Hammer Kraftrad Cast Their Spells on Triumph’s Fierce Rocket 3

Over the years, they tackled an array of fascinating ventures that tend to revolve around BMW’s two-wheeled monstrosities, such as the revered R80 or K100 LT.

On the other hand, their portfolio hosts a couple of malicious Rocket 3 leviathans from Triumph’s range. To give you a clear demonstration of Kraftrad’s abilities, we’ll be taking a closer look at one such exploit. For comparison's sake, I’ll be taking a minute to point out a few of the donor’s characteristics before we dive in. In this fashion, you will be left with a solid idea on how far the German firm has gotten with this build.

It goes without saying that Triumph’s Rocket 3 is no toy. This ruthless piece of machinery is put in motion by a vicious liquid-cooled DOHC inline-three colossus, with four valves per cylinder and an astronomical displacement of 2,458cc. At 6,000 revs, this fiendish entity is capable of delivering up to 165 hp, joined by a feral torque output of 163 pound-feet (221 Nm) at 4,000 revs.

A six-speed transmission enables this unholy force to reach a shaft final drive. The powertrain components are hugged by a cast aluminum frame, which rests on a set of 47 mm (1.85 inches) Showa forks at the front and a single fully-adjustable shock absorber on the opposite end. This setup permits 4.7 inches (120 mm) of travel up front and 4.2 inches (107 mm) of rear wheel travel.

Stopping power is handled by a pair of 320 mm (12.6 inches) brake rotors and Brembo four-piston calipers at the front, along with a single disc and a four-piston caliper at the rear end. The whole thing has a dry weight of just over 640 lbs (290 kg) and a 66-inch (168 cm) wheelbase. Its top speed is rated at a generous 138 mph (222 kph).

Without going into any other details, it’s quite safe to conclude that Triumph’s machine is a genuine showstopper. To be frank, its powertrain needs absolutely no enhancements whatsoever, given the fact that it’ll perform like a marvel straight out of the box. As such, the folks over at Hammer Kraftrad decided to leave it untouched, and we can’t blame them.

Instead, they chose to focus solely on the visual side of things. Each and every last body panel was replaced with Kraftrad’s very own one-off counterparts. This workshop undertook the painstaking task of shaping these magnificent components by hand.

Its chunky headlight housing, that neat fuel tank and custom tail section were all fabricated in-house. The crew even went as far as upholstering a fresh leather saddle to complement the new aesthetic. Additionally, they installed Ramair inlets and an aftermarket radiator shroud to round things out.

Lastly, the wheels were enveloped in high-performance Metzeler ME880 Marathon tires, while the bike’s 2,458cc behemoth received a menacing exhaust system from Zard’s catalogue. All things considered, this Rocket is certainly worthy of its name!

If you’re loving Hammer Kraftrad’s goodness as much as I am, I’d encourage you to pay them a visit on their Facebook or Instagram profiles. Their works of mechanical art will have you awestruck.