20th Anniversary V-Max progression

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reeseleblanc

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Location
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Hi all. Relatively new Max owner and lurker. I figured I'd start a thread to keep track of where my mod monkey decides to take me. :)

First off, here is a pic of the bike the night I brought it home. I traded my $3000 5-speed 525i BMW for it. It had 1400 miles on it. ;) The wife knew I was getting it, but had a "meh" attitude about it. As soon as I pulled up in the driveway, she said, "You're never getting rid of this bike!". LOL.

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One interesting thing the PO did was to coat the scoops in Line-X ( aka Rhino Liner) because the clear was flaking. Definitely a different look. I wish they stood out a bit more, but you can't deny the rugged look it gives!

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I've done the shotgun and peashooter cleaning methods, but the carbs are still a bit off from sitting as much as it has. I have popping during warm-up, and what feels like a lean area if I keep RPM< s around 4K while cruising. As soon as money frees up, I'm sending them off to get cleaned up for me.

I dropped the front end almost 1.5" to help with the heavy feeling during turn-in, and I also adjusted the head bearing per Morley's video. Much better than when I got it! Also on my list: upgraded springs, etc for the front.

I pulled the end caps off and drilled the 5 holes per side to give a bit more attitude to the sound of the bike. I went with 1/2" holes.

I took the sissy bar off since my 'new to riding' wife says she feels comfortable enough without it. I would like to find either a very short bolt-on grab bar to replace it, or get a factory one. That, of course, is hinged on what I decide to do with the rear of the bike.

I decided that I wanted something a bit shorter than the stock mirrors, so I picked this up from Cycle Gear. It was on sale for about $30. I like it. I might go pick up its mate, but I'm not having any issues with the single mirror, so probably not.

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Last night I decided that I wanted to clean up the rear tail light, but due to 'adult budgetary constraints' (read as: mortage, etc), I went with a pair of the LED trailer lights that can be found at WalMart. I decided to replace the reflector with one, but I used the second one where the stock light went after I removed the underbrace and the plastic.

I will probably add the circuit to allow brake and tail light functions in the upper one, but for now, I have the lower light set up as my tail light, and the reflector replacement being used as my brake.

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That's it for the moment, but I'm sure there'll be more to come as the opportunity comes!
 
Looking good. I sold a V-Max once and regretted it ever since. Now I have two one for me and the other is my summer project to fix up and sell.
 
I do like the look of your scoops, makes me rethink my paint choices.....damn monkey is callin! :)


David Justiss
USAF First Sergeant
 
Everybody's bike is "Their" bike to do with as they wish but I am torn about modding a 2005 if the changes are irreversible like drilling the exhaust. What a find though!, 1,400 miles on the clock, holy sh!t ! I'd kill for an Anniversary Edition, let alone such a low miler.
So far, everything done could probably be returned to factory with easy "bolt Ons" so a set of correct replacement scoops could be squirreled away and now an exhaust. Welcome to the Forum, I'm jealous of your bike and I hope your wife is correct.
 
Welcome and good find , Have you heard ? , the red ones are fastest!
 
I like the scoops as they resemble stone. Kinda the texture of pumice. Makes me wonder what some of the Photoshop guys could do for various types of stone finishes, paired w/the 'right' body color, I think you could end-up w/a very distinctive-looking bike. Maybe you could start a whole new fad like the 26" Big Wheel look the Harley boys love so-much now.

As-far as irreversibly modding parts, like Patmax said, I think there is some truth to that. I would have picked-up another megaphone set.

I like how the taillight pair works. I am not a fan of the 'under the duckbill rear fender' CBR taillight mod because of reduced visibility. Great for a custom look, but I want all the visibility from the rear & sides the stocker gives you. Yours is a good compromise.

Just thinking, the Rhino Liner is a good treatment if you had a scuffed scoop-get it smooth by whatever method you could make 'stick,' and then the Rhino Liner. You probably would never know it's there.
 
The only thing I would change is reduce the lowered front forks to 1" max instead of the 1.5". It is close to the point where a maximum stop using the front brake could cause the radiator to hit the front fender.

I would also like to have an all original 20th Anniversary model. That and an 85 are the two years I would keep completely stock. Or at least keep all the stock parts so it could be returned to 100% stock. It is a special model!
 
Great deal, you don't find many 2005 anniversary editions with 1400 miles on the clock. I know I would love to have it also.
 
Just wondering, is there any difference in the anniversary pipes and any other year? If not, it wouldn't be too hard to find another set (hopefully in as good of condition). I honestly didn't even think about the 20th being that rare overall. I guess I was mistaken!

Thanks for the kind words from you guys, especially some of you more senior members. I look at some of your bikes and just drool! LOL.

I'll see about raising the front a bit to avoid any radiator/other hard bits issues.

So far, the lights seem to be pretty visible to people behind me (either that, or drivers around here have started paying more attention to bikes. Naaahhhh.)
 
New photo of the bike as she sits now. I've just put a new 170/80-15 Commander II on the rear. I also swapped the bars out for diet bike bars. Close to the same height, but much less pull back. I like them, especially for $20!

Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I'll have a few body mods to install (faux tank, scoops, side covers, and talk section). After that, I'll be saving up for a new front fender and a belly pan. All of the stock bits will be retained in storage so I can swap out between different looks as the mood strikes.

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I have an OEM short grab rail if you're interested? I also have a few other OEM parts, like mirrors and such. Let me know.
 
So, I did a little work yesterday. I installed the RFID components I picked up so I can get rid of the key. No, there isn't any real practicality to it, but I like the idea, so here we are. LOL. Here is a quick video while testing it for the first time.

https://youtu.be/v0pCxOHjKQ0

Thoughts?
 
Update on the bike: I have all of the new bodywork on and painted. I went with Root Beer Metallic for everything but the scoops, which I painted Carbon Flash Metallic from the 2012 Millennium Corvette. I still need an extra front fender since I don't want to paint over my 20th Anniversary paint.
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