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allmost the fastest

I had a 1800 VTX (very fast bike). I now own a 08 Raider (faster bike). The only cruisers that will beat a Raider are a Triumph Rocket 111, a Susuki M109,Yamaha V Max, maybe V-Rod, I'm not shure about Triumph's 1700 Thunderbird, weight h/p and tq. ratios are very close. If some one smoked you on a ...VTX, he was either a better driver, had a heavily modified VTX, or somethings wrong with your Raider. On some of the early Raiders there was a problem with crossed coil wires. Mine was one. I found out about this from a web site Raider Performance. I had even had my bike serviced at the dealership and they did not catch it. After replacing the exhaust I noticed some back-firing, and after doing some research I discovered some early models had crossed coil wires. Since Yamaha never had a recall on this, it is possible that some bikes may still have this condition. With stock exhaust the back-firing is barely noticable and the bike still has so much power many riders would not know anything was wrong. Fix this and you gain maybe 20 to 30 horses. I have owned many motorcycles and the Raider is by far my favorite. Its a little heavy but so well ballanced it's not really noticable. First gear is a little short but thats kind of nit-picking. For Tim to down- rate the performance of the Raider because someone beat him with a VTX is not fair to these bikes. The Raider is a pure cruiser and exceptionally powerfull for this category. Some of the other bikes I mentioned that are faster than a Raider I feel are boader-line cruisers. My advise is if you want to race and you don't want to be beat maybe a cruiser is the wrong bike for you. Read Full Review

Raider s 2008 RED WITH THE FLAMES

This bike is the best buy out their speed ,comfort unless your ass is like ? what a great bike to ride , best bike i ever owned . what power and can turn on a dime . love it ride and ride Read Full Review

TORQUE MONSTER

Okay. Its the middle of 2011. I bought a 2008 Yamaha Raider "S" with python aftermarket exhausts and a few other goodies. Wow! This bike is quick. Tremendous torque throughout the range. I was looking for a cruiser that had a chopper style look without paying a fortune. This definitely... fits the bill. Lots of extra chrome with the "S" model. After riding this for a while the only thing I would recommend to improve the bike from a manufacturing standpoint would be to add a larger gas tank; after all it is powering a 113 cu inch motor and add a sixth gear to the transmission. It has the power to use another gear and keep the rpm at a lower revolution. Would improve the gas mileage to when running at higher speeds which this bike does quite well. Read Full Review

Raider Forever

I ride a 08 Raider S it has 16000 flawless miles on it.Cobra longshot slash cut pipes and about 4000 bucks of other add ons.Everywhere I go this bike draws a crowd even at the Harley shop.Yes even at the harley shop.If you ride motorcycles and not a name you would be cutting yourself short not to tr...y this bike,its that good.I will never sell this bike and I am 46 years old and have had too many to list.From dirt bikes on up from all makes and brands.I am 5'9" and it fits me perfect from long touring rides to hot rodding,single or with my better half,no complaints.There was another bike in my garage with 96 cube motor but after riding the Raider it just became too boring to ride it so I sold it and kept the Raider. Read Full Review

2008 Star Raider

Best Cruiser I have ever owned. I have 28,000 miles on it and it has never had any issues. Tons of power, fun and looks accompany this bike around town. Read Full Review