Given the engine is, bar detail tweaks, the same as that introduced on the 2019 Rocket 3 we’d say it’s a proven unit and built to the standards you’d hope for in a flagship model of this type. The excess of performance also means it’ll be relatively understressed in normal use and if you’re working it hard enough to test that theory you’re going to have bigger problems contending with the laws of physics, or indeed the roads!

A large engine inevitably means bigger service bills as and when they come round, though these will be at relatively palatable frequency given Triumph’s 10,000-mile/annual service intervals. The regular two-year warranty can, in the brand’s usual way, be extended by another year or two at extra cost within the first 18 months of ownership, which is probably a sensible precaution with an eye to protecting the resale value.

For all the stripped-back, custom-bike vibe the Rocket 3 has never skimped on modern tech and, as before, you get cornering ABS/traction, four rider modes with a custom-configurable setting, cruise control, hill-hold and heated grips as standard. A circular casing for the TFT screen strikes a balance between retro style and the connected tech modern riders expect, and you can pair it to a phone for navigation through the Triumph app. That will suffice as a minimum but the display is a bit fiddly and for touring most people will likely still mount a phone to the bars, a USB charging port just ahead of them meaning you can keep your battery going for long days in the saddle. Beyond all that the expansive – and at times expensive – expensive catalogue awaits…

For those growing up with Top Trumps the Triumph Rocket 3 Storm is that killer card made real, the numbers mighty enough to trounce any two-wheeled rival in a stat showdown at the tea stop. Thankfully there’s a lot more to this bike than that, though. There’s obvious novelty value in having the biggest engine you can buy on a production bike and Triumph could have left it there, but it’s also made sure the riding experience lives up to it and you can fully enjoy the incredible power at your disposal in nearly all riding situations. It’s not for everyone. But if you crave a truly unique riding experience there literally is nothing else like the Rocket, and its continued existence is something to celebrate.