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[2WHEELFREAK]

Hello all. New member here and new (to me) '92 VMAX owner. Look forward to a lot of reading/learning and chatting with all you VMAX guru's! I'm in AZ. Here's a pic of my bike I picked up this past weekend. I graduated HS in '84 and my parents bought me a new '84 V65 Magna as a grad present, but then the VMAX came out right after that and I have been wanting a VMAX ever since '85, and finally have one now! Diggin' it. Also ride a tricked out '16 HD Road Glide. Thanks.

 

[certz656]

Hello.. I recently purchased an 05 Vmax 20th Anniverary Edition #741. Have always wanted a Vmax just never had the opportunity to get one. Now its what I call my Bucket Bike, I'm 61 so its now or never. I've had various performance bikes but this one was always on the top of my list and now I'm loving it. Recently purchased a 2017 Victory Octane, which is a fine bike on its own, but the Vmax was always in the back of my mind. Thanks for all the great info that I'll be using... Mike

 

[firebolt]

Congrats and welcom Certz and 2wheelfreak!

 

[caseyjones955]

A busy week for new folks. Welcome everyone!

 

[VMAX12boy]

Hi- a Vmax is always one of those bikes I wanted to own one day, but I have several bikes right now. My brother needed a bike and I came across a 95' 10th anniversary edition and jumped on it. I bought it for me to own, but him to ride. It has a voodoo exhaust 4-2, currently with Delkevic cans (I also have some Jardine RT-One's that fit it), k&n air filter mod, lighting upgraded to LED, new front and rear tires, and some other updates here and there. I even have the 1995 10th anniversary vmax brochure thing. 31k miles. The dealer I bought from said it felt like the vboost was on full time because it has such pickup, but that's just the way these go! I can see the vboost is standard and opens at 6k rpm.

The only "problem" I have is my brother thinks he's going to kill himself on it. I'm not sure what I was thinking. He's not a new rider, but he's also not used to anything like this. So it sits in my garage while I decide if I try to keep it or sell it.

 

[zaladfingers]

Hey everyone,

I am new here as well. I am in the Sylva area of western North Carolina. I just picked up a good looking 02 Vmax. She's having some carb work done to her, because of my lack of knowledge. Should by next week and then I'll have to bundle up and take her for a ride in the mountains. I usually am free during the evenings of the week and would like to meet up with some other Vmax riders.
Have a good one,
ZF

 

[ManuelSans]

Hello all I'm Manuel, a 31 year old French dude living now in Amsterdam Netherlands .

After dreaming about it for 20 years I finally bought a VMax 86 (same year as me) !

It's a beauty and was very well taken care of by its previous owner but I have had so many problems with the starter!

I already had to replace the stator, the rectifier/regulator, placed a 4th battery :bang head:

One big mistery for me... the motorcycle starts like a wonder in cold dutch mornings, by just stroking the start button, but struggles painfully to start after a 15 min drive to a gas station. How can a hot motor start hardlier than a cold one !!???

Anyway I want to learn as much as I can from this beautiful beasts... all tips welcome !!

Cheers all

Manuel

 

[Fire-medic]

Manuel, welcome, you can find info here and parts, we all try to take care of our rides and it's a great place to learn, and to share.

I bet you know about 'hot-soak.' That's usually related to a weak battery, or to an electrical system that needs work. The vehicle displays hard starting when warm.

Did you do the soldering of the wire loom splice where a copper or brass sleeve crimps the wires together? It costs nothing but time, and eliminates a power-robbing potential source of corrosion and poor electrical conductivity.

The early starter is a 2 pole design, later starters are 4 pole, and work better.

Check all your grounds, remove them, burnish them shiny-clean, and use a bit of dielectric grease upon re-assembly. Do the same with your starter hot lead, to eliminate any possible corrosion.

Check your wire connection from the stator 3 wires to the plug where they go to the regulator/rectifier. Since you already replaced them, you probably would have noticed if the plug was discolored, or burnt, which is a common occurrence, especially upon older bikes. The usual recommended fix is to solder the wires together, to eliminate the male/female plug. Be sure to use a good shrink wrap insulator sleeve on each splice. Secure the wires so they don't abrade or wear against a metal piece, eventually wearing-through and causing a dead short. Some people like pozi-locks for the splice.

Since you replaced the battery, you probably already examined the battery cables for being intact, but it doesn't hurt to re-examine them. Flex them along their length, and see if you find any suspect places where the wire may be corroded inside the insulated covering. I've had some experience on problematic components of the electrical system, where the crimp connection of the wire harness appears to be OK, but just next to that, where the wire insulation begins, the strands are corroded, leaving only a few intact. This causes a local hot spot, increased electrical resistance, and poor performance of the component. Again, flexing the wire along its path may reveal a 'soggy' or corroded area which needs to be spliced with another wire of the same gauge, and then well-insulated.

I hope that helps.

 

[caseyjones955]

Good morning and welcome!

I got mine after a few decades of want also, know the feeling. There are a few reasons for hard warm starting but I would start with making sure all maintenance is current. Fresh plugs and carbs synchronized recently are a few normal maintenance items that might be checked on if you have no service history or know when it was done. The biggest problem I had with the drivability of mine was with the carbs being too rich, someone added a DJ jet kit and which made matters worse and I had some tricky intermittent hot starts. There is a ton of good reading in the carb/tuning section on how to make sure all is well with carb rack, a rich running bike would start great when cold but might be fussy when warm.

