At Arizona Bike Week I was fortunate enough to ride a few different factory demo bikes. 

Here is my opinion on each bike.

Yamaha Raider

 It was the first bike that I road and I was impressed.  The 113” motor gave it good power.  The riding position was comfortable for me but I would have liked the bars a little wider and the foot controls out a little further forward.  As on all bikes the factory exhaust is too quiet and it is the only unpleasing aesthetic feature on the bike.  The factory seat was not a Mustang but was adequate.  I don’t think I was supposed to but I intentionally went in to corners a little hot to see what it would do and drug both pegs for extended periods.  So, it handles like a cruiser.  Over all impression was a great bike that handled good and would be comfortable and fun to ride.

Boss Hoss

 From the first time I saw a Boss Hoss I wanted to ride one.  They only had the small block models and they weigh around 1100 lbs and have 400 horsepower.  Going into the ride I expected the bike to feel like it weighed 1100 lbs but it handled really well for its size.  The best feature of this bike is the fact that you have a V8 between your legs but it also makes it an extremely hot ride.  The exhaust manifolds come out right next on your calf area.  The gas tank is huge, probably 3 to 3.5 feat across at its widest point.  It uses an automatic transmission so that took a little getting used to.  The power was unlimited and when you got on it you always had some tire squeal.  All in all a fun ride that gets you attention but definitely not a daily rider. 

Victory Hammer

I had never ridden a Victory up until this point and I hope that the other models are completely different ride than the Hammer.  This was quite possibly the most uncomfortable bike I have ever ridden.  The ridding position sits you right on your tail bone and after only 5 minutes of being on the bike my butt hurt badly.  The fact that the seat had almost no padding didn’t help matters.  The handle bars were narrow and you could tell that they were constructed buy a quad/snowmobile manufacture.  They were tiny half inch bars with thick rubber grips on them.  They looked and felt like dirt bike bars.  The narrowness of the frame and the width of the tank combined with short quad/snowmobile style shift and break levers made the forward controls almost impossible to reach.  The levers were so short that I had to contort my leg around to get my foot under the shifter and I never used the rear break for the same reason.  Overall impression:  I hope the other Victory models are a much different ride because the Hammer that I rode was extremely uncomfortable at best.

Harley V-Rod

I have always wanted to ride Harley’s hot rod cruiser, the V-Rod, and I got my chance.  The low fat stance just says bad and the 240mm rear tire helped hammer that home.  It took a minute to get used to the 240 rear tire.  It took a little effort to get the bike leaned for a turn.  I think it would be easier if the bars were a little wider, might give you more leverage to get the bike over.  It was a comfortable ride with forward controls but they also offer mid controls that would not have been as comfortable.  I thought the gearing was a little long initially but after riding for a few minutes I realized that the motor red lines at 9000 RPM.  In town you would never have to leave second gear if you did not want to.  That power band was fun to play with especially it being on a cruiser.  Over all impression:  Comfortable bike with plenty of power and a lot of fun to ride.  If you want a powerful Harley this is the bike you got to have.