Are you a new member? Come here and say hi!

[Lithium7]

I'd been dreaming about owning a V-max since '85. Knew I'd love it.

 

[warn0245]

New member here, as well as VMOC and Star Touring. After almost three decades of lusting from afar, I was finally able to scratch together enough rubles to pay cash for a brand new matte black 2012 VMax, and boy, was it worth the wait.

 

[cgswss]

I wonder how many on here are one time vmaxers and now vmaxer again? I bought my first V-max in 1986 new. I've had about 40 other bikes, but always loved the v-max. I have been out of bikes for a while, but got back into it this spring when I rebuild an '81 honda 650. I got the bug so bad that I put my car (a Roush Mustang) for a loan so I could buy another Max.

 

[jagco1]

Welcome jagco1!............You have discovered the #1 V-Max site on the net, any and everything Max is right here from basic to major repairs and upgrades, the wealth of info through our member base is astounding! tell us more about yourself and your Max, feel free to ask questions and enjoy!.............Tom.

Thanks Tom, I just did my 1st ride on her a 136 miles, I was told they bike did not handle to good and the brakes sucks this not true. I had a good time just me and the bike.

Out of all the bikes I have had. This is the bike I could sleep with funny...

 

[SledHead]

New member here, as well as VMOC and Star Touring. After almost three decades of lusting from afar, I was finally able to scratch together enough rubles to pay cash for a brand new matte black 2012 VMax, and boy, was it worth the wait.

That is a mean looking Vmax! Congrats!

 

[twistedmax]

Welcome guys , Warn0245 Ive been working on some HWB's for the gen II . I have the prints at the machine shop now,bata tester lined up and hope to have on market soon!The first prototype set have worked very well on my bike!

 

[VMAX NV]

I bought mine on ebay and had it shipped from Tennessee to Seattle. There were some minor undisclosed flaws, but overall I was satisfied.

 

[DMAN999]

Welcome all New Members to the Best VMax Forum on the Web !!!
There is a ton of Great Info and Expert Help to be found here, Enjoy !
And Beware of the Mod Monkey, he'll raid your wallet whenever he gets the chance, LOL.

 

[Jimsvmax]

Hi everyone, just got signed up today and am new to this forum. I own an 85 stock Max that I love. I live in Omaha NE and look forward to sharing stories and finding them on this site. :eusa_dance:

 

[CaptainKyle]

Welcome Jimsvmax this is a great place.

 

[harper]

hey from iowa..have had my max for a little while, but things are moving along slow with lack of money. ill post a couple pics if i can figure it out.lol

 

[The Beekeeper]

Welcome Harper, even if it takes a little longer, do it right the 1st time, you will be much happier with the end result, what's on your hit list to get her together?.............Lived in Mason City when I was a kid in the mid 60s....................Tom.

 

[harper]

right now it has s.t.d superbrace, stage 7 jet kit,full exhaust with supertrap muffler,python drag bars, and sprint steering stabilizer.
main issue i have to fix is when its cold for the first few shifts it likes to slip out of third back to second.
i live on my military disability so not sure how im going to afford that fix

 

[SledHead]

I have been lurking here for a while, but did not want to post here until I had another Vmax.

I bought my first Vmax brand new off the show room floor in Roseburg, Oregon in 1987. It was a brand new non-current 1985 model. I sold the bike in the mid-90s and always regretted it. The gen 1 Vmax is without question one of the greatest bikes ever produced, in my mind a true living legend.

Now that I am a bit older, and more importantly a little bit more financially stable, it is time own a Vmax once again.

This 2001 is an eBay purchase, with a little over 7000 miles on the clock. There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller.

• Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil.
• The fork oil leaked on to both front brake calipers and the pads are soaked in fork oil, and the front brake is useless.
• The carbs are a mess. The bike will not run without the choke partially on. Even then it pops and sputters.
• The battery is shot and will not hold a charge.
• The steering stem bearings are loose and need to be adjusted.

All of that said, the bike is in great cosmetic condition, and I cannot wait to get the other problems taken care of. I have asked the seller to help pay for repairs that could have and should have been disclosed....we'll see. All I can say is buyer beware on eBay.

Just a quick update. The bike is at the dealer. They of course corrected the fork seals and the brakes. The carbs as it turned out had been removed at some other time, and were re-installed incorrectly. The carb boots were cracked and broken. They also found the pilot jets occluded, so the carbs were cleaned.

The PO said he would consider paying for part of the repairs, so we'll see.

 

[Fire-medic]

Yeah, "cracked & broken" all-right! Carbs cleaned & new boots for the carbs should get it running well. The battery is a simple one, but you can see-about the common electrical issues on here, like the stator connections to the voltage regulator/rectifier on the left side behind the side cover, often a source of burnt & corroded connectors, ESP. if the reg/rec. goes bad, then you can get a newer design which will not be prone to overheating. Sounds like you should be disconnecting the electrical connections & cleaning them. You may be surprised to find some are needing replacement, if not just a good cleaning. Use dielectric grease to help prevent the connectors corroding when you reassemble them.

