When Triumph launched its 2300cc Rocket III in 2004, the biggest challenge it faced was marketing. How do you position the largest production motorcycle engine on the planet? Over the years Triumph has tried to squeeze the Rocket into different niches, morphing the original Rocket into the more relaxed, floorboard-ed Classic, and most recently, into the touring-biased Rocket III Touring, complete with windscreen and hard bags as standard equipment.For 2010 the original Rocket III and the Classic models are getting pushed aside to make way for a completely new steed, the Rocket Roadster. For now, Triumph has provided few details: we know that the Roadster trades the chrome, polished metal and feet-forward riding stance often found on boulevard cruisers for a more sinister appeal and more aggressive riding position. Footpegs have been repositioned farther back and lower, and moved slightly inboard. The new saddle is slightly higher and more forward, resulting in new ergos said to improve handling. A smoked flyscreen and redesigned fuel tank further distances the Roadster from its erstwhile stablemates, and it's also the first Rocket to receive ABS as standard. Black paint and dark tones cloak this already black bike, and lest there be any question about the Roadster's image, it's going to be available only in Metallic Phantom Black or Matte Black. To be fair, there are subtle hints of chrome and polished aluminum, like a three-into-two exhaust designed for increased power (!), but get this - the Roadster will also get a hefty 15% boost in claimed torque and a 6% increase in horsepower! Apparently, a torque peak of 141 ft-lbs just ain't enough...
Triumph says the new Roadster should hit dealers in 2010, and will be competitively priced at £10,949 - very roughly about $17,900 in today's US dollars, though that's bound to change at the actual release date. The following video should fill in any info we missed, and then some: