Triumph has given its Rocket 3 muscle bike a major makeover, with the new Rocket 3 GT touring cruiser (left) and Rocket 3 R roadster (right) both powered by a 2,458cc in-line triple. (Photos courtesy Triumph)

In the late ?90s
and early aughts, there was a displacement war going on among cruisers, with
engine sizes growing from 1,449cc (Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 88) to 1,510cc
(Victory 92C), then up to 1,670cc (Yamaha Star Road Star), 1,795cc (Honda
VTX1800) and finally, breaking the two-liter barrier, 2,053cc in the Kawasaki
Vulcan 2000, which debuted for 2004.

Both Triumph Rocket 3s roll on new lightweight cast aluminum wheels shod with Avon Cobra Chrome tires. The rear is 240mm wide.

The following year, Triumph came along and topped them all with the Rocket III, which got its thrust from a massive 2,294cc in-line triple, albeit with an extra cylinder compared to the more traditional V-twins. But, just as a hippopotamus doesn?t have many teeth but the ones it does have are truly impressive, the Rocket III?s 4-inch cylinders were the same size as those in a Chevy 350ci V-8.
Read: 2014 Triumph Rocket III Touring Road Test Review

The Rocket III?s was – and continues to be – the largest engine of any mass-produced motorcycle, and when we strapped it to the dyno back in 2005, it spun the drum to the tune of 127 horsepower and 141 lb-ft of torque – an unheard-of amount of grunt that has only been beaten by a more recent version of the Rocket III. ...