Deeper Comparison

Sirrush99 said:

My first post. Love the forum. I have been looking forward to buying a Stryker for months now. But I came across a Raider at a great price. But after plenty of research, I am actually very lost as to how or why a Raider is a better bike than the Stryker. It seems like the bigger engine only makes the bike an unoticeable bit faster than the Stryker; based on the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times I have found. Clearly it has more torque and HP but why are the numbers almost identical. I ask because on paper the bigger engine doesn't seem to equal better performance.

I am interested to know what I am obviously missing. My intentions are to ride with a passenger at times and on long trips. I like the looks of both bikes equally. So performance and comfort are the deciding factor here. But I am not seeing a difference in performance or comfort that justifies the extra cash. Any input would be appreciated.

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Maybe I can give a honest personnal opinion since I also own a Roadliner S (which is for sale) and its the same motor as the Raiders also. I rode the Raider several times way before I test rode a Stryker. Im 5'6" and when I first test rode a Stryker I fell in love with it. It handeled easier and of course that 100 lbs lighter makes the Stryker more flickable in my mountians where I live. They both have the same rake but you feel the handle bars pull in alot more on the heavier Raider in the very slow turnes. I will miss the bragging rights about owning the biggest mass produced AIR cooled v-twinn made by Yamaha, but thats okay. The strykers motor is quicker reving and more responsive than my Roadliners air cooled engine. The heat in stop and go traffic on the Stryker is not a issue. On my Roadliner the heat on the right side can cook your leg as the oil tank is right there. Also the Roadliners engine will vibrate at higher revs, some thing you will get tired of when rideing it hard in the twisties. The Stryker has a wider rev limit and way smoother ride, only some slight vibe's in the foot pegs and the Strykers higher rev range makes it easier for ME to ride the twisties and feels more of a v-twinn sport bike with the wider RPM range. The Raider and Roadliners do give better gas mileage than my Stryker so far, no big deal. also the Strykers engine is ALOT quieter because it is water cooled and water mask's the valve train noises. Working on the Stryker is so easy , oil changes are a breeze, alot easier than the three drain plugs on the Raiders, Liner motors. Now as far as performance goes,the reason the Stryker is almost the same in 0-60, ect, is because of the 100 lbs lighter weight and the quicker reving engine. I can tell you this. On a top end race the Stryker will blow away my Liner mod for mod. Im not steering you away from the Raider, I love the Raiders engine design, I think the big air cooled Yamaha v-twinns are the most beautiful built engines on the market today . Im a motor head ,so it may be just a personnal opinon on thier design,lol. So yes Im giving up the "I have the biggest air cooled motor mr hd, so take that". But its okay, lets just say my new Stryker already has proven its self bone stock against the last hd I raced,lol. Im also very pleased with my Stryker as far as a two up rider. Its is VERY stable at highway speeds, just as my Roadliner is. The lighter weight does not give up in that area at all and not bothered my side gusts of wind.I said it before in another topic . My Stryker is not as classy as the Roadliner,Raider,Warrior,Roadstars because it uses alot of plastic stuff and the motor is not as beautiful. But I can live with that, plastic is lighter,lol. I just orderd the Cobra power flow black air filter and the Cobra Tri flow exhaust and the EJK tuner. I should have it all together next weekend. To some it up. The Raider is a beautiful bike in its own rite.But for me the Stryker won in the end, smoother engine, lighter on its feet,just a quick but faster on the top end (if thats your thing), easier to manuver around. Fits me like a glove and I felt it has a better controlled syspension from the factory. I Hope this honest opinon of mine helped some:wink:.

toby said:

Pound for dollar maybe, but, pound for pound the Raider motor is 550 more cc than the Stryker.

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I can't agree on that. Case inpoint. If you do the same mods on a raider as the Stryker you get around 97-100HP on the Raider with its 113 cubes. On the Stryker your at 78-80+ hp according some some who have been dynoed with the same basic three mods. So for 80 cubes your getting 80 horse's. The Raider would have to be at 113 horse's. Tq of course would be alot more simply because of the bigger cubes of the Raider. Torque is off the line, Hp keeps you there,Hp is a by product of TQ. My Roadliner had a slipon pipe, modded air box,Cobra auto tuner. It ran very good. But a GPS'T top speed was 124MPH and the gearing is alot shorter on the liners and Raiders. Both bikes are not geared for the highway, they rev very high at 70MPH for a big 113 cubic inch motor. 3,200 RPM'S is pretty high at 70MPH and that is another reason they are quick .I was doing 120MPH on my totally stock Stryker (corrected speedo healer I installed) two up. I pretty sure I had a little more to go . Im pretty sure owneing a Roadliner and its 113 cubes I do have some experience with its power. Stryker feels about the same, you just have to twist the throttle a little more,LOL. I love this motor in the Stryker so much I would not be suprised this winter if I remove the heads and have them ported and polished by Patrick raceing where I had my Roadstars big bore kit done. I will have my Stryker dynoed as soon as I can after I install my Cobra Tri flow pipe, cobra power flow air cleaner and my EJK tuner ,which will be all on by next weekend. I just want to find a dyno that is at a lower elevation than my area, probably Atlanta area. If I can get 80+ hp from 80 cubes vrs 100HP from 113 cubes, that is cube for cube a better deal.:wink:.


I had done a "110" big bore on my 2004 Roadstar silverado because some guys in the southern cruisers I rode with called my Road star a SLUG STAR. Then I ripped apart the motor ,sent the jugs out to Patrick raceing (the Warrior champ shop) and had it bored to 111.36CC. I kept the heads stock except for the speed star springs. No porting of any kind. I did the speed star cams, 42mm side draft carb, barons big air kit, ported the stock intake myself, dyna 3000 inj. I did this all my self. V&H power shots. I dynoed on a hot day at 95.8HP and 119.56 TQ. I blew away the VTX'S in my group and to add insult I got beteen 50-55 MPG. They then called my Roadstar a torque monster,LOL. I know my Yamahas pretty good.

Im telling you guys that the Raider and Roadliner have very low gearing, meaning they rev at a higher RPM at any given speed way more than a big motor that they have should. Every guy on the Roadliner forum will agree. A 113 cubic inch low rpm torque maker that it is, should not turn about 3,000+ rpms at 70mph. The red line is only 5,200 rpm on these 1900cc bikes. I noticed my Stryker the first time I test rode one was, "holy crap this thing revs low on the highway for a 1300cc engine. I had replaced the rear pulley on my Roadliner from the stock 70 tooth to a 65 tooth pulley from a hardley. Many of the Roadliner guys did this. So now my rpms on the highway dropped to about 205rpms. But my rollon times from 60-80 were definitly slower. Im sure the 30 front pulley will help the Stryker's rollon performance. Im going to do the 30tooth swap after I get all the other performance stuff on my Stryker done first. Weird thing on the 113 engines. A lower rpm cruise on the highway did absolutly nothing to increase gas mileage for it. When I get my Stryker dynoed ,I will also get a fifth gear top speed run, this will give an idea of the difference in the 31 VRS 30 tooth pulleys. Most sport bikes are geared to high and the first mod is usually a front or rear or both sprocket changes. I Know , first thing on the FZ1'S I had was a rear sprocket change to a FZ6 sprocket. This did not effect top speed on these bikes. One thing is that we are lucky we don't have to get a new belt for the 30 tooth swap. On the Raiders and Liners you have to buy shorter belts with the swap.