Buying my first Vmax.

Hello Everyone.

I am hoping to buy my first vmax this weekend. I have the choice of two local bikes and I want to go with the slightly cheaper first. Its a purple 1988 with 10k miles, for 2300. I hope to talk the guy down a little bit still. . I have seen only pictures and they look good so barring any major defects I will probably snatch it up.

I spent some time browsing your awesome repository of information in the FAQ's and How To guides to get a feel for what kind of issues come up and none are glaringly terrible.

What I would like to know from you guys is hows the price for the bike I mention above?

and

The other big question is, what specific items should I be looking for when doing my inspection of the bike?

Thank you all and I look forward to joining the community.

Welcome to the forum Sam, where in New York are you?

An '88 with 10K averages out to less than 500mi/yr., that's pretty low. Sometimes those real low mileage bikes can give you troubles that stem from not being ridden....just something to think about.

Look it over good to see if there's signs of abuse....look under the ends of the footpegs for scrapes, under the exhausts for signs of having been dropped, handle bar ends, tips of the mirrors....that kind of thing.

Pull the air cover off and have a look at the air filter, pull the seat and look for battery acid spills from being dropped.

Take it for a ride, see how it runs. Check for 2nd gear issues by accellerating hard in second and letting right off...if it pops out of second that can be an expensive fix.

Good luck, any questions just ask.

danny

I am on long island, nassau county.

Mileage is a concern for me because when things stand they tend to die. Hopefully its not too terrible since the current owner says he drives it.

However, he does say one of the carbs leaks a bit due to a bad float, but he says he has new carbs on hand and they come with the bike.


How hard to should I rip it, up to what RPM?

I heard these things have hydraulic valve lash adjustment, is that true?

Saml01 said:

I am on long island, nassau county.

Mileage is a concern for me because when things stand they tend to die. Hopefully its not too terrible since the current owner says he drives it.

However, he does say one of the carbs leaks a bit due to a bad float, but he says he has new carbs on hand and they come with the bike.


How hard to should I rip it, up to what RPM?

I heard these things have hydraulic valve lash adjustment, is that true?

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I'm up by Albany.

An extra set of carbs is a bonus.

I don't think it's as much how high you wind it as putting stress on the gears....accellerate hard and back down hard. If it does pop out of gear get hold of Sean Morley....his banner is at the top of the page....he repairs a lot of these and can let you know what you're facing.

Valve adjust is a bucket/shim design...is that what you mean by 'lash adjustment'?

dannymax said:

I'm up by Albany.

An extra set of carbs is a bonus.

I don't think it's as much how high you wind it as putting stress on the gears....accellerate hard and back down hard. If it does pop out of gear get hold of Sean Morley....his banner is at the top of the page....he repairs a lot of these and can let you know what you're facing.

Valve adjust is a bucket/shim design...is that what you mean by 'lash adjustment'?

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If its popping out of gears I think it might be more work than I am willing to do. Plus I am sure the parts wont be cheap. I read that 85's had second gears break due to power, and half way through the production year they upgraded it.

What causes the issue you describe?

The bucket/shim is what I mean by lash adjustment. Someone told me these motors had hydraulically adjusted tappets. Basically that means I have to check valves on this thing one day.

Saml01 said:

If its popping out of gears I think it might be more work than I am willing to do. Plus I am sure the parts wont be cheap. I read that 85's had second gears break due to power, and half way through the production year they upgraded it.

What causes the issue you describe?

The bucket/shim is what I mean by lash adjustment. Someone told me these motors had hydraulically adjusted tappets. Basically that means I have to check valves on this thing one day.

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The slipping out of gear is caused, I think, by wear on the gear teeth, the fix is to undercut them which allows for better engagement.

The manual says 25K if I remember right, for valve check/adjust. If you're not 100% on what the seller is telling you for miles you may want to do it sooner.

You don't say how old the other bike is.
If it is post 92 it will have the 42 mm diameter forks which give you more possibilities for brake upgrades later on.


Have a look here for a few more things to look out for.

Yup, a '93 and up is usually a better buy than an '85-'92, because of the biggest Yamaha upgrades that happened in '93. Most noticeable if fatter front forks and bigger/better front brakes.

The second gear issue is expensive to fix, so as Dan-o said, just run it hard in second a couple of times (WOT) and if it doesn't pop out of gear you should be ok.

