late 1990s vmax

[cookiedough]

anyone own one or drive one lately?

I drove one tonight for sale locally and had high hopes of adding it to the stable, but for some reason having to fiddle with the choke for 4-5 minutes when cold to let it warm up to idle somewhat decent and more so the high foot peg placement arching your knees upwards 2-3 more inches than I would prefer makes it sort of uncomfy to ride more than say 30 miles or so.  I would get kinks in my legs and I am only 5'10" tall, but not that flexible anymore, never was.

I did like the VBOOST at 6000 rpms kicking in doing 3rd gear over 85 mph in just a few seconds though.      Below 6000 rpms and it was just adequate/normal power.

Just felt like a kids hooligan bike and not many of us are looking like 20 year old kids anymore...

The engine and looks though just looking at it were ahead of the times for sure.  He showed me the fake gas tank upfront being the huge airbox underneath for the vboost air induction system as well as flipping 2 levers one each side of front seat flipping up the drivers backrest to expose the gas tank below the seat  - very unique indeed.   

[f6john]

I have heard that the first year model, 1985 I think, was like our Valkyries, just a wee bit faster than subsequent models. The first one I ever saw was at Beach Bend Raceway which was I believe in 1985. I’m not sure if I even knew what a V Max was at the time. I knew after that day what it was though, as it clicked off mid 10 second quarter mile times. It sounded completely stock but the the rider really knew how to launch a motorcycle.

[Cyclejohn]

anyone own one or drive one lately?

Hey Cookiedough,

I have not owned or driven a late 90s Vmax.........but..........

I bought a 2003 Vmax new in the summer of '03. I owned and rode that bike until April of 2015. My shop burned down and took that Vmax with it.

 In September of 2015 I bought a 2006 Vmax with 10K miles on it.

Vmax carbs in proper tune will want you to apply full choke when you thumb the start button. Immediately after cranking you will start lessening the choke down to about 1/4 keeping the RPMs to just over 1k for a minute or so (about how long it takes to put on helmet, gloves, and jacket). It's maybe just over 1/4 mile to the entrance to the subdivision I live in and by the time I reach it the choke goes off. No more choke necessary for the remainder of the day.

To get the 'most' power from a first gen Vmax you have to replace the stock head pipes with less restrictive aftermarket and then the carb tuning can begin. I don't drag race so the stock head pipes have done me just fine on the 2 Vmaxes I have owned. I have mounted aftermarket cans to the stock head pipes on both (Fokker on the '03, Supertrapp on the '06). From the factory in stock form a Vmax runs to the rich side. On both V's I increased slow jets 1 size and decreased main jets 2 sizes (because that's the way I wanted it and the spark plugs indicated it).

As far as 'below 6000 RPMs just adequate/normal', that made me smile. On a very 'heavy' day with rocks in my pockets and soaked with rain water I might weigh 145 lbs. . I would have no idea of the state of tune of the Vmax you rode or of your size but the fun on my Vmax starts well before 6K RPMs.

The stock seat is not comfortable for a lot of people. Every now and then a Corbin seat will pop up on the Vmax forum or Ebay for sale. They provide a better and larger seating surface than the stock seat does. There are a couple of guys on the Vmax forum that provide a custom re-do of the stock seat (you have to send it to them). I do just fine with the stock seat and have done several trips on it of over 1K miles.

Like you mention, it feels like a kid's hooligan bike. I'm an over 60 hooligan   . I think even when I am no longer able to ride I will keep it just so I can crank it up a couple of times a week and just sit back and listen to that V-Four (maybe blip the throttle every now and again).

There are aftermarket choices for different foot control placement. One option places the controls in a forward, cruiser-like, placement and they attach to the bolts that hold the front lower engine mounts. The other option is rear-sets like you find on sportbikes. The third option is fabbing your mounts. Stock position does me just fine even though now and then the outside of the pegs snag my inside pants cuff when I put my feet down at a stop (I haven't fallen over yet in 16 yrs. because of the snag thankfully).

I don't like the stock handlebars that come on the bike and have replaced them on both with aftermarket options.

Here is a video my son took with his cell phone a couple of weekends ago when we riding in the mountains. I am in the front on my Vmax and he is on my VTX1800.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK8cCEGdSEE&feature=youtu.be

John

[Earl43P]

Those VTX floorboards ought to knife-edged from the sounds of that ride.  Nice video!

[DGS65]

I test drove one in 85 it was a short ride because it scared the crap out of me I brought back and bought a left over 82 new in crate Varago.  Today I'm sure I would love that bike but I was much younger then and maybe 145lbs. 

[cookiedough]

wow,  2 riders on this board only 145lbs. , what are the odds???   

I am thinking if choke suppose to go off full choke in less than 1 minute some carb work still needs to be done on that bike.  Owner told me he messed with the carbs since were bad 2 years ago when he bought it from sitting 21 year old bike and 13K miles is all on it and believe it or not,  tires code date still on that thing dates 1001 (2001) - NO JOKE and had tad bit of very HARD tread left on rear tire probably 1000 more miles if you want to chance 17 year old tires.  I probably should not have done 85 mph that quick??   

Yah,  it never really was that fast until around 6000 rpms when the Vboost kicked in.  I would say fast but not wicked fast until 6K rpms then vboost kicked in and was very, very fast.  I would like it better if was 3K vs. he wants 3500 though...

[DGS65]

145lbs  was 65lbs ago and about 30 years.  This was the only bike that has ever scared me and now I would love to take for a ride again!