I think I've had it now about a month. It's now legal and legit. Title, registration and insurance. Insurance is $75/yr, but I plan on increasing some of the coverage.

Due to the weather, I haven't gotten to ride it much. Been doing a lot of clean up and general maintenance. Still want to change out the clutch and brake fluid, but did the oil, coolant, and final drive.

She is cleaning up nicely after being neglected for a few years. I did some minor touchups yesterday, mainly spray painting the rear shock springs which had rusted over, and was surprised at how good she is looking. I polished the hell out of the engine scoops, and they look amazing. I was very reluctant, but I managed to find an OEM backrest for my wife for $280. They are all second hand at this point, but they usually go for $400 on Ebay.

Now what everyone wants to know. How does she run? First, I will reiterate that the original owner added a Stage 7 jet kit, which eliminates the V-boost. I shouldn't say eliminates, since it operates ALL THE TIME, versus the stock version which kicks in at about 5700rpm, and is fully open by 8000rpm.

This bike is everything I thought it would be. To put it bluntly, it bluntly hauls ass. The immediate torque from any rpm is amazing. It redlines at 9000rpm, but peak torque and hp are at around 8500. But just shuffling around in a higher gear and low rpm, any throttle input is immediate and intense. And it just sounds amazing.

There is not a gas gauge, and it only has about a 4 gallon tank. But the reserve switch, which I haven't used yet, is controlled via a switch on the right handgrip. I was given advice to just reset the odometer everytime you fill up, and start looking for a gas station around 90 miles. And as I said in my original post, this bike has 2 purposes, to go fast in a straight line, and put a big smile on your face. But at low speeds, it is very docile. At 600lbs it doesn't feel that heavy, since it has a very low center of gravity due to the gas tank and battery located below the seat, and it's basically an engine with a frame.

A cool substory. When I was growing up, CycleWorld did an article about trying to get 3 stock bikes, with minimal mods, to break into the 9 second 1/4mile barrier. It was the March 1987 edition. They had a V-Max, GSX-R1100, and Kawasaki Eliminator. They enlisted the help of the legendary drag racer, Jay Gleason. The V-Max succeeded with a drag slick, wheelie bar, and exhaust/intake mods with a time of 9.69 and 135mph. This was old school tech in 1987. Anyways, Jay Gleason passed away in 2017. I joined a V-Max forum, and asked if anyone remembered the article. Some said they had never heard of it, some said they remembered it, some said they still had the magazine, and one responded, "I have that bike sitting in my shed". THE BIKE, that Jay Gleason rode. The first gen V-Max was in production from 85-2007, and I'm guessing Jay Gleason is responsible for selling 75% of those bikes. Jay was a legend back in the day, and he created a legend of the bike.

CycleWorld did a follow up on the "Taking it to the Nines" article, and said the V-Max had "vanished without a trace". I told the current owner, it would be very cool for them to do a follow up story on his bike. The current owner actually owns a company that specializes in anything V-Max. Time will tell how it turns out...

I enjoyed my V-Max many years ago. Outrun almost everything in a straight line corners, not so much.

I got a few rides on the back of a friends V Max. His bike had a nitrous bottle attached by its previous owner. Cant imagine it would need it. Some of his parts were flood damaged and lost for good. Dont know what ever became of the rest of the bike.

tleddy,

I wanted a cruiser style bike. I'm past the sport bike phase of my life. I'm content with "shuffling" down the boulevard, knowing I have a can of whoop ass I can open at any moment.

I've been in love with this bike since 1985...

David Lee, supercharged V-Max with nitrous.

"What's this switch for?"
"That's for the nitrous."
"Um, ok. I'll just leave that off".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ4ARDRUlFA

Bike looks great. Now its time to step it up with a twin turbo mod.

We'll just leave that off..

I seem to remember when they first came out it had a claimed "125 hp". I remember thinking, OMG. That would be nice.

I remember sitting on one in a showroom and being told the gas tank was a mock up and the tank was under the seat.

4 gallons.

24 mpg claimed. Wait. Whut?

Got off and never looked back. I'm not anyone for being stranded somewhere, even if it's an hour from home.

Absolute, unadulterated straight line fun.

Don't kill yourself.

I miss the HECK outta mine, it’s a brute and straight line blistering fast. I would kill my self today. Enjoy and be careful.

Bigdeal, very impressive machine. What are the details?

I don't plan on doing anything with this bike, other than cleaning it up. The original owner, was an airline mechanic. My deceased brother was a pilot, so there was a sentimental attachment to this bike from the beginning. I told the sister of the original owner, it will always be "Jimmy's bike", I'm just taking care of it. I even included her and her other brother on the "V-Max journey", I've been keeping an album of the work I've done on it, and short stories about the bike. I doubt I will ever get rid of it, I was 13 when they first came out, and it took me 35 years to get. Next bike I plan on getting will be when I retire, a Honda Goldwing. But I'll hold on to the V-Max. In my eyes, this bike is a work of art. I can just stare at it. And the sound is indescribable. I plan on getting a custom license plate in memory of Jimmy, something aviation related. I couldn't think of anything, and we are only allowed 5 characters. I contacted the sister, and she had an idea of something that will work.

