tried my friends new Yamaha Raider S today, 1900cc V2 ..

.. and damn do I look good on that thing, lol

he's got a blue one, just like this:

2012 Yamaha Raider S picture: 417915 - Top Speed

some info and specs here:

2012 Star Motorcycles Raider S Home, information

surprisingly it was comfortable to drive despite its weight. Biggest bike I've been on so far, heh...

 

Those things are just dangerous. Don't ever dump it, you're asking for a broken leg if you do. Those things weigh a ton. Personally you'll never get me on a bike greater than 650cc.

 

every bike is dangerous if you dont know what you're doing.

I've tried some 2010 or so Honda CBR 600 and I wasn't impressed. I had to rev it past 12k rpm to start moving somewhat decent. This was a sports bike and I'm ~185 pounds. So for sports bikes my comfortable area is 900cc to 1L or so.

from the Yamaha V2 line I've tried a 950cc Yamaha, forgot the model year (06 maybe), and it was also heavy but you sit higher on that one and it wasn't so easy to drive, maybe not balanced so good as well, I almost lost it at one corner while going like ~10 mph.

This one however impressed me. I thought it would be harder to drive but not really, much easier than that 950 Yamaha. Of course dont drop it on your leg, lol, like any other V2 pretty much.

 

I'm just saying, have fun, but don't lose your sensibility. But I have a far less chance of breaking a leg on say, a 250cc bike that weighs only 200 pounds, versus bikes that are near a thousand pounds.
But I do disagree with your statement that you need 12k rpm to get anywhere. My "little" 500cc Honda Shadow really goes, and that at only 4k or 5k rpm. I'm not a whole light lighter than you either.

 

I can only imagine. That thing weighs twice as much as my Monster and I wouldn't want it on my leg either

 

Nice looking bike. I never got into riding cruisers, but my dream cruiser would be the Harley Iron 883.

 

Most bike wrecks aren't rider error assuming you have more than 2 years of riding experience according to stats, so a 400 pound or 800 pound bike should make no difference because few people dump their bike after their experience reaches a certain level. You could still have a bad lowside but even then it's often due to wet conditions or loose gravel, and not so much rider error.

That said, you can get smashed by the lady texting in her suburban on a 250 bike just as easy as you can on a liter bike.

And for city and even some highway, many people make do with 250 thumpers or twins! CBR250's have been selling like hotcakes in Houston since their release. And ninja's have been sold in cities since dinosaurs roamed.

"Big bike" is singularly an American phenomenon, probably since our country has a storied history with big displacement cruisers. But a good part of the rest of the world gets by with sub 500cc bikes in cities with more dangerous traffic than Houston. Having more power to escape a bad situation is good, but to an extent. How many people TRULY utilize full throttle on their bike on city streets?

And I don't think he meant he needed 12k to get anywhere on any bike, I think he meant he didn't like the nature of an I-4's powerband, since they all need to get wound up to move swiftly. I like the mix between the parallel twins and I4's, fav bike ever was a triumph street triple!