As for your battery, I strongly urge you to consider a lithium-ion battery, yes, expensive but w/a much more-powerful CCA & longer life, it will spin your starter like you are jump-starting it from a car battery. Use the search function to find posts about them, plus you lose 5 lbs. v easily.

I am sure that the dealership already cost you $5-600 for what you had them do, you can get a lot of help on here & save big $. If you removed the brakes from the fork legs, not even removing the hoses, just to use a good brake cleaner like CRC, and replaced the pads w/some HH rated pads from either Sean Morley or CaptainKyle (search again) you probably could have fixed the brakes yourself, & saved enough to upgrade the front brake lines to woven stainless steel, sourced from the two guys I mentioned before.

The steering head bearings shouldn't be shot at 7K mi., see Sean Morley's video about adjusting them, another 'search' function. They should be very smooth however, any roughness in their rotation & it's time for new ones. "All-Balls" makes a kit for our bikes, probably about $35 out the door, then you have a bit of a chore to install them, the top is not too-bad but you pretty much have to destroy the outer race in the lower steering head to remove it, many guys grind a pair crescents in the steering head seat 180 degrees apart to make it easier if they have to do it again. Then you can get a punch to bear on the outer race flat to pound them out.

These bikes reward tinkering to make them better, and you can get lots of ideas here, and support if you wonder about something, again, the 'search' function can give you plenty of info first. The only thing that the VMax can't do is to synthesize KY backwoods bourbon, "will 30 gallons be sufficient, sir?", like Robby the Robot did for a grateful Earl Holliman, who played 'Cookie' the ship's cook w/a fondness for sour mash in "Forbidden Planet!":rofl_200:

 

[SledHead]

Yeah, "cracked & broken" all-right! Carbs cleaned & new boots for the carbs should get it running well. The battery is a simple one, but you can see-about the common electrical issues on here, like the stator connections to the voltage regulator/rectifier on the left side behind the side cover, often a source of burnt & corroded connectors, ESP. if the reg/rec. goes bad, then you can get a newer design which will not be prone to overheating. Sounds like you should be disconnecting the electrical connections & cleaning them. You may be surprised to find some are needing replacement, if not just a good cleaning. Use dielectric grease to help prevent the connectors corroding when you reassemble them.

As for your battery, I strongly urge you to consider a lithium-ion battery, yes, expensive but w/a much more-powerful CCA & longer life, it will spin your starter like you are jump-starting it from a car battery. Use the search function to find posts about them, plus you lose 5 lbs. v easily.

I am sure that the dealership already cost you $5-600 for what you had them do, you can get a lot of help on here & save big $. If you removed the brakes from the fork legs, not even removing the hoses, just to use a good brake cleaner like CRC, and replaced the pads w/some HH rated pads from either Sean Morley or CaptainKyle (search again) you probably could have fixed the brakes yourself, & saved enough to upgrade the front brake lines to woven stainless steel, sourced from the two guys I mentioned before.

The steering head bearings shouldn't be shot at 7K mi., see Sean Morley's video about adjusting them, another 'search' function. They should be very smooth however, any roughness in their rotation & it's time for new ones. "All-Balls" makes a kit for our bikes, probably about $35 out the door, then you have a bit of a chore to install them, the top is not too-bad but you pretty much have to destroy the outer race in the lower steering head to remove it, many guys grind a pair crescents in the steering head seat 180 degrees apart to make it easier if they have to do it again. Then you can get a punch to bear on the outer race flat to pound them out.

These bikes reward tinkering to make them better, and you can get lots of ideas here, and support if you wonder about something, again, the 'search' function can give you plenty of info first. The only thing that the VMax can't do is to synthesize KY backwoods bourbon, "will 30 gallons be sufficient, sir?", like Robby the Robot did for a grateful Earl Holliman, who played 'Cookie' the ship's cook w/a fondness for sour mash in "Forbidden Planet!":rofl_200:

Yep Fire-medic there is a lot of this work I could have done myself. Last year I restored my XS1100 from a basket case to a great daily rider. Here is a link to that story.
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33557&page=2

Here's a picture of the finished project.

My biggest issue right now is time. Work is taking me out of town a lot, and quite frankly I just want to get it on the road.

And as for Robby the Robot, on most forums I use the screen name "Bellerophon".

 

[Fire-medic]

Well I don't need to google that to know that's the name of the spaceship.

A good job on the XS11, those bikes are good for turbocharging, they're like the KZ's & GS 4 cylinder models, overbuilt & capable of accepting big increases in power. When it came out the XS1100 was the fastest bike on the market, then the CBX took its place. I see a lot of XS11's on the market for cheap around here, I think they would make a good daily driver. Still capable of good speed & of embarrassing some twit on his $30,000+ hot-rodded Harley.

 

[fitz the viking]

hello.

new member from uk.
here is the rasta rockett.

doesnt stop and wobbles like mad but has put a grin so wide on my face. 1st mod. Brakes and springs
.right, off to the tech sections.

 

[tothemax93]

Welcome Fitz, You have a couple of common problems, this site has the answersunk:. There's a lot of threads on both of those issues.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Welcome Fitz !