Well, I just joined the site and figured it was a good time for an introduction. My name is Shane and I am soon to take delivery of a 1989 V-Max. I have other bikes, mostly modern sportbikes, which I ride on the street and race at the track regularly.
When I was in my teens, my dad and I had a lot of sportbikes. The first real sportbike he bought was a 1985 FJ1100. For it's day, that was a pretty awesome machine! Well, 1985 also saw the introduction of the Yamaha V-Max. Now, power-wise, this was the ZX-14R of it's day...putting down about 15 more hp (or so) than anything else on the road. Probably 20 more hp than say, a 900 Ninja (Kawasaki's flagship at the time)! Yes, it was heavy...but boy was it powerful!! So, cutting to the chase, it was my favorite bike at the time. I mean, I loved that bike. My dad bought one (actually two, but that is another story). A rip-snorting purple V-Max. It was an awesome site to behold. My dad and I shared a lot of great times back then. As I grew older, I saw the V-Max for what it was...heavy, a bit clunky, and not that powerful anymore (in comparison to the newest rockets). But I always had a soft spot for them.
About 10 years ago I purchased a worn-out 1989 V-Max from a coworker. It was in very bad shape. I toyed with the idea of restoring it and giving it to my dad, to perhaps relive some of the good times we shared. But the bike was just too rough, and my dad too ill to make that come to pass. A couple of years ago my dad died unexpectedly. We never got to take another bike ride...probably our last was in the early 1990's. Sometimes I get sad when I think about the good times we never got to relive. But, every year, I still find myself thinking about those V-Maxes.
I posted on Facebook about my soft spot for the V-Max. A FB contact messaged me and told me his dad had one. It was a 1989, with 2772 original miles. It had sat indoors mostly since 1996, never quite running right after some carburetor work. After about a week he sent me some pictures, and I have to say the bike was beautiful. But since it was in New Mexico the price would have to be right...after all, it is about $800 to ship it to me on the East Coast. He said he would get me a price and within a few days he contacted me. Lady luck shined upon me and the price was right! So, I quickly got a check in the mail, arranged shipping, had the bike picked up...and it is on it's way across the states to me now! Here are some pictures:
In all of my 26 years of street riding I have never ridden a V-Max...just been a passenger on my dad's, way back when. I will soon be going through my old pictures, hoping to find some of my dad's 1985 V-Max...if I find them, I will post them in the forum. At the end of the day, I still miss my dad and I guess this is my way of reliving some of the good times we had. :thumbs up:
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