“I bought my 2009 Rocket second hand with less than 3000 miles. I bought it privately and you could tell that it had been very well pampered and had obviously never been out in the rain. It was pristine. For the money I paid for it, I would say that it was extremely good value. One huge amount of black and chrome for the money. It already had all of the extra goodies too. Mirrors, sissy bar, clock and matching fuel gauge to name a few.
As far as comfort is concerned, the seating position suits me very well. It is such a relaxed position after riding sports tourers for years. My only gripe is that the suspension is fairly hard to cope with the bike's weight, so any potholes are felt directly through the spine. I have learned to be a lot more careful about avoiding uneven road surfaces!
The brakes are fantastic, given the phenomenal weight of the machine. The handling takes a little getting used to after sports tourers and sports bikes. The bike is well capable. You just need to be more careful about how you set up a bend. At first the bike felt a bit unsteady in the bends, so I did what most Rocket owners do and pumped both tyres up to 41psi. That has helped a lot, but really you just have to trust the bike, relax into the bends and not fight it. Don't get too ambitious when it comes to getting your knee down. You don't get too far over before one of your boots leaves rubber on the road.
The engine is simply awesome. It doesn't really need a gearbox. Whatever gear you use, it pulls like the proverbial steam train. The sound is good when it is opened up - quite unusual and not like any other machine on the road. Again, don't go trying to flick through the gears, or do clutchless changing. It is a big heavy bike and a fairly agricultural box with shaft drive. It has to be that way to cope with the torque. I'm happy with it now that I am used to it.
The bike isn't very old in terms of mileage, so I can't comment on reliability. The bike overall has superb build quality. The only thing to watch is the aluminium wheels are prone to marking and eventually corroding. Mine are polished up, then have a couple of layers of Collinite insulator wax. It seems to keep the corrosive brake dust off.
All in all, I would thoroughly recommend owning one. If you enjoy a lazy effortless riding style on a bike that will munch miles all day long and turn heads wherever it goes, then don't hesitate to get one!”