I had plans of getting my last bike to the 250hp mark. It was a '97 Suzuki Bandit 1200, which has the same engine as the air-cooled GSX-R1100's. Other than being expensive, there were many options to get it there. I was looking at a big bore kit, and nitrous. I totaled that bike in 2005, when I hit a deer. It has taken me 15yrs to get another bike, I just wasn't ready to ride. So to say my riding style is "cautious", is not an exaggeration. The cool thing about the V-Max, is it is just as fun to ride slow. It is an attention getter, you don't see too many first gen V-Max's around, and most don't have a clue what it is.

Stay safe on that bike. It looks brutal, and I am sure it is.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ASKSmith,

quote:

CycleWorld did an article about trying to get 3 stock bikes, with minimal mods, to break into the 9 second 1/4mile barrier. It was the March 1987 edition. They had a V-Max, GSX-R1100, and Kawasaki Eliminator.

I remember that article. Matter of fact, many years later a buddy of mine had a V-Max and I had a Gixxer 1100. Many rear tires were consumed. And he loved to do burnouts. The local bike shop that sold tires LOVED him. They always kept at least two tires on the rack for his bike. Guys in the shop knew when they heard him ride up that it was time to grab one off the rack. Acceleration on that thing is downright brutal. Only thing that came close to the feel of that acceleration was that Triumph Rocket 3. And it did that only due to having a 2.3L engine.

[V-Max]

Your garage looks like this now :

I knew a guy back in the early 90's with one and he had a love hate relationship with it. Loved most of it, hated the tiny tank. And the cost of tires that were rated to what the bike could at least theoretically do.

I’m so glad you are enjoying your V-Max! Riding a motorcycle is one of the greatest sensations on this planet.

The V-Max seems like an interesting bike. Lots of power and torque but with a relaxed riding position. Yamaha is pretty good when it comes to parts support. I was surprised how many parts we’re still available for my XS1100.

Nice, I always wanted one. I did own its baby brother though. A 1985 Maxim-X, it was trashed when I bought it at 30 yrs old, painting and polishing till I had a beautiful bike. It had a 700cc 5 valves per cylinder. It was violent at 10,000 rpm's. I will see if I can find a pic

Always loved the V-MAX. A brute of a purpose built bike. Mean and nasty looking with gobs of power for it's time. They hit the mark with that one. A timeless design I would still consider today.

Cruiser68,

Just keep your eyes open. I honestly wasn't even looking when I found my bike. A co-worker showed me a V-Max that was for sale locally. So I started looking.

When I first went to look at my bike, I did a walk around, and walked back to my wife. I told her I'm not sure if I even wanted to knock on the door. My wife commented we drove an hour away, so I took it for a test drive. And it ran perfect. We left, and I told the owner I wasn't sure, but I'd have to think about it.

It's a 2003, original owner, and 19,000 miles on it. But when the owner passed away, another family member "stored" it outside for several years. I did get ridden occasionally. That is hard to pass up, so I made an offer. I even explained to the sister, if they put some effort into it and cleaned it up, they could get more than what they were asking. And I gave them several examples of local V-Max's for sale around the same price range. The "original owner" is what sold it. I know a guy who is the 3rd owner of his bike, and it has 5,000 miles on it. They tend to get abused along the way. So knowing the original owner was an airline mechanic, and meticulous with his toys, I'm pretty sure he maintained it well.

My offer was that I would pay for a mechanic to go over it, and if anything major turned up, I could walk away. They accepted my offer. I gave them a little extra since they actually trailered the bike to my house, once everything was complete. One of the things that worked in my favor is they basically wanted it out of their garage, and they have a 22y/o son in the house who wanted to ride it. I don't want to stay I "stole" it, as I explained to them what I thought the bike was worth, and things that need to be replaced. But I got a hell of a deal. And the sister is happy that someone will love the bike as much as her brother did. Everybody is happy.

The sister also put me in contact with the other brother. He had the carbs rebuilt, and fork seals replaced in 2015. Tires still have the nubs on them, and the battery is a few years old.

I took it out for a short rip tonight, and I came home with a big smile. This thing is a blast. And I didn't even take it over 7 grand.

I was a Honda 900 F owner and always wanted the power of the V-Max. Never got in those days. Enjoy your ride and stay safe.

I had a different type of V-Max, a snowmobile. Bought a new 1997 Black XTC 600VMax in the fall of 96'. Just sold it two winters ago. Nice machine with lots of fun had.

Took one for a test drive when they first came out. Probably a good thing I did not buy one!
Very nice looking bike. Congrats and good luck!