CW Zon’s Yuichi Yoshizawa customizes the bike with the world’s biggest production engine—the monstrous Triumph Rocket 3.
The Triumph Rocket 3 is the closest thing to a two-wheeled muscle car that you can buy. Its 2,458 cc triple-cylinder power plant is the largest engine in a production bike, offering 165 hp and a stonking 221 Nm of torque. And while some might find it gaudy, it’s impossible to ride it and not come away grinning.
Would we pick the Rocket 3 for customization, though? Probably not. Luckily, Yuichi Yoshizawa doesn’t share our reservations.
As founder of the Japanese powerhouse CW Zon, Yoshizawa-san has built some of the wildest big-bore customs we’ve ever seen. He was one of the first to get his hands on the girthy BMW R18, and was crazy enough to customize the six-cylinder BMW K1600 (twice). Now, he’s applied his signature style to the Rocket 3—with astounding results.
“This project began with a simple idea: to build a bike that truly fits a big rider,” says Yuichi. “The base was the mighty Triumph Rocket 3, a machine already known for its overwhelming presence. We set out to create a concept that could stand as if it had rolled straight out of the factory—yet with a custom spirit at its core.”
CW Zon started with a small change that would have a big impact on the Rocket 3’s stance: a 21-inch front wheel. “A decision rooted in our chopper-building DNA,” Yuichi explains. He chose a machined aluminum hoop from RevTech, wrapping it in an Avon AV91 tire with an AV92 out back.
The next task was to slim down the Rocket 3’s bodywork. CW Zon started with the OEM fuel tank, which was cut-and-shut to make it narrower. The mods included tweaking the existing knee indents, to give them harder edges and sharpen the overall design.
Up top, CW Zon fabricated a housing for the stock TFT dashboard, integrating into the tank with a molded effect. Further forward, the top yoke was cleaned up to remove any trace of the handlebar risers and dashboard mount. A pair of custom-made clip-ons replace the standard bars, adorned with the Triumph’s stock accouterments and new bar-end mirrors.
The Rocket 3 shed its distinctive twin headlight setup for a single LED unit, retrofitted with a machined bezel and held in a handmade aluminum nacelle. There’s more Zon magic lower down, where a skillfully formed fender cups the front wheel.
The tail section is another bespoke aluminum part, shaped to mimic classic café racer lines, but with an organic vibe that’s typical of Yuichi’s craft. It’s capped with gorgeous leather upholstery from regular CW Zon collaborator Kuureiyonsoku, featuring a matching tank pad at the front and a buckle at the back. But some of Zon’s best handiwork is hiding beneath the seat…
In stock trim, the Rocket 3’s rear shock is offset to the right—but this didn’t sit well with Yuichi. First, he machined a new billet aluminum lower shock mount; then he created a ribbed plate to cover the area where the mount used to sit. The shock now moves through a neat channel carved out of the boxy tail section’s floor.
There’s more to admire—from the beautifully curved exhaust hanger and the handmade muffler that it supports, to the carbon fiber rear fender and its billet aluminum stay. Elsewhere, Zon fitted bespoke radiator shrouds, aftermarket footpegs, and discreet LEDs from Kellermann and Wunderkind to finish off the lighting.
The paint is deliberately and delightfully simple; a splash of black and silver on the tank to complement the brushed aluminum work. Muscular yet sophisticated—like a Witcher-era Henry Cavill playing James Bond—CW Zon’s Triumph Rocket 3 is neither a power cruiser nor a café racer, but some wild creature somewhere in between.
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