2004 Vmax First Impressions

[Beach Bum]

So I've had my bike for the better part of a week now and I've got mixed emotions. First off, the bike is everything I ever imagined it to be when it comes to the image it conveys. Friends, family and strangers alike all agree that it is "bad ***". Definitely not your everyday cookie cutter cruiser. The bikes stance just screams power, and that very prominent engine stuck in the middle just says "muscle". I've had over 50 bikes and none have left the impression that this thing has.

The bike lives up to it's reputation of being powerful. I still haven't opened it up to the max because I really want to make certain that there are no hidden issues that may rear their ugly head at top speeds. The steering is much as described in the reviews, a bit heavy. In a straight line I've noticed some wandering, but this may be attributed to the Shinko tires. These are new so I won't be replacing them right away. Braking thus far has been adequate, however I haven't had to rapidly decelerate to a stop to truly test the distance.

The bike came equipped with a Corbin seat which I'm not too excited about. It's wide and my 30" inseam doesn't allow me to flat foot at a stop. It's also hard as nails and so it is a bit taxing on my skinny *** after some time in the saddle. The worst part about it is that it's like sitting on black ice. The damn thing has absolutely no grip and riding 2 up is a pain for my wife who is constantly having to restrain herself from sliding into me. I also prefer more grip when cornering. I've considered adding a gel insert and perhaps narrowing the foam but I'm not convinced that this will work out too well. Also looking for some type of adhesive grip pad. The PO removed and discarded the pivot mounting bracket for the OE seat so if I try to replace it I'll also need to source the hardware.

Although I love the Supertrapp exhaust, it is noisy. At highway speeds it doesn't seem to have a tonal sweet spot like the Magnaflows on my truck do. Over 65 the duals on my truck seem to disappear. Maybe I can tune it out with the plates. With only a Flyscreen to deflect wind, the noise is also always present. Maybe I've just gotten used to different characteristics of other bikes.

I live at the beach and one of the things this bike is not good at is cruising at low (15mph) speeds. Stop and go and slow and go are a pain in the ***. It's like the bike is a Husky on the end of a short leash, it just wants to run. I'm concerned about lugging the engine too much, maybe someone can allay my fears. 1st gear is too twitchy and 2nd is boggish.

Finally, I am in need of some storage solutions. I picked up a CoolSac rear touring bag that has a sleeve that goes over the backrest and straps to hold it down. It's cavernous and will easily hold groceries and work stuff or overnight for two. What I need is a luggage rack that will mount behind the Corbin seat and backrest. I don't want the bag resting on the rear fender scratching the paint and would really just prefer having a solid base to support heavier cargo. Anyone know of such a thing?

I'm not trying to convert the bike into a flaccid touring machine, but would like to have a solid commuter with the annoyances remedied. One of the benefits of buying a stock bike is that you have a control by which to compare changes to. Never heard a stock exhaust, or sat in a stock seat so this is what I've got to deal with.

As an aside, on day three I experienced the "hot start" issue that I read about on here AFTER replacing my battery. Could be that the battery was weak, as the PO didn't put 100 miles on the bike in 6 months, but then again it could've been a combination of things. I have already fixed the "splice" and will monitor from there. Guess I should've read the entire forum prior to purchase. Oh well, at least I have the peace of mind of a new battery. For what I paid for the bike, I can afford it.

 

[Fire-medic]

Congratulations on the purchase. Your bike experience should pay off in well-considered mods. Read here before you jump into it, unless it's something simple like grips.

The wandering can be addressed by checking the steering head bearings, look for the Sean Morley fork-flop adjustment info. Wandering can also be because of low tires , front &/or rear. A fork needing maintenance or worn rear shocks, or a swingarm not adjusted correctly can also affect things.

For my $ the #1 fix (for so-many concerns) is going to radial tires, requiring replacement of the rear wheel, you can get by in front w/the stocker, but it's not optimal. Your high-speed steering is so-much better, it corners more-surely, and the steering wobbles pretty-much disappear, if everything else which could detrimentally affect it is OK. You already have the 43 mm downtubes, throw on some SS front brake lines and some HH pads, maybe a set of early R1 Yamaha front calipers, no adapter brackets needed, get the blue spot or gold spot calipers, or the 6 piston late model FZR1000 calipers. No need to change rotors.

The seat, there are a couple members on here who do seats, the Max Gasser or Sean Morely's conversion on a stock pan. There are others too.

Happy parts sourcing.

 

[Hellboy]

Hi and welcome,

I have to agree about the Corbin seat, I had one on my 94 and found the width uncomfortable when stopped due to the pressure on the inner thighs trying to get my feet planted firmly.

