Motorcycle Test Drive
Boss Hoss BHC-3 ZZ4
From Boss Hoss Phoenix

by Kirk Johnson
Jan 2006
Price as tested $36,000.00 (priced as a demo)

Boss Hoss Cycles, Inc. was established in 1990 when Monte Warne, the founder and president of Boss Hoss Cycles, Inc., created his first Chevy V8 powered motorcycle in his 5,000 square foot shop in Dyersburg, TN. Monte, a commercial aircraft pilot and degreed aviation airframe and power plant technician, was the first to design a V8 powered motorcycle that has a traditional cruiser motorcycle style, look and feel. This was accomplished by his unique approach to the motorcycles single speed (one gear) transmission design. The right angle drive transmission allows the length of the bike to be kept to a minimum and the engine-mounting inline with the frame made for a well-balanced design that is unequaled by any other V8 powered motorcycles.

Over the past thirteen years, Boss Hoss Cycles, Inc. has grown from its humble beginnings in Monte’s shop to a 22,000 square foot manufacturing facility. The product line has also grown from the conventional two-wheeled motorcycle to include three wheeled vehicles commonly referred to as trikes.

The product has seen significant improvements over the years through the R&D efforts of Boss Hoss Cycles’ in house engineering personal and specialty contractors. Features like a 2-speed transmission with reverse, inverted front suspension, vacuum formed body panels, investment cast structural frame components, and many other specially designed components have helped improve the rigidity and ride of the Boss Hoss motorcycles.

About the Bike

The Boss Hoss BHC-3 ZZ4 that I rode was upgraded with a performance cam. According to Jeff with Boss Hoss Phoenix, the HP of this little V8 was rated at 385 HP and 405 fp Torque at 3,500 RPM. ZOOM! Can’t wait to ride it. The motorcycle weighed in at 1,100 pounds and had a two-speed transmission and reverse with belt drive. It also had a complete set of gauges. That includes water temp, tach, oil pressure and speedometer. Plus it has an off/on switch for the fan for hot days when you are in stop and go traffic. When we picked you the motorcycle for the test ride, it was on consignment at Hacienda Customs.

Test Ride

WOW what a ride. This Bull had horns. After I swung my leg over the beast, I then realized how big this machine really was. The first thing that I did was set the bike up to see how heavy it was and then I wanted to move the handlebars to see how much movement there was for turning and how hard it would be to move them. The weight was not a problem because of the low center of gravity, and surprisingly the handlebars turned rather easily.

The next thing I did was fire up the beast. WHOA! When the engine started and you gave the throttle a small twist the torque from the engine made the bike lean to the right. Wow, this was not your standard ride. Then when you let up on the throttle the bike would want to lean to the left. Jeff assured me that you would not notice this when you are riding down the road.

The sound of that V8 was the sweetest sound. You could hear every cylinder fire. It was not loud, just sweet. The deep rumble of the V8 with a hot cam and ruff idle made the hairs on my back stand out. Not every kid on the block has one of these bad boys. Now what is it like to ride?

Jeff joined me on the ride, riding the Viper V10. Jeff started up the Viper and headed out of Hacienda’s parking lot so I know it was time to get underway. I started to grab for the clutch, but to no avail – there is no clutch lever. I just pushed on the shift lever and the bike was in gear. With a slight twist of the grip the beast was under way. Damn, I love the sound of that V8.

I followed him out of the parking lot with ease. Aside from the feeling that I am sitting on a bull, you do not notice the weight of the bike. It rides so smooth and turns with ease. We started down Scottsdale road from Hacienda Harley-Davidson and found that this beast was not a beast at all. It was so smooth that I thought I was riding on carpet. No vibration, easy to handle and the sound - oh the sound of that V8 is still with me.

After a little time on the bike I wanted to explore some of the power that it is known for. Never got any real room to find out a lot about the power since there was traffic so I told Jeff “let’s head over to the 101.” He nodded back “OK” with a smile and turned left on Shea towards the 101.

After spending about 5 minutes on the bike, I decided that this is really a great riding bike. I had a little room to play with the throttle on the way over to the 101 and twisted the grip pretty good a couple of times. Interestingly, this bike does some serious zoom, but unlike the turbo v-rod or the Buell or other fast bikes that I have ridden in the past there is no screaming engine and grabbing gears. The decibel level from the exhaust increases a little and the bike just plain zooms. No vibration, no gear shifting, just the sound of that V8 and zoom.

Now, we finally get to the 101 and turn onto the on-ramp. That is when my heart was broken. The 101 was a parking lot. Bummer. We were committed, so we rode down to the lot and got in line. Although disappointed about the parking lot, I was happy to find that this beast handled great in stop and go traffic. You do not really notice the weight or how big the bike is.

After getting into the exit lane to Raintree, I was able to twist the grip. The V8 sat up and screamed down the lane without a lot of noise. I twisted the grip very slowly to the limit. I didn’t know if the rear tire would break loose or not. It never really did, but at about 45-50, I could tell that the tire was slipping, or loosing traction. It was so subtle, not smoking or wild, just smooth and mind boggling fast acceleration.

Smooth as silk. You can go, I guess, up to about 80 or 90 in first. Don’t have a clue what you can get out of second. Basically you have one gear, first, for town and second gear for cruising. I never really needed second, I just wanted to see what it was like. You just push down on the shifter and automatically the transmission shifts and the engine RPM goes down significantly. I am sure I do not want to find out the top end limits. According to Jeff, the bike is capable of high 8s or low 9s. That is amazing for how soft and quiet it is for that kind of acceleration and only two gears. After the short ride back towards Hacienda, Jeff said he had an appointment he had to get to so we headed back to the barn. Jeff told me to come back next week and I could ride the Viper. Check back for the fastest ride in Phoenix.

Summary

Quite, easy to ride, very very fast, and a fun to ride big bike. This is a must, if you ever get a chance to ride one, do it. You can take it for a demo at Hacienda Customs – where it’s a consignment bike. Go check it out and tell Larry or Ion that I said “hi.”

Ride safe

Kirk