1st Post - Barn Find 85 VMAX

[88vmx12]

Sorry no advice due to my jelousy!

G

 

[Biker Dash]

I would like to se detailed pics of the fairing, and how exactly it mounts. I like the looks of it, and would consider getting one. (would want the windshield lower though.)

 

[invalidsession]

Very nice find Snipe. You and your helper should have some fun with that project
I'm fairly new to this site as well but from all I've seen there are some great folks on here.

Chris.

 

[m-cman]

I would like to se detailed pics of the fairing, and how exactly it mounts. I like the looks of it, and would consider getting one. (would want the windshield lower though.)

Don't believe Tracy is still in business. At least no Vmax shields anymore. Rifle is the closest to this and they make 3 different shields/fairings for the Max. I have owned two of their Superbike fairings, one on a 1985 Suzuki 1150E and one on my Max. It was ruined in my crash and never replaced. The Superbike fairing is the middle one. There is a real large one with built-in turnsignals and fairing pockets and places for a radio or instruments. Great for touring. The smaller one is larger than the OEM small shield but still fairly small. Good products if you like the styling.

 

[Bill Seward]

Looks better than my '85, and mine never hibernated in a barn...

 

[Biker Dash]

Don't believe Tracy is still in business. At least no Vmax shields anymore. Rifle is the closest to this and they make 3 different shields/fairings for the Max. I have owned two of their Superbike fairings, one on a 1985 Suzuki 1150E and one on my Max. It was ruined in my crash and never replaced. The Superbike fairing is the middle one. There is a real large one with built-in turnsignals and fairing pockets and places for a radio or instruments. Great for touring. The smaller one is larger than the OEM small shield but still fairly small. Good products if you like the styling.

Looked up Rifle fairings, and I MIGHT consider the Nightflight one, if I was able to mod it to include handguard sections that I could mount speakers inside, and intragal LED turn signals as well. And then I would have to find a way to move the headlight forward in it's mount, so that I do not have the headlight beam shrouded. The H4 bulb I am using puts out better lighting to the side, and I am afraid having the headlight inset like that would kill my lighting to the side.

 

[SnipeJDM]

Not a ton of progress last night. Just so friggin hot outside, even at 8:30pm. Regardless, I got everything off and gas tank is ready to come out. I'm unsure if I will have to remove the rear tire and lower the swingarm yet or not. I'm going to try to salvage the tank using the vinegar method of rust removal. We shall see....

 

[kaboom]

AWESOME!!!!!

unk:

 

[CaptainKyle]

A little at a time I can see her coming back to life soon.

 

[PATMAX]

Pull the rear caliper, tire, plastic tank protector by the tire and the left shock.
Check that tank fuel sender unit too. The in tank wiring is fragile but it can be cleaned up.
Blow out that vent line too.

 

[one2dmax]

Depending on your budget and end goals i'd say to strip it down to the bare frame and rebuild from scratch. The frame itself may only need cleaning up and not repainted. Then start painting, coating, or chroming everything you put back on. You'll have a nice new bike for the beginning of the riding season that way.

 

[SnipeJDM]

That would be my ultimate end goal. The frame has some rust. Nothing severe bit it needs to be cleaned off and resprayed. The engine needs the same.

My short term goal is to get the bike running. If it runs, that will reduce the magnitude of the project significantly.

Things that I can think of to get bike running is clutch master and brake master rebuilds. They are dry and nothing but dust inside. New brake lines or flush. Gas tank repair. Carb rebuild. Check out fuel pump.

Like I said, ultimate goal is to strip it down and respray everything, but I want to make sure it's a feasible project first and plan a budget.

 

[one2dmax]

I have block of plates I can loan when it's time for paint work on the engine. I'd remove it, get all new cover gaskets (not the head gaskets or split the case). Update the shift segment, free up the clutch plates (which will be glued together from sitting), maybe HD oiling we sell, adjust the valves (we have a loaner kit for that) and maybe some other small misc.

I also have loaner electrical parts if needed to diagnose starting problems. We sell carbs rebuilt on exchange (or outright if desired). Odds are it is going to have some issues with some of the slide rubbers which is expensive to fix. They don't even need to be in the bike to get it to run though (idle anyway).

Your starting price is already good even if it needs some major repairs.

Sean

 

[m-cman]

When I took my Max down to the frame and engine block, I used the KBS system to clean, prep and seal the tank. Much easier when out of the bike. I also replaced every bearing, seal, gasket, o-ring, hose and any other item that was not metal on the whole bike. That includes fluids, thermostat, oil delivery pipes (to correct the o-ring bulging problem) and many other items I can't recall right now. That was back when we got OEM parts at 10% over actual cost. Now the best price I have found is 25% over actual cost. Probably spent over $2000 on parts. Afraid to add up all my receipts but the bike is like new.

 

[PATMAX]

You did it right then Don. I rebuild $10 bucks at a time or at least it feels like it. I know I'll always need rubber parts and bearings and gaskets so if I see any on eBay or here on the cheap, I hoard them cause I know I'll need them. This is especially true for carb parts. Nuts, bolts, brackets and hardware are what set a bike apart from rebuilt or restored. I'm not doing Concourse testosterone by any means but it's a fine line between obsessive and anal. I might be dead before I finish all my projects!

 

[SnipeJDM]

Wheeled it out last night and gave it another degreasing and cleaning. Rolled back in and snatched the tank out. Piece of cake...

 

[SnipeJDM]

Here's a little update on the progress. Had a day of vacation last week so decided to tackle some more.

Besides the obvious which I removed the carbs, I completely degreased and filled the fuel tank with vinegar. That got rid of all the rust in the tank amazingly. Afterwards did a bunch of rinses with water, baking soda, then trisodium phosphate. I have a Caswell gas tank sealer kit I hope to be using today. I also have prepped the outside in preperation for the epoxy primer and GM gloss black single stage urethane I will be shooting on it.

Carbs going out this week for a rebuild. I would normally try to do it myself, but I want to spend my time getting it back to a roller.

 

[Fire-medic]

Looks like you are getting some progress!

Here is some inspiration: removing the engine is easy, if you have a place to work on it-you do, the garage. I can remove & replace the engine myself w/the use of a large floor jack. Now seal it up, and blast it. I used a fine grade kiln-dried silica sand and a Harbor Freight sandblaster. A bit messy, put it onto one of those HFT caster platforms, and rotate the engine on it as needed. You will come out w/a great surface for painting. I had powdercoated the insert on the left engine case side cover & the valve covers.

FYI, the gravity-feed media blasting gun HFT sells is able to use baking soda media to blast your chrome parts. The gun goes on-sale for $10. Buy the baking soda in 13 lb bags at Costco. That's the cheapest source I found, even cheaper than the pool supply stores. The use of the baking soda is almost like time-spend polishing, it will get into small crevices on a chromed part and the results are very positive, at-least they have been for me. My stock mufflers, I was going to replace them, but a good session using the baking soda, and they came-out clean, smooth, and lustrous, much-better than what I expected. I did the same w/a Kerker 4/1 that had a lot of corrosion, and while not 'new-appearance,' it was much-better than it was to begin.

 

[Bill Seward]

Great job! Wanna do another one??
I'd ride it to Florida to get the motor in my '85 looking that good...

 

[marsmax85]

Me Too !