With the Supertrapps you might find that you can add more baffles (traps) to quiet it down.
It's possible the previous owner has removed a few???

I don't find the slow speed cruising a problem, These engines are practically bullet proof, I wouldn't be concerned about lugging it. I like almost idling in 3rd sometimes. What you can do is get a rear diff from a venture that is a direct swap and is geared slightly higher. Sean Morley of Morley's Muscle has them from around $125- $150 ish. helps with mileage as well.
Get a good seat from him while your at it.

Matt

 

[eggohead]

Lots of little things add up.. I bought a Nelson 2020 mag tank bag last year. It' big but nice for rides, I can put another helmet inside or a ton of drinks for a day ride, plus it can hold your phone and GPS...Exhaust Stock is very quite, But I didn't like it, I put UFO on last year, still trying to find the sound to and to complement the jet kit, Slash Drag will blow your right ear...Maybe look into a used Kerker and put new packing in it, maybe you can do the packing on yours...

 

[Biker Dash]

Welcome to the V-Max forums! As someone who also has short legs, I have found the stock seat to be best for me. I found it comfy even after three hundred miles.

How much wind protection do you need? I had a Memphis shades Malibu windshield installed. With that windshield, I felt well protected from the elements. It does require that you relocate the turn signals. Fortunately, Memphis Shades offers brackets that will do that nicely.

 

[invalidsession]

Welcome to the forum :eusa_dance:. Regarding your low speed issue; I attend a lot of events with my local bike club and many of these (funerals etc) require riding at or under walking speed. The VMax will lug with the clutch fully released in 1st gear under these conditions but feathering the clutch alleviates this condition and gives me no issues whatsoever. Hope that helps.


Chris.

 

[Rollie]

I installed a manual fan switch for traffic / stoplite issues where the bike might overheat if prolonged exposure to slow moving asphalt / concrete roads occur .

Lots of different issues to check on the wandering as tires , steering head bearings , forks , rear shocks , frame flex , swingarm , can all play a part.

Seat issue was solved by my local upholsterer who took my piece of leather and formed , with new / improved / better / foam and shaped / extended it to fit my butt / weight / frame which now rides like a couch for my longer rides. I have tested it with 2-up in the N. GA. mountains for hours with no sore butt issues for me or the Mrs. Not cheap but can transform the ride.

 

[Traumahawk]

Welcome to the forum.....First of all great choice in bikes.

Your 04....shouldnt have a hot start issue. Its only the earlier bikes with the 2 pole starter that had that issue.....yours has a 4 pole starter. If its dragging....or hard to start, make certain that your running dino oil.....not synthetic, and make certain that the grounds are good and tight.

2nd gear shouldnt be too boggy, the bike just might need a tune up.

Any question that you have can be answered by this forum.

 

[Beach Bum]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the response to my concerns. I still haven't had the time to really get out and ride the thing like I need to. I suppose wandering is a bit vague of a description, but I'm more accustomed to the way sport bikes track and heavy cruisers with a little more rake in the forks. I'd be seriously concerned if the bike needed head bearings after only 15K miles. I've only ever replaced one set and it was on a Nomad Drifter 1500 with 65K miles. I wasn't expecting to have to reengineer the bike. I expected that a later model, low mileage ride would be ready to go. There's a guy locally with an 07 for sale, I might drop by to check out how the OE seat feels. I haven't had an issue with hot starts since replacing the battery and fixing the splice so maybe the battery was toast after all. I still dig the bike, just need to get more familiar with the idiosyncrasies.

 

[wayne z]

At 15k and experiencing wandering, I would check the preload of the head bearings with the simple "bounce" test.

Put the bike on the center stand and use support under the engine to hold the ftont wheel off the floor.

While holding handle bars centered, nudge the bars either way and let the forks freely flop over against the stops.

If the forks bounce away from the stops at all, bearings are loose.

When I got my Vmax at 14k miles, it failed the bounce test. After I loosened the right stuff as per the shop manual, I bumped the paralleled jamb nuts about 1/4 turn together with a wide flat punch, and stopped the bounce.

 

[Hellboy]

At 15k and experiencing wandering, I would check the preload of the head bearings with the simple "bounce" test.

Put the bike on the center stand and use support under the engine to hold the ftont wheel off the floor.

While holding handle bars centered, nudge the bars either way and let the forks freely flop over against the stops.

If the forks bounce away from the stops at all, bearings are loose.