The valves don't have hydraulics. The camshaft pushes onto a shim inside a bucket, which in turn pushes on the valve stem. Bit of a PITA to adjust compared to the more usual adjusting screw/locking nut, but still doable easily by the home mechanic - I posted a whole thread with pictures on how it's done.

Yea, please do give us details on the other bike you're looking at, and hopefully we can help steer you in the right direction.

Other things to look out for:
- good/bad tires? Xtra expense... Good thread but dry rotted = bad tires btw.
- cosmetic condition? Tells a lot about how the owner cares for it
- check out the steering bearings if you can. Search here for 'the bounce test' - the easiest is to have someone sit way back on the pillion seat while on center stand to raise the front wheel, then let the handlebars fall to one side or the other and watch if it bounces off the stop. Also grab the bars and turn from lock to lock, feeling for play, roughness etc.
- any add-ons? If it has a full exhaust, stage 7, NOS or other performance mods, there's a better chance it's been trashed. I always prefer stock motor over tweaked.
- bring a flashlight and take a real good look inside the fuel tank. If you see any rust in there, you'll need to replace or treat the tank, and remove/disassemble/clean/possibly rebuild the carbs. Very doable but again more work and $$.

Oh, and welcome! This is most definitely the best Max place there is to be found online.

MaxMidnight said:

You don't say how old the other bike is.
If it is post 92 it will have the 42 mm diameter forks which give you more possibilities for brake upgrades later on.


Have a look here for a few more things to look out for.

Click to expand...

The other bike is a 2006 for $5500 which IMHO is a steal but has 22k miles. The pictures look like the clear coat on the aluminum intakes is lifting and the diaphragm covers on the carbs. Otherwise the guy says hes a dealer and brought it up from florida for someone but they never picked up. Who knows if its true without looking. Its a superb price I just dont know if I want to spend that much on a bike just yet. I dont ride that much to warrant an expensive piece.

I heard that pre-92 accept GSXR calipers and are a bolt on?

Thanks for all the tips naughtyG, some good ones like the steering stem bearings I would have never thought to check.

My biggest concern is, I spend 2300 on it and it falls apart in a season or two and im left with a pile of scrap. I'm pretty handy, built and tuned my own turbo system, restored the honda etc. But everything has a limit where its not worth fixing. Remember what im coming from a 74 CB360 with two drums, anything with power or real brakes is an upgrade. However I also dont expect it to handle or stop like a Monster.

If you can afford it, I would go with the '06. There is always paint or new skins later, but the newer the bike, the better. It will just make it easier to mod in the future, and not near as much to fix now.

Not sure how far it is from you but have you checked other areas close to you or maybe a little further out ? There is a 98 V-Max in New Jersey Craigslist that is done up with a Stage 7 Jet kit and UFO custom exhaust with only 13,000 miles and he is asking $3,995.00 as of 9/22/10. Bike looks clean . Just a thought. Later Kurt

welcome to the forum man, good luck on your potential new bike, gotta post some pics for us if you get it. not that its a big deal to tune when you get into it but will let you know the condition the owner kept it in, do the 4000 rpm test, think its 4th gear pull. check if there is a stumble or anything or just pulls strong. hold it there and then wack it wot.

This time of year , this economy , I would offer $ 4 K and see if you get a nibble on the ' 06 . After inspecting & testing, you can walk away or lower the offer .

Pre-92 needs adapters to fit better brakes ( available, but not cheap )

Maxnos1198 said:

Not sure how far it is from you but have you checked other areas close to you or maybe a little further out ? There is a 98 V-Max in New Jersey Craigslist that is done up with a Stage 7 Jet kit and UFO custom exhaust with only 13,000 miles and he is asking $3,995.00 as of 9/22/10. Bike looks clean . Just a thought. Later Kurt

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Nice find, I emailed the guy to find out where in Jersey he is. If hes not to far ill grab a trailer and go get it.

I havent looked passed NY and North NJ really. Something close by.

Its a tempting buy but im still on the fence about spending a lot of money. I really don't want too. I'm kind of on a tight budget. I know cheap and reliable should never be used in the same sentence when buying used, but thats something I am trying to find.

Rollie said:

This time of year , this economy , I would offer $ 4 K and see if you get a nibble on the ' 06 . After inspecting & testing, you can walk away or lower the offer .