Getting the carbs straitened out on mine made a world of difference in quick starts and significant improvements in performance and MPG. I suspect most Maxes out on the road are running rich. You should not be smelling fuel when you ride or standing next to the bike.
One other thing that comes to mind is that corrosion is common in the spark plug wires where they push into the coils, that green crud tends to build up there and compromise spark so thats a quick no-cost thing to check. Make sure you have no binding slides in the carbs by removing the air box, starting it and looking into the carbs to make sure all the slides are bouncing in/out at about the same rate at idle and blip the throttle while watching the slides. It will run like shit without the airbox which is normal. You will see if one slide is lazy, there are youtube videos of this test also. Also check carb diaphragms, if they are the OE 1986 ones you could have some pinholes or tears in them, which might not lend to hard starting but should be checked out on an old bike. Luckily there are some non-Chinese (never EVER put any Chinese made crap on your fine Japanese machine) aftermarket diaphragms available on Ebay out of the UK for a fraction of OEM, This check can be done with carbs in place. Im not even through my first cup of coffee so undoubtedly there is something I'm forgetting, just hoping to throw you a couple bones to get started.

Another thing, these bikes run great on only 3 cyl so even with one cyl not firing it might only feel somewhat down on power. I like the downpipe spit sizzle test for quick verification that I have fire on all 4 cylinders. When it starts hard hot is the starter failing to turn the engine fast enough or does it just fail to actually fire up quickly?
Does the bike have any mods, custom exhaust or any of that neat stuff?

 

[tangoleader57]

Good morning and welcome!

I got mine after a few decades of want also, know the feeling. There are a few reasons for hard warm starting but I would start with making sure all maintenance is current. Fresh plugs and carbs synchronized recently are a few normal maintenance items that might be checked on if you have no service history or know when it was done. The biggest problem I had with the drivability of mine was with the carbs being too rich, someone added a DJ jet kit and which made matters worse and I had some tricky intermittent hot starts. There is a ton of good reading in the carb/tuning section on how to make sure all is well with carb rack, a rich running bike would start great when cold but might be fussy when warm.

Getting the carbs straitened out on mine made a world of difference in quick starts and significant improvements in performance and MPG. I suspect most Maxes out on the road are running rich. You should not be smelling fuel when you ride or standing next to the bike.
One other thing that comes to mind is that corrosion is common in the spark plug wires where they push into the coils, that green crud tends to build up there and compromise spark so thats a quick no-cost thing to check. Make sure you have no binding slides in the carbs by removing the air box, starting it and looking into the carbs to make sure all the slides are bouncing in/out at about the same rate at idle and blip the throttle while watching the slides. It will run like shit without the airbox which is normal. You will see if one slide is lazy, there are youtube videos of this test also. Also check carb diaphragms, if they are the OE 1986 ones you could have some pinholes or tears in them, which might not lend to hard starting but should be checked out on an old bike. Luckily there are some non-Chinese (never EVER put any Chinese made crap on your fine Japanese machine) aftermarket diaphragms available on Ebay out of the UK for a fraction of OEM, This check can be done with carbs in place. Im not even through my first cup of coffee so undoubtedly there is something I'm forgetting, just hoping to throw you a couple bones to get started.

Another thing, these bikes run great on only 3 cyl so even with one cyl not firing it might only feel somewhat down on power. I like the downpipe spit sizzle test for quick verification that I have fire on all 4 cylinders. When it starts hard hot is the starter failing to turn the engine fast enough or does it just fail to actually fire up quickly?
Does the bike have any mods, custom exhaust or any of that neat stuff?

Wow, I'm not even the guy who asked the question about hard starting, and I've learned a pile from reading these last posts from you long time Vmax gurus'. Well done guys, classy "forum-ers".
Hope buddy with the issue shares his findings.

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

 

[bipick]

my name is Dennis, been riding 40 years, all different bikes. just bought a 2017 v-max and all I can say is I love it

 

[[email protected]]

Welcome Dennis. Glad to hear your enjoying your gen2. We need some photos!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Chuck421]

Hi all. Been around awhile, ride my 95 max as often during the season as possible. Bought it new and wouldn’t get rid of it for nothing. Glad to be here and participate. Cheers.


95 VMAX

 

[Fire-medic]

Welcome 'chuck 421,' I see a lot of Ontario riders in SE FL (Dania Beach/Ft. Lauderdale) about now, until April. Are you a vintage 1960's Pontiac guy, from your screen name?

Hi all. Been around awhile, ride my 95 max as often during the season as possible. Bought it new and wouldn’t get rid of it for nothing. Glad to be here and participate. Cheers.


95 VMAX

 

[sdt354]

Welcome guys.

 

[nighthawk s]

Hi guys I'm Don been riding motorcycles for 42 years. I'm a new v max owner. just bought a 2005 v max with 12,750 miles. seams like a very nice ride,

 

[Eugene Brad]

Hi guys I'm Don been riding motorcycles for 42 years. I'm a new v max owner. just bought a 2005 v max with 12,750 miles. seams like a very nice ride,

Welcome, Don, I ride an 05 as well. There's a registry thread for your badge number if you want to do that. You'll find a lot of knowledgeable people here that can help you with just about anything on your bike. Congrats on getting a v max

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

 

[polojeff]

Hey everyone, I'm Jeff. I'm the proud new owner of an 88 max. I'm in the Denver area so if you're down to ride hit me up.

 

[marsmax85]

Welcome Jeff !! :eusa_dance:

 

[Ryansmith]

Hi, everyone here in v max land. New guy here, I have a 2002 v max all stock 18000 miles, second owner. Had it for a year and a half. I jump on here to learn more about v maxes. I want to say thanks to everybody for there comments and advice. This sight is great for some one like myself, there's not a lot of v maxes around here. It all has helped me out a bunch, saved me lots of money. Next year putting some extra's on the bike.