When I got my Vmax at 14k miles, it failed the bounce test. After I loosened the right stuff as per the shop manual, I bumped the paralleled jamb nuts about 1/4 turn together with a wide flat punch, and stopped the bounce.

"wandering" is probably the perfect description for what happens when the two steering head nuts are too tight. I agree with Wayne Z, It's a very weird feeling and it just won't track straight at sort of 60 kph or 35 mph or less, to the point where it wouldn't be comfortable riding two abreast. Just back off on that nut a little bit and, Wa La! it's fixed. It could be other things of course but that is the easiest and very likely. A 5 minute fix.

Matt

 

[cole2757]

you could maybe trade that corbin for stock seats. we have sargent right here in town to do custom work. or you can buy seats from sean and sell the corbin on the forum. sargent did my seats. they dished the front and made the rear really wide for my now ex. you can get hepco becker luggage from motomachines. i got lucky and got a set from a forum member.

 

[Dh90291]

Got my 97 2 yrs ago with 9600 miles on it. Had nasty head shake @ 95mph so I tightened the head nuts, apparently too much because then I experienced that low speed wander. Picked a happy medium for head torque and at the suggestion of someone that I read somewhere on this forum I went all the way around the bike tightening every bolt on the frame, under the seat and everywhere. Some of them were pretty loose! My motorcycle behaves much better now. I'd still love radial tires and better springs/shocks but for now it handles pretty nicely. My first mod was SS clutch and brake lines. My clutch originally got spongy and vague when engine heat got to the old rubber line. The SS lines fixed that and made brakes more precise as well. Next the seat... the stock one sucked for me. I don't like how Corbins look but I cant imagine one being more uncomfortable than that stock saddle. I had UFO cut my seat down and it became a different bike for me, sitting into it instead of rolling around on top of it. Huge improvement. I put an LED 'bulb' in the headlight (non DOT, shhh) and that was also a big improvement. I just now bought frame sliders from a forum member and next will be a COPS kit. I like the sound of my Supertrapps but yes, they are a bit loud. I am not going to mess with them though because I assume that they were tuned to go optimally with the jet kit that the PO had installed for him. Anyway I hope you end up as happy of a Vmax owner as I am!!

 

[naughtyG]

Welcome to the Maxaddiction :eusa_dance:

For the seat I'd highly recommend you get a reworked original from Sean Morley here - that's what I use and I love it! Also heard a lot of good things about the Maxgasser but never tried it.

I had Supertrapps and Jardines also on my bike, but I got bored with the noise so went back to the OEMs which are heavier and a PITA to fit but I actually really enjoy the bike being quiet both in town and on the freeway. Do look at maybe swapping for a pair of Jardine slip-ons, IMHO they look and sound better than the Trapps and may just be what you're after. You can buy 'em brand new still online, or grab a pair of used ones around $3-400.

For storage I've made a very simple metal rack and bolted it straight to the sides of the grab rails. This allows you to fit any standard top box (I use a small Givi one 0 see picture) which also doubles as a great back rest for wifey. It's plenty strong enough to take all the cargo and her weight under vboost :clapping:

Do stay with the Shinkos, IMO they are the best tires for the OEM wheels. Cheap and super grippy, just awesome.

If it's bogging down in second all you prolly need is to sync up the carbs - 5mns job and you need is a vacuum gauge. If the PO didn't ride much your carbs may need a quick clean, a great way to find out is to drain the fuel bowls into a white or clear container: if there's dirt in the fuel they need a clean. Search for cleaning procedures here, there's an easy 'in situ' method involving Seafoam that's easy and quick, or I've posted a full carb take down and rebuild in photos in the carb section.

And yes the Max is just one of the very few bikes that just look totally bad *** and live up to the reputation. Gotta love that :biglaugh:

 

[1st Shirt Maxer]

Welcome fellow maxer you will find plenty of solutions and great ideas on this forum. My fix for the storage solution was a set of Fatmax bags. They flow very nicely with the lines of the bike, they are lightweight and can be removed by 1 wingnut. I love them, a little pricey but worth it if you carry items frequently and hate wearing a backpack.

 

[Rollie]

Welcome to the Maxaddiction :eusa_dance:

For the seat I'd highly recommend you get a reworked original from Sean Morley here - that's what I use and I love it! Also heard a lot of good things about the Maxgasser but never tried it.

I had Supertrapps and Jardines also on my bike, but I got bored with the noise so went back to the OEMs which are heavier and a PITA to fit but I actually really enjoy the bike being quiet both in town and on the freeway. Do look at maybe swapping for a pair of Jardine slip-ons, IMHO they look and sound better than the Trapps and may just be what you're after. You can buy 'em brand new still online, or grab a pair of used ones around $3-400.

