What would you pay for a 1985...

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KRBishop

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What would you pay for a 1985 Vmax that has been owned by the same person for over 20 years. Not only that but the person is a motorcycle mechanic who owns his own shop. The bike is in pretty good shape no leaks or anything like that and has 29000 miles on it. Needs a good cleaning. Tires are decent he said brakes and everything or all good and he recently put in a water pump and a stator. Said he would give it a full carb clean up as well as it has not been run a lot over the past year or so. Been sitting in his shop. It does have the original transmission. He said the problems with 2nd gear on those Transmissions was not actually the transmission itself but people not shifting properly. Has aftermarket pipes but everything else is pretty much stock except for the upgraded front aluminum wheel from probably a 95. he says its TurnKey and ready to go.
 
Forgot to mention it's got some Chrome pieces as well including the scoops and side panels. The bike itself is a dark grey color that looks like carbon fiber and it has a small windscreen
 
Assuming fairly decent condition probably 2500-3000 with a full exhaust (not slip-ons). I would think more but an 85 thats never had 2nd gear addressed would be a detractor for me.
 
Assuming fairly decent condition probably 2500-3000 with a full exhaust (not slip-ons). I would think more but an 85 thats never had 2nd gear addressed would be a detractor for me.


What exactly was the 2nd gear issue specifically?
 
I'm calling BS on him telling you it's people not shifting correctly as the cause of 2nd gear issues. It is the gear itself and the dogs have been revised. Also shift segment under sidecover also revised. I have five or so 85s so I will say $2k is a good price and much over $2.5 k is stretching it. If he does all he says and you are happy with how it it rides out, I give him $2,000. Good luck !
 
What exactly was the 2nd gear issue specifically?
My 85, specifically, skips a tooth or two while revving hard through second, usually right around v boost 6k rpm. If I go easy through second and short shift I'm fine.
I think the guy selling is being a salesman by saying it wasn't the tranny but the way people shift it, of course there is some truth to that but with as known as the issue is its a common problem on the earlier bikes you can't put that on every owner who has developed the problem.
As far as specifics on the problem I've read that it gets so bad that it won't even stay in gear.
Speaking from very recent experience make sure you test ride and take second gear to red line a couple different times. Otherwise assume it's bad and figure $1000-$2000 to fix depending if you do it or have someone else.
Best of luck searching for a bike, don't rush into it like I did.


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Fyi I paid 3100 for mine out of Portland Oregon, a decent price for the condition, except the second gear I should have paid maybe 1600 tops. So like I said take your time.

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I'm calling BS on him telling you it's people not shifting correctly as the cause of 2nd gear issues. It is the gear itself and the dogs have been revised. Also shift segment under sidecover also revised. I have five or so 85s so I will say $2k is a good price and much over $2.5 k is stretching it. If he does all he says and you are happy with how it it rides out, I give him $2,000. Good luck !

Thank you. Is the only way to fix to replace the transmission? I do have an 85 Parts bike that has a stage 2 transmission but he was going to take it in trade. Was going to offer $1200 plus the parts bike which is a solid bike with all the parts just hasn't been running in 10 years... but now I'm wondering if should keep that bike as well and offer $1800.
 
Thank you. Is the only way to fix to replace the transmission? I do have an 85 Parts bike that has a stage 2 transmission but he was going to take it in trade. Was going to offer $1200 plus the parts bike which is a solid bike with all the parts just hasn't been running in 10 years... but now I'm wondering if should keep that bike as well and offer $1800.
You gotta split the case and replace a handful of parts. Usually gears, shift forks shift drum. Some guys on here can do it in their sleep, but that don't make it easy.

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"That tire's only flat on the bottom!" Same line of reasoning, "second gear's acting up because of the owner's shifting."

Any issues at all with second gear not staying engaged, always!, and I wouldn't pay more than $800 as it will cost anyone taking it to an independent shop, probably $1500 or more to fix. I don't think a dealership would touch the job for less-than $2K, and they won't know what-all needs replacement until it's apart.
 
"That tire's only flat on the bottom!" Same line of reasoning, "second gear's acting up because of the owner's shifting."

Any issues at all with second gear not staying engaged, always!, and I wouldn't pay more than $800 as it will cost anyone taking it to an independent shop, probably $1500 or more to fix. I don't think a dealership would touch the job for less-than $2K, and they won't know what-all needs replacement until it's apart.
The Yamaha dealer in Eugene wouldn't touch mine, too old they said. The independent shop quoted me between 1800-2500. with the disclaimer it could be more. They don't see v maxs very often either. But yeah needless to say I didnt get a great deal on my 85. It's still fast and real clean otherwise.

