2015 Daytona Bike Week. Day 3 (demo'd VMAX, M109, Vulcan S)

[Erci]

Didn't get to ride too much today, since I was meeting a friend (a fellow rider coach from NJ who got to escape the cold!).. he got there late, which left us with slim pickings. Still had a good time though.

VMAX: (stock photo)

Yes, it's got lots and lots of torque and power. For me, that's where the good things ended. Did not like the ergonomics at all. The air scoops on sides of the tank force your knees out. If you want to keep knees in you have to drop them below the air scoops, which creates odd ankle angles.
I also found it to be incredibly top heavy.. perhaps the most top heavy bike I've ever ridden. And I guess it's a Yamaha thing: throttle tip in is quite abrupt (no worse than FZ09, but not much better).
If I wanted something ridiculously powerful, I'd choose Busa over this one without 2nd thought.

M109 (stock photo)

Finally got to ride this one. One of the smoothest cruisers out there. Loads of smooth low end torque and buttery smooth transmission (seems to be the norm for Suzuki.. so much smoother than Yamaha :don'tknow: )

Doubt I'd ever own a bike like this, but I enjoyed demo'ing it. I do think it's one of the meaner looking power cruisers out there.

Vulcan S (stock photo)

Just nothing to write home about. I suppose the brakes were quite good for a cruiser. Everything was just so-so. Kawasaki is the only manufacturer to do a stretch of highway on their demo ride. I got this thing up to a pretty good speed and it just wasn't that impressive. And the cruiser with no wind protection? .. at highway speeds your really feel like you're going to slide off things thing. Not my cup of tea.

 

[major tom]

You give concise, informative. reports and I agree with just about everything you say!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

The first motorcycle show in Idaho has given me an opportunity to demo a bike for about 20-25 minutes, which is much better than the 5 minute test rides at the dealership.

The Vmax, the bike I disliked the most out of the three Yamahas I rode today. The other two the FJ-09 and the FJ-1300. The front end is extremely heavy, and difficult to turn, even when you're rolling. The suspension was stiff. I also didn't like the fact that part of the instrument panel was on the tank, forcing you to look down and taking your eyes off the road. Your tach, speed and turn indicators are up high so that was a plus. But if you wanted to see how much fuel, your miles, time, etc, you had to look down.

I did try out an Indian Chiefton, the blue one. It was not bad. I liked that the instrument panels were up front, keeping your eyes up. I had problems with the shifter, my short ass legs had a hard time reaching it. I was told you could adjust it though.