2013 Yamaha Raider S
User Reviews
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Pretty Much A Perfect Bike!
By (I am an Owner) on Nov 15, 2021Was looking to upgrade from a 2004 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, which was an awesome bike, and grabbed a 2013 in 2021 with 985km on it, and put 6,000km on it over the summer. Coming from the Vulcan and a 07' Yamaha FZ1, I knew what power was, and what it felt like to ride an all around great cruiser, ... and the Raider didn't disappoint one bit! Just some preliminaries; I have the Cobra Swept Pipes, and the Mustang Seat with backrest-Added Willie & Max Revolution Bags and a Memphis Shades Pop Top windshield.
The Raider is one of the largest twins available, so low end torque isn't matched by many, unless your put 10K into your 114ci Harley or beef it up to a 122Ci for the same 10K? No thanks! I wanted dependability, low end grunt and a stable cruiser for myself and my wife once in a while, and the Raider is just about perfect in all of these areas. With a lower travel in the rear end, you do feel the road more than a plush cruiser, however the low centre of gravity makes the big super easy to ride down the highway. Low speed steering will require some patience and skill by veteran riders, who should be riding this bike. Not for beginners based on weight, low end torque, and tight steering attention at lower speeds.
With this bike (2013 & beyond) you have improved clutch ease, and a silky smooth gear box, that are all low maintenance due to Japanese engineering.
Unless I want to go two up all the time for long tours, I don't see why I will ever need to upgrade from this big? Will most likely have it for another 10 years and put 80-90km of relatively hassle free miles on it!
One happy Raider owner right here, which is pretty much the case for most owners of this well put together cruiser!
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