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The early recall trans did have a different dog design and no spacing shim on the 5th wheel gear so a little extra slop in there. But it was actually a stronger gear and still used by the very high output engines built by places like PCW. That same design ran for many years in the 1300 ventures (at least through 93) so it's not inherently bad. Just for the type of riding that is done with these bikes it's not ideal and does tend to get worn quicker by poor or incomplete shifting at high rpm's.

The newer design is much better suited for this type of bike and riding style most have. Keep in mind that the recall was just on the early bikes so if it's a later production 85 it already has the right transmission in it.

What by chance is a stage 2 transmission?

Sean
 
Thank you. Is the only way to fix to replace the transmission? I do have an 85 Parts bike that has a stage 2 transmission but he was going to take it in trade. Was going to offer $1200 plus the parts bike which is a solid bike with all the parts just hasn't been running in 10 years... but now I'm wondering if should keep that bike as well and offer $1800.

What is a stage 2 transmission?
 
The early recall trans did have a different dog design and no spacing shim on the 5th wheel gear so a little extra slop in there. But it was actually a stronger gear and still used by the very high output engines built by places like PCW. That same design ran for many years in the 1300 ventures (at least through 93) so it's not inherently bad. Just for the type of riding that is done with these bikes it's not ideal and does tend to get worn quicker by poor or incomplete shifting at high rpm's.

The newer design is much better suited for this type of bike and riding style most have. Keep in mind that the recall was just on the early bikes so if it's a later production 85 it already has the right transmission in it.

What by chance is a stage 2 transmission?

Sean

So there was an actual recall on the 85? And only some of them? Do you have any more info on that? Suppose I can try to Google it. The way most are describing it in this forum is that it was all 85s and that any that didn't have the transmission touched means you're screwed! :) the guy said he used to own a Yamaha dealership so it could just be I misunderstood what he was saying because somebody like that would have to know about this "2nd gear" issue. Like I said he told me it was his personal bike for 20 years and he's had no issues. I don't really know the guy but I'm just taking him on his word and he seems like a nice enough guy and very well reputable.

As far as the stage 2 transmission this is how it was described to me from previous owner on the bike I currently own and is not running at the moment:

"In 85 the bikes power and shaft drive kept blowing 2nd gear. They didn't make and 86 version of the bike to correct that problem. The 87 came out with a new tranny and they called it the stage 2. Meaning upgraded."
 
The gentleman ddescribing the stage 2 and his reasoning behind it in my post above is actually a buddy of mine and not really a motorcycle guy so he could completely be wrong on what it was actually called!! lol. He was basically just saying that that particular bikes transmission was upgraded to fix the second gear problem. Whether or not it's referred to as stage 2 I have no idea
 
"In 85 the bikes power and shaft drive kept blowing 2nd gear. They didn't make and 86 version of the bike to correct that problem. The 87 came out with a new tranny and they called it the stage 2. Meaning upgraded."

I know that you were told this by the PO, but there IS an 86 Vmax. There are NO 87 USA Vmax's due to excessive # of bikes (there are canadian 87's though)
 
Another example of mechanical alternative facts. Sounds like the guy came-up with his own nomenclature about the running mod for the tranny. Other than knowing what engine #'s got the change, that's about all there is. These days, they probably do a better job of keeping track of what vehicle got a warranty fix. Once the change goes into the production line, that's it. I know of no such 'stage 2' designation. In the manufacturer's notes that the service dept has, they just mention that "year such & such had a change in the transmission to correct an issue with second gear, from engine #'s xxx to xxx." You may also be able to find info on the NHTSA website if it was an official recall.

Bottom line, I wouldn't pay over $750-800 for a non-running bike unless it had a lot of expensive parts.
 
The P.O. of my bike "seemed" like a nice enough guy too, but he straight lied to me about my bike
My inexperience and impatience was his gain so he didn't care.

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Another example of mechanical alternative facts. Sounds like the guy came-up with his own nomenclature about the running mod for the tranny. Other than knowing what engine #'s got the change, that's about all there is. These days, they probably do a better job of keeping track of what vehicle got a warranty fix. Once the change goes into the production line, that's it. I know of no such 'stage 2' designation. In the manufacturer's notes that the service dept has, they just mention that "year such & such had a change in the transmission to correct an issue with second gear, from engine #'s xxx to xxx." You may also be able to find info on the NHTSA website if it was an official recall.

Bottom line, I wouldn't pay over $750-800 for a non-running bike unless it had a lot of expensive parts.

Thanks. The non-running bike I only paid $500 for. The other one which is running great, has cleaned carbs, good tires, brakes, owned by motorcycle mechanic for over 20 years, sounds great and is in really good shape "looks wise" w/29k... the guy wants $2k. However, after asking here and and everyone pointing out the 2nd gear issue I am now on the fence. I am going to call him today and discuss again. He owned a Yamaha dealership in in the day so maybe I misunderstood what he was saying when I asked about the tranny.
 

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