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120k on a Max...that's good to hear.

The Vmax was just too popular and too mass produced to ever be collectible. There's loads of them around. Bikes that were only made for a year or two, or in limited numbers are what will be worth money someday.

It's true about ebay....you can find "it" on ebay, as long as you're willing to pay an exorbitant price. It's an in-demand item that isn't made anymore, so of course prices are going to go up.

I've thought about selling my sissy bar/luggage rack. I never have a passenger, and have never put anything on the "luggage" rack. What luggage can I carry? It's big enough for what, like a small lunchbox? But I kind of like the look. I dunno.
 
Hey Rebar, you need another Max for riding and abusing and get the 85 back to concours condition using it in parades and such! That damn Mod Monkey is a m?#*+?<F$@&/?@(
I'm spread so thin between three Maxes I doubt I'll ever be finished! So the life goes for a Vmax addict.

Parades.. :rofl_200:Ill ask the Shriners

I needed another 85 because it was the best looking. From the wheels (I dont do hub caps) to the gloss paint. Come on you gotta admit it was the best looking year. Forget the mechanical issues.
 
I'm on step one! What chassis mods did you do?
KJ hasn't been active here in nearly three years. My advice: don't hold your breath.

Ones which require $ and down-time:

replace the bias-ply tires with radials, aftermarket or $$ modded stock wheels necessary
braced swingarm
better rear shocks
USD front end $$$
Race-Tech Cartridge Emulators or RICOR equivalent
1993-2007 larger front downtubes
Progressive Suspension or Race-Tech fork springs
Superbrace fork brace or equivalent
HH brake pads & Yamaha R1/R6 'blue-dot' or 'gold-dot' calipers
Sumitomo three opposed-piston calipers
Sean Morley's Tokico three opposed piston caliper & rotor
aluminum replacement engine mounts
frame braces

That should get you started (step two).
 
KJ hasn't been active here in nearly three years. My advice: don't hold your breath.

Ones which require $ and down-time:

replace the bias-ply tires with radials, aftermarket or $$ modded stock wheels necessary
braced swingarm
better rear shocks
USD front end $$$
Race-Tech Cartridge Emulators or RICOR equivalent
1993-2007 larger front downtubes
Progressive Suspension or Race-Tech fork springs
Superbrace fork brace or equivalent
HH brake pads & Yamaha R1/R6 'blue-dot' or 'gold-dot' calipers
Sumitomo three opposed-piston calipers
Sean Morley's Tokico three opposed piston caliper & rotor
aluminum replacement engine mounts
frame braces

That should get you started (step two).
Thanks for the shopping list, my wallet hates you. I have some progressives on the way already and am looking at replacement shocks on the rear.
 
I have a modded 18" rear wheel 5-1/2" wide, for you; any wider than that, and you'll need a larger relief in the swingarm tire cut-out. Not cheap. However, you'll be easily able to walk-past your VMax friends with their 17" aftermarket wheels, on top-end. A new rim on a stock shaft drive center.

18 inch X 5 and one-half inch VMax wheel.jpg
 
I have a modded 18" rear wheel 5-1/2" wide, for you; any wider than that, and you'll need a larger relief in the swingarm tire cut-out. Not cheap. However, you'll be easily able to walk-past your VMax friends with their 17" aftermarket wheels, on top-end. A new rim on a stock shaft drive center.

View attachment 74065
Are there more tire choices in an 18 " tire now? Yrs ago I went with the 17" for better tire options
 
Are there more tire choices in an 18 " tire now? Yrs ago I went with the 17" for better tire options
There are several tire manufacturers that have 120/18's for the front and 180/18's for the rear.
Shinko, Avon, Bridgestone, and Metzeler to name a few.

In fact, Metzeler has a new ME888 Cruisetec tire for higher powered cruise bikes, that is a stickier tire than the regular ME888 Ultra. Pretty cool that they have a long wearing tire that is designed for the power cruisers out there today.

They have a 120/70 ZR 19 M/C (60W) TL for the front and a 180/55 ZR 18 M/C (74W) TL for the rear if you have upgraded 18" wheels. On the front you can also use their Z8 (which I have on mine and think it's great; lots of stick and really long lasting), if you want that sport touring kind of tire on the front for a little more bite.

But again, the other manufacturers also have the proper sizes if you're running upgraded front and rear 18's. I only mentioned the Metzelers because that's what I have on now and they're working really well for me (regular ME888 Ultra rear and the Z8 up front).

Vinnie
 
"However, you'll be easily able to walk-past your VMax friends with their 17" aftermarket wheels, on top-end. " That may be the case but only after you catch up to that 17" rim. I don't know about you but I don't often play at the top end however my riding pal Steve-O and I spend entire rides playing in the 0 to 125 range. Don't buy the baloney. Acceleration and neck snapping torque is where the fun is. If you enjoy running your 80's engineered frame and suspended bike up above 140 on public roads then the 18"wheel is for you. Just don't be disappointed when you get smoked to 125 or so and the race is over before you really get going. I take my bike to track days and not the drag variety and I haven't encountered many bikes that can get by me before the first turn and I'm taking modern liter bikes.
 
Yeah, I'm more in-love with driving privileges than I am top-speed. After-all in 10 or 11 seconds you're in bike confiscation and license suspension territory. The guy I was referring to runs an 18" rear wheel and he was passing the UFO-engine components bikes with their 17" wheels quickly-enough that those fellows were calling Jon Cornell (UFO) to ask, "what-gives?" Then Jon called my friend who built the bikes with UFO components to ask him, "what's happening down-there, in Florida?" They both had a good laugh about the difference on top-end.

A kid with a Hyabusa (turbo) worked-on at the shop was GPS clocked at 216 mph, things got squirrley, and he managed to drop about 100 mph before he got spit-off and got a helicopter ride to the Level 1 trauma facility. Now, that's top-end! Fortunately for him, he avoided serious injuries. I haven't seen the bike at the shop, I suspect he may have given it up for awhile. They race out on a road at the FL Everglades, US 27, which runs from downtown Miami FL all the way to Michigan, though US 27 has been de-commissioned in MI. It used to run all the way to by the Sault Ste-Marie bridge (the gateway to the U.P./Upper Peninsula, for all you non-yoopers).

Back around oh, 1995, I'd say, Sport Rider magazine ran a tuner's contest for streetbikes. It was contested at the dragstrip, and on a remote location for top-end runs. Bikes also had to be capable of operating as street bikes, they had to be able to perform a street loop to participate. A local kid from Miramar FL, Mark Moisan, had a GSXR1100 he had a turbo on. He's not a shop for bikes, just a kid who took a kit and made it better. He had a shop doing Acura cars.

The bike was mid-pack at the dragstrip. Some bikes were set-up to do one thing better than others. Sportbikes being tall and with short wheelbases, are hard to launch well, as they either wheelie or burn-up the tire.

When the bikes went to the top-speed site, Moisan's GSXR 1100 turbo put 'em all on the trailer when he turned 229 MPH! He would have done-better, but he blew the carb rack off the engine. With the boost turned-down his wife frequently rode it to local bike nights.

Sport Rider 1995 UFO Shootout Mark Moisan.jpg
 
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