DivideOverflow wrote:and with the older ones going for under $4k.... it is really really hard to pass up. I really like the look of them too. A lot of reviews called the look "dated", but I dont see many other bikes that look like that, even old ones. I love the induction cowls too... mmmm.
How is the maintenance on them? Do you have to adjust the valves often? Are they more of a pain than other bikes? etc?
I was also looking for an older V-max in the $4-6k range and the closest one I could find was 200 miles away, when I stopped in at the dealer they had one used 05 anniversary edition with 1050 miles on it, it was #11 of 2000 (with a 3 year extended warranty) for $10500 + TTL, after a week of going back and forth I got the bike for $9095 OTD... not great but not bad.
Tom
"God give me patience, but give it to me now!!! D.W."
I ride with a friend who has a V-max and ride it quite often as we swap out while we are out and about.
The bike doesnt exhibit any twitchiness in the throttle like a sportbike as the motion range from idle to WFO is about twice the normal sportbike throttle travel.
I have never noticed any tendency to get "squirrily" when encountering bumps while cornering. If you do something stupid like grab a handfull of throttle while leaned over will get you dumped, but so will almost any other bike on the road today. The bike is capable of humbling a crotch rocket from a stoplight and I have seen a fat 60 year old do just that to a 600cc GSXR who kept revving his bike while waiting for the light to change.
The suspension isn't quite up to what is on the newer bikes but it is adequate as are the brakes. The "induction cowls" are actually covers for ancillary equipment that wouldn't fit under the "tank" which is where the airbox resides. The gas tank is under the seat.
If you want a bike that will happily putter around and can really haul a$$ when you want, then a V-max is a ride you will be happy with.
jmillheiser wrote:
I would love to see Yamaha update the Max with some refinement to its look (bring it up to date or ahead of its time again) and a state of the art engine with EFI and every other trick they use on the super sports now. Possibly a 200hp bike then.
looks like yamaha are ahead of you there:-
other bike forum wrote:England's Motorcycle News is reporting Yamaha has a new V-Max ready for production with a new 1800cc V-4 engine. According to MCN, one of the reasons Yamaha has not brought this bike to market earlier is a concern it will be too powerful.
The original V-Max was a horsepower brute for its era, but to make a similar splash today, the bike would have to make 200 horsepower or so. An 1800cc V-4 could reach that power level, but making that much power controllable by the average street rider presents significant challenges for any manufacturer.
If MCN is right, we could see a new V-Max announced later this year as a 2007 production model.
Don't give up.
Not now, not soon, not after being continually knocked down.
That is fantastic information. I'm happy to hear that about the throttle travel and the handling. It is hard going off what the reviewers say, since they are expert riders and get to ride absolutely everything. What might not be adequate handling for them is probably more than adequate for me.
I still haven't heard anything about the maintenance on them. Any owners care to fill me in? How frequent to the valves need to be adjusted, the carbs balanced, etc? Is any of the maintenance tricky? I would more than likely be doing the maintenance myself, so ease of maintenance is very important.
Chip Beazley wrote:I ride with a friend who has a V-max and ride it quite often as we swap out while we are out and about.
The bike doesnt exhibit any twitchiness in the throttle like a sportbike as the motion range from idle to WFO is about twice the normal sportbike throttle travel.
I have never noticed any tendency to get "squirrily" when encountering bumps while cornering. If you do something stupid like grab a handfull of throttle while leaned over will get you dumped, but so will almost any other bike on the road today. The bike is capable of humbling a crotch rocket from a stoplight and I have seen a fat 60 year old do just that to a 600cc GSXR who kept revving his bike while waiting for the light to change.
The suspension isn't quite up to what is on the newer bikes but it is adequate as are the brakes. The "induction cowls" are actually covers for ancillary equipment that wouldn't fit under the "tank" which is where the airbox resides. The gas tank is under the seat.
If you want a bike that will happily putter around and can really haul a$$ when you want, then a V-max is a ride you will be happy with.
Regarding maintenance: These bikes aren't maintenance intensive. My friend does most of his maintenance himself. He has had to rely on the shop to replace the rear tire as he doesnt have the necessary equipment to change a tubeless tire. He has managed to mount the front tire with my help, but the bead on the rear is too stiff for us to get on with the standard tire tools and we are leary of damaging the rim with any mor concerted efforts.
The carbs are relatively easy to balance (#2 is the master) and he has checked the valves several times but only had to make any adjustments one time.
The biggest problem he had with the bike was some air leaks in the areas where passages were plugged during the carb manufacturing process were causing a rough idle or idling on 3 cylinders only. THese look like a small BB or piece of brass rod pressed into the body of the carb. He coated all the manufacturing plugs on the carbs with a dab of epoxy and the bike idles very smoothly. It took him a while to find this after a trip to the dealer (which he abhors to do) yielded no results. He found the problem while spraying the carb passages with carb cleaner and saw some spurt out around one on the BBs that was supposed to be blocking off a hole where they drilled a passage. Happens that this was an air passage in the idle circuit. No wonder it was only idling on 3 cylinders.
The general maintenence is not too tricky, however i did have some issues in finding parts. Specifically, a CDi unit. This was mainly as it was a japanese import which are notorious for being tricky to locate things for!
Other than that, i had very few problems to deal with.....
Don't give up.
Not now, not soon, not after being continually knocked down.
I don't find mine having a twitchy throttle at all. Max will, however, slide you back in the saddle if you open it up fast. 600 pounds accelerating that quickly, and you feel it all. Great rush.
That being said, mine is for sale. It's a '97, which has bigger forks, bigger brakes and a spin-on oil filter, all of which the older bikes do not have. $5,100 bottom line. I know a good shipper, too, I believe they are based in FL. Just used them for my wife's new bike, $395 from NY to WV. Check the classified forum here, I posted it there.
