Are 1985 Vmax's really the most powerful?

Almost every ad I see for 85 Max's claim that their the fastest and only year that had 145 hp, is this true or are they just mislead?

CustomMax said:

Almost every ad I see for 85 Max's claim that their the fastest and only year that had 145 hp, is this true or are they just mislead?

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To my knowledge all 1985 - 2007 vmax's are 145 hp, but actually 108 rwhp. You loose the hp with the power transfer from the crank to the rear wheel with the shaft drive.

CustomMax said:

Almost every ad I see for 85 Max's claim that their the fastest and only year that had 145 hp, is this true or are they just mislead?

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85-07 are all the same

EvilD said:

85-07 are all the same

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That's what I thought.but I had a 1984 V65 magna and it claimed 116 hp and I believe pee wee Gleason ran low 10's with it and although my Vmax feels like it has more raw power and accelerates quicker the V65 definitely had a higher top speed because of the overdrive. I personally had the V65 up to 165mph just ask the Pennsylvania state police ( lost my license for that one for a long time). And the V65 wheelied much easier and longer. I just wish my Max had a 6th gear, I'm constantly trying to upshift on the highway thinking I have another gear to go

CustomMax said:

Almost every ad I see for 85 Max's claim that their the fastest and only year that had 145 hp, is this true or are they just mislead?

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When I had my 85 everyone said wow, the 1985 Vmax was the fastest year ever! I just smiled and said, you know it:rofl_200:

2fear said:

When I had my 85 everyone said wow, the 1985 Vmax was the fastest year ever! I just smiled and said, you know it:rofl_200:

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I think that's how the myth continues,

Actually, when the 85 VMax was introduced, it was the fastest for a year.....:biglaugh:

There have been minor changes to a lot of the systems on the Gen 1 VMax's over the production years. God only knows what year may have had a slight edge over the others. I believe they rank about 25th in a Sportbike / Cruiser shoot out now and lose ground with each passing year.. It's the Gen II's job to keep up now. Except for one Gen I in Daytona with 203.XX HP..

Yea I saw that, that's impressive! But the gen 2 has it's hands full now too with the Diavel but as long as there's guys like us and help from the mod monkey the gen 1 will always be a cult classic. They may build faster bikes but none with the look, style and awesome hotrod sound that our precious gen 1's have.

There is no year that is faster than the others, it's all to do with the machining tolerances during any particular production run. There will be bikes turned out where certain critical parts are on the tight side of the tolerance range, some on the loose side and a few right in the middle.

This results in a noticeable difference in HP.

CustomMax said:

That's what I thought.but I had a 1984 V65 magna and it claimed 116 hp and I believe pee wee Gleason ran low 10's with it and although my Vmax feels like it has more raw power and accelerates quicker the V65 definitely had a higher top speed because of the overdrive. I personally had the V65 up to 165mph just ask the Pennsylvania state police ( lost my license for that one for a long time). And the V65 wheelied much easier and longer. I just wish my Max had a 6th gear, I'm constantly trying to upshift on the highway thinking I have another gear to go

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With ya' on that one. I was a V65 Magna freak for years, owned several.

The V65 "felt" faster and would wind to the moon, I think Pee Wee did a 10.60 on one somehow. It was about a 560 lb bike compared to our 610-620 lb Max. All the ones I had had the same speed wobble woes as the Max only worse, curable of course but back then I had no idea how to do that. The also all had the "cam consumption" issue and would eat the cam faces as well as having those fork shaped rocker arms (one cam lobe for two valves) that were easy to adjust thank god since they wouldn't stay in adjustment very long...I love the V65's and wish I still had one.......The Vmax should have an overdrive...But don't feel sorry for your Vmax, winding it out on the highway for hours on end will never hurt it. Just sounds abusive......Once I got on a Vmax tho' I was instantly converted.....I don't think a V65 and a Vmax, both in tune, against each with equivalent riders will ever have but one result...The Vmax will win......

Rusty

Actually...the '85s theorethically should put out more net horses than all the following years. (may it be only 2-5 horses)

If you compare "apples to apples"....which is stock off the showroom floor.

'85s had a less restrictive exhaust, and less emmision plumbing......my stock exhaust rumbled a lot louder than my buddys '02.

