As a risk manager, I remember during my demo rides last year wondering why Yamaha would even entertain the liability associated with this endeavor? Half way through the first ride, it hit me.
This sells motorcycles.
I took a hard look around and between rides even met and chatted with others. Everyone I met was an experienced rider. Some (like me) had no intention of buying a motorcycle. ALL made efforts to pick a type of motorcycle that interest them, but they didn't own. IOW - Yamaha knows that it may be able to get a first timer to buy the motorcycle just by looking at it in the showroom. But if they want the repeat business or the competitor's business, they have to let these potential customers try the merchandise. There was no hard sale after the ride. The salesman approached me, but it seemed he really just wanted a Gen I FJR riders' opinion of the '14 ES. I gave him some perspective that came from somebody that has ridden 75,000 miles (40K on an FJR). For kicks and giggles, I let him appraise my bike for trade in, but I made it clear even before the demo ride that I wasn't buying anything that day.
They mitigate the risk as much as they can (waivers, must have m/c endorsement, pre-ride safety meeting, ride leader to control the route and pace, etc), but otherwise, it is a win-win scenario.
BTW - for my BMW demo ride, the paperwork I signed effectively treated it as a "no-cost lease" of the bike. Under Louisiana law, my personal insurance would have been primary for general liability and property damage in the event of an accident. This is why BMW required me to provide proof of insurance for a personally owned motorcycle, in addition to my driver license. This was not the way it was set up for the Yamaha demo ride.