Bike Week will be here before we know it. I am sure test rides will book-up quickly. Maybe I'll try to get to the mfr tents early enough to book one and report back.

checked out the raider at dealer, feels much lighter than my roadie. dealer wanted me to take it for a ride. but its too cold for me in ne ohio.i am fair weather rider, not hard core like you guys. dont like the pipes, dealer said they have built in cat. converters so aftermarket will be high buck.

Man I have to agree this ride is fast!

I went and test rode it last Friday only to find when I got back that my wife had bought me one for my birthday, see attached.

Yes it looks way better in person and though it weighs about the same as a Rodie the balance is so much better it feels like your on a 650 V-Star when you pick it up.

Throttle response is amazing at any speed, all you have to do is hang on. cornering is really enhanced by the 210 Metzler rear tire.

I agree and disagree about the pipes, I kind of like them, prejudice I guess , but would like a bit more throateness out of them. I run RoadHouse Duelies on my '03 Silver Edition Rodie and love the sound. Yamaha already has after market pipes, but I think it takes away the style.

My2c

Hey guys,

I am very close to buying one of these Red "S" models for $14k OTD depending on what they will give me for my trade in.(04 meanstreak)

One of my biggest concerns is how many miles between gas stops. I know it says 4.1 but we all know that does not mean squat. My meanie says 4.3 and I never put more than 3.6 in it after running out.

I also have the opportunity to get a dare I say it Harley softail custom for about $800 more than the Raider and it has a 5gl tank listed anyway.

Also how is the heat from the 113ci with no liquid cooling?

Thanks

Well , your talking to a Road star crowd here, and we don't have that particular motor. My buddy has had his Road liner for around six or so months (same motor , with a few differences I'm sure), and he loves it. Here's what I can tell you, I've run mine down to the point were when I did finally find a gas station , I pumped in 5 gallons. Not sure 'bout the Kawasaki , don't have any experience with them. Yamaha knows how much fuel they can hold. The heat factor is really a non-factor, as I've found that my L/C bikes cooked me to death when the fan kicked on at red lights , man was I ready to get going. That doesn't happen with an air cooled engine. And as for reliability , they go on forever with proper service. As for the Mileage , that will depend on a lot of things. Weather , landscape , right hand (that's the joker you got to watch out for ) , but you may do well to get on a Raider Specific forum , and ask a few questions there. Finally , as for the Harley , you really need to buy the one you want, because if you buy one , all the while wanting the other, you WILL be disappointed. Price really isn't the issue here , so.... Just a few thoughts. BB

Sorry I thought I saw a few guys in this thread who said they bought one. I cannot seem to find a forum of Raider owners.. Thanks for the help though I am leaning towards buying it very very soon

nhzoso,
If you're going down even slightly thinking about going down the Soft tail path... let me share my experience last summer...
Me and the misses had our V-star about four months and I was a little disappointed with it on a two-up... I got it from the HD dealer in town and he said I could trade the "V" for a soft-tail any time and he'd give me everything I paid for trade... I was tempted, but we were heading up to her family's for a couple of weeks so I decided to rent a Heritage for a week to see...
What a great decision I made. The soft tail had 3200 miles on it when I picked it up... Coming from the "V" (with pipes and jets) I didn't notice any more power, it sat heavy on the road, and because of the EFI (and the last renter using regular gas...) it pinged, knocked and pre-detonated the whole week... (I ran five tanks of High Test in it...) I put a thousand miles on it, in a week, and after the second day, it took a good nights sleep to get the "top end" clatter and cam noise out of my head and the pipes and engine heat cooked us both! (but, only on one side..) When I took it back to the dealer, they did there "return check-in" and asked me why I didn't put a quart of oil in it... (To which I replied... "Hey, I bought the insurance on it... I was tempted to use it"!) They weren’t happy and neither was I...

Long story short, I got back home, jumped on my "V" went to the dealer and bought my Road Star... I've been a happy camper ever since!
IMHO

Hey nhzoso
Try here - http://forums.delphiforums.com/RaiderMC/start

The Raider is an awesome bike, my Dad just bought one and he loves it, I love it too but really prefer my Roadstar to that bike because of the layout of everything on it and besides My Bike is Paid for!

I went on a rode trip with a couple of friends this weekend and put 345 miles on Saturday and I have to say the Raider has got SICK power in all gears. It's amazing how sensitive the throttle is, turn it an 1/8th of a turn in 5th gear at 55mph and your at 90mph in what seems to be a heartbeat, it's just unbelievable. I can't say enough about this piece of machinery, a test ride just doesn't do it justice. Once you have taken it on the rode and put some serious miles on it do you truly begin to appreciate the engineering that went into this ride, it handles like a dream.

I love my Rodie, but I'm quickly starting to love the Raider.

Oh, mines paid for too, my wife bought it for me for my birthday last week.