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t the end of 2018, rumors began to swirl that Triumph Motorcycles was working on a new Rocket 3, the company’s biggest and most powerful motorcycle. This caught the attention of 11-time motorcycle drag racing champion Rickey Gadson. He knew about the first-generation Rocket 3: a 2,294cc, 765-pound hunk of British steel that boasted nearly 150 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque. He had ridden drag racing and land-speed builder Bob Carpenter’s modified “Silverback” Rocket 3, going deep into 8-second E.T.s at over 150 mph. What would this new, more-powerful, and lighter Rocket 3 be capable of in stock form? We wondered as well, so we made the call to the legendary drag racer. We also wanted to understand Gadson’s tuning and riding technique as he searched for his