Shanan Malone, 38, who lives near Houston, didn't fear it, not quite.

"I was very intimidated by looking at it, to be honest," Malone said.

She was one of the thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts who have rumbled into Daytona Beach for Bike Week, which started Friday and runs through Sunday. Boss Hoss, which says it is the leading producer of motorcycles powered by V-8 car engines, set up a display in the Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway in hopes of convincing bikers to spring some cash for the bikes, which start at $35,000.

"It's pretty much just like any other motorcycle," Butler said

Yes it is, except for the chromed-up car engine, oversize gas tank and large tires. And except that the "small" Boss Hoss model weighs 1,100 pounds.

But Boss Hoss made a believer out of Malone, who usually rides a Honda Shadow Aero, which weighs in at only about 525 pounds and has a two cylinder engine. Malone was the only woman to drive one of the Boss Hoss bikes in an approximate three hour span on Saturday.

"It was awesome," she said. "I had no idea it would be that easy to ride. It was not scary power. It was controllable."

The Boss Hoss comes in two sizes, big and bigger. The "smaller" model features a 350-cubic-inch car V-8 engine which pumps out 350 horsepower while the 502-cubic-inch V-8 bike produces about 500 horsepower. Both high-performance engines are made by General Motors. The bikes come with a two-speed semiautomatic transmission with a reverse gear.

The Dyersburg, Tenn., company produces about 350 of the motorcycles a year. The company meets all emission standards for motorcycles in both the United States and Europe, said Rad Hunsley, chief operating officer. But Hunsley added that car engines are more efficient than motorcycle motors anyway.

Boss Hoss was started by Monte Warne, a Tennessee crop duster pilot who was dissatisfied with the motorcycles available on the market, so he decided to build his own -- with a V-8 engine, according to company literature. He brought two of the V-8 bikes to Daytona Beach for Bike Week in 1991. The rest is Boss Hoss history.

"Daytona is pretty much where everything got started," Butler said.

The typical customer of a V-8 powered motorcycle is over 40, has a four-year college degree, makes at least $50,000 a year and the children are out of college, Butler said.

Some celebrities have also bought a Boss Hoss. Jay Leno has one, a 502-cubic-inch machine, a large bike to match the comic's prodigious chin.

Charles Engelschjon, 62, is not a celebrity. The Ormond Beach biker was just enjoying Bike Week. Engelschjon said the pure bigness of the Boss Hoss was intimidating, but only until he rode it.

"It was a comfortable ride," he said. "It handled well. It was exciting and exhilarating."

Quinn Thomas, 40, of Greenville, S.C. and his cousin Dave Baer, 40, of Deshler, Ohio, both took demo rides, about an 8-mile circuit near the Speedway. Baer described the Boss Hoss as a "straight line" bike not as desirable for twisting roads but still a nice ride with plenty of go.

"Back home, I could get along with that bike real good," Baer said.

Thomas sounded less convinced.

"It's insane," Thomas said. "It's an exercise in wretched excess."

But then Thomas adds: "I'd love to have one. That power is addictive."