Like its arch-rivals, Harley-Davidson and Victory, Yamaha has also found the lure of the factory chopper impossible to resist. Harley introduced its Rocker Softail earlier this year and Yamaha soon followed suit with the Raider. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Whatever, the Yamaha Raider, or XV1900, is a factory-built boulevard cruiser that owes its inspiration to some of the chopped and slammed creations produced by customizers like, oh, Arlen Ness, Roland Sands, Matt Hotch, Billy Lane and so on. True, most of these sheet-metal fabricators utilize Harley drivetrains, but so what? A chopper is a chopper, whether it’s got a Triumph, Yamaha, Honda, Harley or whatever engine.

But I digress. The Yamaha Raider has a wheelbase of 1799 mm, which makes it one of the longer bikes on the market. And it owes its considerable length to a front end with a 40 degree rake. By way of comparison, Yamaha’s Roadliner series - an equally substantial motorcycle - has a rake of 31 degrees, which is more in line with the majority of cruisers out there. I tend not to be a fan of raked-out front ends, and the Raider, it seems to me, is about as far as you can go without looking freakish.

Doesn’t seem to affect the bike’s handling, though. Keeping things in perspective, the Raider acquits itself fairly well through the turns. During a brisk ride on one of the few non-rainy/non-snowy days we’ve had lately, I was surprised time and again with how well this bike manages tight corners and sweepers. It’s definitely not a sport bike, by any stretch of the imagination.....not even close, but for what it is, the Raider handles better than it should.

Which seems to be kind of trend these days. More and more, we’re seeing flat-out boulevard cruisers that perform 100 per cent better than the bikes they emulate. I’ve ridden choppers in the past that want to fall over as soon as they’re presented with the slightest deviation from a straight line; as far as I’m concerned, they’re death traps, and the people that ride them must have some kind of death wish. Interestingly, Yamaha has even coined a term for the new Raider; it’s what the company is calling a "performance cruiser". Okay then.

At the heart of the Raider is an air-cooled, pushrod-activated V-twin, with four valves per cylinder and electronic fuel injection. It displaces 1854 cc and is mated to a five-speed transmission with a reinforced belt final drive. Kudos here for the shift mechanism, which is prompt, precise, and unequivocal. Aside from the fuel injection, this drivetrain is about as old school as V-twins get these days. Yamaha is claiming a torque output of 123 foot-pounds, with an estimated 100 horsepower at least on tap. This bike has all kinds of snap, especially in the mid-range, which I’m guessing is around 2500 - 4000 rpm. There’s no tach, so I’m just estimating engine rpms here. To quote the aforementioned sales rep: "the back end breaks away real nice."

Elsewhere, the Raider has a fat 210 mm rear tire, and carries 15.5 litres of premium fuel. Be prepared for the classic, insolent-looking, feet-forward and arms-outstretched riding position when you climb aboard. Seat height is a comparatively low 695 millimetres, dry weight is 331 kilos, and the Raider rides 146 mm off the ground. I couldn’t help but notice the absence of self-cancelling signals, and there is no gas gauge. For all its handling prowess, this bike is still a bar-hopper and less than comfortable over the long haul. Brakes are discs front and back, and not one of the bike’s stronger points. My bike was virtually brand new, and perhaps the pads needed to be broken in a little, but, either way, hauling down takes longer than it should with this bike.

I also was less than happy with its low-speed habits. In stop and go traffic, the power delivery is uneven and the bike doesn’t seem to like crawling along in low gear. Once the road opens up, it’s all smiles and chuckles, but trolling isn’t the Raider’s favourite thing to do, which is kind of odd, considering it’s target market.

My tester, a "Custom" version, was finished in all-black livery and is a knockout no matter how you look at it, but you can also get the Raider in blue or red. Prices start at $17,999.