For storage I've made a very simple metal rack and bolted it straight to the sides of the grab rails. This allows you to fit any standard top box (I use a small Givi one 0 see picture) which also doubles as a great back rest for wifey. It's plenty strong enough to take all the cargo and her weight under vboost :clapping:

Do stay with the Shinkos, IMO they are the best tires for the OEM wheels. Cheap and super grippy, just awesome.

If it's bogging down in second all you prolly need is to sync up the carbs - 5mns job and you need is a vacuum gauge. If the PO didn't ride much your carbs may need a quick clean, a great way to find out is to drain the fuel bowls into a white or clear container: if there's dirt in the fuel they need a clean. Search for cleaning procedures here, there's an easy 'in situ' method involving Seafoam that's easy and quick, or I've posted a full carb take down and rebuild in photos in the carb section.

And yes the Max is just one of the very few bikes that just look totally bad *** and live up to the reputation. Gotta love that :biglaugh:

Holy crap G , is that a trailer hitch on the back ?

 

[davesax36]

I have the Cycle-istic (forum sponsor with an ad link at the top of the page) backrest and rack. I love the rack, but I use the corbin backrest. HOWEVER, my corbin seat does not play nice with the rack. the wings that the rack mounts on are just a bit too narrow for the seat to sit fully on it's rubber bumpers on the frame. It doesn't bother me at all because I'm set up for major touring with a remote fuel tank and the same hard side bags as Cole and 1st Shirt. The bags are awesome, but Fatmax is not making them anymore.

Anyway. Congrats on the bike. Welcome to the forum. Seems like all your other stuff is answered already. One thing you might try is adjusting that throttle cable until there's almost no slack. That way you're a little more ready for it to come on. Sourcing some aftermarket adjustable levers might make your traffic time a bit easier.

 

[naughtyG]

Holy crap G , is that a trailer hitch on the back ?

Yup. I've got a small bike trailer I've modified to carry an ad board - use it to promote our concerts here :biglaugh:

 

[sdt354]

Welcome to the best Vmax forum on the planet. +1 to head bearing adjustment. I'd like to add that if adjusted too tight the bike will wander. Unfortunately for me, low millage didn't make up for low maintenance and sitting. That was the case when I bought mine with 12k on her. I didn't care because I got a great deal on her and knew I'd be spending some $$ on parts to make her mine. Bearings were loose, masters were cruddy, seat a torture rack, tires were like Vaseline, v-boost not working, and clutch was crap from synthetic oil. Today at 52k, she's over twice the machine she was. Good luck with yours. Enjoy.
Steve-o

 

[RaWarrior]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the response to my concerns. I still haven't had the time to really get out and ride the thing like I need to. I suppose wandering is a bit vague of a description, but I'm more accustomed to the way sport bikes track and heavy cruisers with a little more rake in the forks. I'd be seriously concerned if the bike needed head bearings after only 15K miles. I've only ever replaced one set and it was on a Nomad Drifter 1500 with 65K miles. I wasn't expecting to have to reengineer the bike. I expected that a later model, low mileage ride would be ready to go. There's a guy locally with an 07 for sale, I might drop by to check out how the OE seat feels. I haven't had an issue with hot starts since replacing the battery and fixing the splice so maybe the battery was toast after all. I still dig the bike, just need to get more familiar with the idiosyncrasies.

You have to keep in mind that no gen1 is really a "late model"- a 2007 is fundamentally the same as the '85 original. It got digital ignition for '90, better forks and brakes in '93, and a couple other minor tweaks here and there, but no major overhauls or anything that transformed the bike's character or abilities. It rides like a 80's bike, well, because it is.

Stem bearings are very commonly neglected maintenance item. They need to be occasionally checked/adjusted and should be cleaned and re-greased every couple years. Loose, sloppy bearings will notch the race over time from suspension impacts and give the steering a slight "detent" toward center, which can cause wobbles and stability problems. Clean, repack, and adjusting them can help a lot. I think I had mine changed at about 25k miles in trying to chase my bike's tendency to wobble at higher speeds, and that I couldn't eliminate the "notch" even with proper adjustment and new lube.

I'd also recommend changing the brake fluid (another commonly neglected item, should be clear as water, yellowing means it's absorbed water). Check the voltage across the battery with the engine running to be sure your charging system is up to snuff- another weak point on these bikes, but relatively easy to cure.

There's tons of excellent info on this forum, and help to solve literally any problem or concern you have with it. You just have to decide how much effort and cash you want to spend in order to do it, haha.