Video: Triumph pokes fun at BMW with destructive Rocket 3 ad

The then-new bike whisked the tablecloth out from a banquet-sized table, leaving the dishes, glasses, and food undisturbed. It’s a classic. And how about that soundtrack?

Triumph unleashed their 2,458 cc Rocket 3 for 2020, and in his first ride review, Mark Gardiner called the new Rocket's spec sheet “excessive to the point of hubris… none of [its competitors] come with the Rocket 3’s bragging rights: The biggest motor, producing the most torque, of any production motorcycle.” Just the kind of brute you’d invite to your posh dinner parties, right?

Taking a cheeky stab at BMW, Triumph recreated the infamous tablecloth test, and would you believe the Rocket 3 fails miserably?

Or does it? The Rocket 3 makes more than twice as much torque as the original S 1000 RR, and it’s around two dozen ponies short in the horsepower department. Could it be the 200-pound difference between them? Or the rider? Maybe the Bavarians have nicer tablecloths?

The answer is probably D, none of the above. BMW’s ad actually got its own Mythbusters episode, which featured many broken dishes and Jamie on a Buell.

I’ll let the comments section decide whose ad was better, now that the myth’s been busted. Either way, we can all agree that motorcycles probably don’t belong at the dinner table.