Pre-92 needs adapters to fit better brakes ( available, but not cheap )

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Thats exactly what I did just now

It would be kinda crazy.

Saml01: Man, are you in for a shock the first time you open the throttle. I'd recommend you do it in 3rd or 4th the first time. No matter what year you end up getting, please be safe and very cautious about when and how far you get into the throttle. It'll be like going from a Volkswagen to a Ferrari in one giant step. Three of my riding buddies have gone down hard in the past month. Not through their own mistakes, OP's stupidity. Please get to know the VMax Monster before you get too crazy.

I have a 94, wish I'd gone a little newer to get the spin on oil filter without having to add it. 96 and newer came with it.

Good Luck on finding a Max and welcome to the obsession...

Thanks for the words of advice. Its not my intention to become a smear on the tarmac. Luckily I have plenty of gear so I should be relatively safe..err.

I am still leaning toward the cheapest option for a bike, is there really something glaringly bad about getting an old bike if one drives carefully?

I recognize issues regarding chassis flex and poor brakes. Otherwise anything else terrible?

Saml01 said:

Thanks for the words of advice. Its not my intention to become a smear on the tarmac. Luckily I have plenty of gear so I should be relatively safe..err.

I am still leaning toward the cheapest option for a bike, is there really something glaringly bad about getting an old bike if one drives carefully?

I recognize issues regarding chassis flex and poor brakes. Otherwise anything else terrible?

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Hell no, the gen-1 is a great bike....nothing unsafe or dangerous about it....well, no more or less than any other powerful bike. You sure wouldn't find a group of dedicated followers as large as this if it did have 'tragic flaws.'

No need to worry, you'll be fine with one.

I would want to drive it 20 or 30 miles at least, after warming it up. Start from low rpms and slowly rev it up and shift and do it again. See if there is any hesitation or surging. The carbs on these bikes gets gummed up easily if they sit too long. Carb rebuild is around 175$ - 200$ not including parts. I got a 1994 Vmax. My carb rebuild cost me the 175$ plus 75$ a piece for rubber diaphrams (likely to wear out on an older bike). thats 75$ times 4 carbs. then i had the gasket kits to buy and any jets i needed to change. As you can see carbs can cost quite a bit to rebuild. The 06 may get you carbs in better/newer shape. I should have drove my bike more when i tested it out.
If it revs smooth and shifts good then it should be a decent bike I would think.

I went from a 85 Suzuki Intruder 750 to my Vmax....I showed up at the guys house to buy mine and he said he'd go get a helmet for me to try it out...I started to shake..hahahah. Here's this 120 horse monster that isn't mine and hes just gonna let me take it for a test run...I knew I had to to see if it worked ok, but I had never drove one before...haha. He says, I think it needs a tune up but most people that drive it says it needs a detune. By now I'm scared to drive it. Anyway I put the helmet on and he jumps on his bike to follow me. He says "We'll go out on the highway so you can open it up!" By now I don't want to even start it hahaha.

We go through some little streets and im grinning and havn't left 1st gear..We get out of down and get into some rural roads..Im in 3rd now and grinning more, then we hit the highway. He waves me by and I rip 1st and 2nd by him and by now am doing 120kmh..3rd and 4th came with no Rpm then I hit 5th. I pulled over to the side of the highway and he pulls up beside me and says "whats wrong?" I said "Nothing! lets go back, I want this thing!

Going from any older bike or even a newer smaller cc cruiser to a max is unreal! They'll be no going back once you get whatever one your looking at. I'd say the first ride and the bike will be paid for!

Hey there's nothing wrong with an older bike as long as it's been looked after. Mine's an '86!

However, I did wish I'd have found this site and shopped around a bit more before I bought it, I paid a high price for it (but just wanted it) and found the hard way about the bad steering bearings, rust in the tank, missing parts in the rear and front wheel assemblies and other surprises..

I am pretty handy with tearing into it though, and fixed it all myself. It is a great bike - there's nothing seriously wrong with mine, the motor's solid (over 45k miles now, bought with 37k on the clock) and the worse thing about it is the state of the engine paint!
I did my fair bit of work on it tho, from tearing through the carbs, replacing the fuel tank, battery, upgrading brakes and lines, ditching the coils for COPs and a bunch of other upgrades. Now I also need to replace my stator as it stopped charging, but haven't got round to it as I'm traveling for a number of months.