On the 1986 model they corrected the non-dot approved exhaust canisters and also....changes to the diameter of the V-Boost tubes which was increased from 30 mm to 32 mm....to compensate for the addition of new emisions for '86.

If you look in the service manuals, the '85 also run a few different jets in the carbs than the rest....and when I purchased my DJ stage 1.......the instructions and settings were different for the '85 from the other years.

Just my opinion....but I do agree that after a few mods, the newer models have the edge.

BTW we also should be faster....less weight with the flamingo leg front forks & single pod calipers......more aerodynamic because of our pressed VMAX on our side covers......and the 2 faced rear wheel...... among other things...
Yes...the '85 is the fastestunk:

Yes the 85 Max is the fastest! Just ask anyone who owns one. :rocket bike::rocket bike:

Rusty McNeil said:

With ya' on that one. I was a V65 Magna freak for years, owned several.

The V65 "felt" faster and would wind to the moon, I think Pee Wee did a 10.60 on one somehow. It was about a 560 lb bike compared to our 610-620 lb Max. All the ones I had had the same speed wobble woes as the Max only worse, curable of course but back then I had no idea how to do that. The also all had the "cam consumption" issue and would eat the cam faces as well as having those fork shaped rocker arms (one cam lobe for two valves) that were easy to adjust thank god since they wouldn't stay in adjustment very long...I love the V65's and wish I still had one.......The Vmax should have an overdrive...But don't feel sorry for your Vmax, winding it out on the highway for hours on end will never hurt it. Just sounds abusive......Once I got on a Vmax tho' I was instantly converted.....I don't think a V65 and a Vmax, both in tune, against each with equivalent riders will ever have but one result...The Vmax will win......

Rusty

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i definetly hear you that the V65 was a real cool bike and honestly it felt and rode almost like a dirt bike as in where i could bring the front end up and keep it there pretty much as long as i wanted. i actually did an exibition once with a group of bikes and i had the longest wheelie just about 1/4 mile and it was as smooth as silk with the shaft drive it just took a while to get used to it Rising when you accelerated on bends. but the first time i was sitting at a gas station and a Vmax was cruising by and saw my V65 he gave a quick twist of the throttle and SMOKED the back tire from about a 30 mph kickdown, that was it. i instantly wanted one. but it took a while till i got one, a few harley's and a couple other bikes later here i am. i would really like to find another V65 just to have and do a real test just going back and forth between thetwo just to really compare them. but i'll always have the Vmax even if i do opt for another bike to be more of a daily rider. cause my Max does not see rain no matter what. i even almost bought another Max just for that reason. but im still torn between a gen 2 or the Diavel but ill work that out but my current Max will always be my showpiece but a riding showpiece not a trailer queen. if i just want something pretty to look at i'll look at my lingerie model wife. and from what i gather the 92 was the best model year because thats what i have. i guess if everyone else is claiming their model year to be best i will too. Ed

My '85 is as fast as it needs to be.

Well I think either 85,89 or 98 have to be the fastest because thats the ones I have.

I thought the myth stemmed from 85's having a slightly louder exhaust than later years, and people tend to equate noise with power(how else would HD still be in business).

Yamaha claimed the same power output for all years....145(crank)....minus about 40 or so by the time you get to the ground. Shaft drives eat up lots of power by making the torque take two 90* turns.

V65's were sick but they had design flaws, since they were an overgrown version of the V30's and V45s. They made everything bigger but didn't improve the oiling system. Since they were 90* V motors, one head was almost vertical and the other was almost horizontal...the vertical head got squat oil at idle, or anything really under 3000rpm.....they all had cam issues on the top bank.

All bikes should have 6 gears...took me a good 2 years on the vmax before I stopped trying for a 6th after being used to it on the Magna. Even in 6th gear OD, my V30 would spin 6500rpm to do 75mph.

Sorry guys, I have an 06 and its the fastest!

I think the 89's were faster, Rick help me out on this......lol
Steve-o

Depends on if you are buying or selling,LOL

CaptainKyle said:

Well I think either 85,89 or 98 have to be the fastest because thats the ones I have.

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I was under the impression the 2004 models had 1/16th more horsepower than the 85,89,and 98 model years! LOL unk: