I'm a noob on here but thought I'd throw in two pennies on the subject. I'm 50 years old and am at a place in life financially where I can afford to buy more than one new bike. I recently purchased a 2014 Gen 2. I could have purchased a Gen 2 busa, a ZX-14, a BMW S1000RR, etc......... I chose my Max.
I don't race and have no desire to. If you ever run into anyone on the street riding any of the aforementioned sportbikes or any others for that matter, and you ask them if the bike is comfortable to ride on for extended periods while doing the speed limit, and they reply "Yes". They are lying plain and simple.
I almost snorted out my nose reading this. Whats funny is that I find a great deal of Busa riders to NOT be kids but to be middle aged or older riders who want power and touring ability.
You can park a whole crap load of different makes and models of sportbikes side by side, and from a not so far distance, you can't tell any of them apart. The Max is different. No other bike resembles it. Sure there are faster bikes. I've got the money available to make my new Max really run. But unless you really are serious about running your bike at the drag strip, does it really matter which one is the fastest on the street? I personally think the Vmax is hands down a better streetbike than most, if not all of the sportbikes out there.
I think that you would have a big amount of people that own Busa's and I am not a ZX14 person, but I think they would probably echo it, that they bought them to tour on. They are big extremely comfortable and can go really long distances because of good mileage and big tanks. Also I always hated when people said nice Harley to me. So because we all love Vmax's lets be realistic, it looks like any other UJM cruiser to the common uneducated masses.
When those grips are even with or lower than the clamps, and you're bent over all day with your neck aching from holding your helmeted head up, and your wrists are aching from supporting your upper body, that's when we need to sit down and really do a comparison between the Gen 2 Vmax and the Sportbikes, at least from a streetbike perspective.
Busa
ZX14
Because we are mostly talking about Busa's and ZX14's, with your statement I posted two pictures, the bars are higher than the triples. I am nit picking I guess, but the most comfortable thing I EVER did to my Gen 1 , was almost flat drag bars. That lowered my bars I believe around 2 inches and brought me forward. The bike handled a million times better also IMHO.
Riding a GSXR 750 all day for 1200 miles isnt the most enjoyable thing. I know I ve done it A LOT. heck riding any motorcycle for 1200 miles in one day isn't enjoyable, I dont care what your one, even your Goldwing. The GSXR 750 was never designed to be ridden 1200 miles a day. But the difference I will first and foremost say that at 80 mph on the highway, having a windscreen protecting your body is way more relief than trying to hold onto to a non faired or screened bike. And honestly those crappy little bug screens....I ve done 1000+ mile rides on my Gen 1 Vmax and I will say that my faired bikes get the nod every time over the Gen 1 Vmax.
The subject of people out there buying a big fast bike or fast car and stating, "Yeah she'll do the 1/4 in 10.27 secs etc........ I agree. That's a little silly. Hypothetically, that's like proudly standing beside your recently purchased (now retired) F-14 Tomcat, if you were allowed to have one, and stating, "Yeah, this baby will do Mach 2+ and can engage six different targets at the same time with her AIM-54 Phoenix missiles". Not with you on board it won't. My apologies if there are any actual former F-14 pilots on the forum here. lol!
I guess I would be confused then with your statement.... Isnt the first thing people think about the Vmax, being the bike that everyone thinks about being a drag strip terror? The bike that surprised everyone ? Didn't Yamaha have ads stating this fact in order to try and sell the bike?
Here are some iconic pictures of the Vmax Legend...... they all seem to point to the type of guy that wants to be fast, show he is fast and have something that sitting still looks fast....
If this video isnt what Yamaha was trying to tell everyone.... then I don't know what a Vmax is about at all......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FiCVl7gViE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IymB8y1C3c
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Basically what I'm saying is, judging motorcycles by how well they run at the strip, is hardly a good measure of how they stack up against each other on the street. Neither is top speed. I think Yamaha hit the ball out of the park with how they geared and cammed the Gen 2 Vmax. Massive acceleration no matter what gear you're in. Sure box stock with an unflashed ECU it tops out just shy of 140. So what? I have an Akrapovic mid pipe I plan on installing this winter along with getting my ECU flashed. But do I really need to? Not really.
I'll agree with you 100% here. Judging how good a cruiser Harley is against a mini bike isn't what people do. But the reality is, the Vmax is supposed to be bad ass. And it is. Its got a huge 1700cc motor and makes ungodly power. Its awesome. I rode one. The Gen 2 Busa makes crazy power too, as does the ZX14. I ve ridden those.
I think the reason you see people always state 1/4 mile times is because that is one thing 99% of people can do. Everyone of us can twist the throttle in the first two gears and go fast , or do a roll on and get up to speed fast. Thats what its about.
You can't take a Gen 2 Vmax into the corner like you can a GSXR 600.... if you think you can, I ll have some money to wager on it. But the problem is, how many of you can take a bike into a corner as hard as it will go? Very doubtful that there is more than a handful of riders you will meet that can take any bike into a corner at its full potential stock.
Judging a motorcycle takes many things into account. I think Yamaha built a fun CITY bike. It sucks ass on the highway, it gets incredibly ****** gas mileage and has a dinky tank. And to make it shaft drive again and a few other items made it hard for customizers to really pull out some cool things for the Gen 2.
But prowl the streets on the Gen 2 and there is almost nothing that will touch you on one stop light to stop light.
Go on a long over the road trip and when a Gen 2 Vmax has to stop every 90-100 miles for fuel and a Gen 2 Busa can get close to if not over 220 miles to a tank... thats huge, it is to me. I don't know about you guys, but I hate stopping everyone 1 1/2 hours for gas. It sucks... plain and simple. My turbo bike would go around 150-180 miles on a tank depending on how I rode it. My buddies Gen 1 Busa gets almost consistent 210 miles on a tank, but he rides pretty tame ( guess what he has saddle bags and never has seen a drag strip on his bike....).
I'll stick with my Max for the street. If I get the urge to start riding above 150 mph regularly, I'll buy something else and head to the track. If you go pick up a bike trader you'll notice all of the sportbikes on the market out there for sale.I was 25 years old when I owned my FZR 1000. It was miserable going on any ride for any length of time. The only time it felt comfortable, was when you really opened up the throttle and the wind blast produced some support for your body. Take care........... Dave
I am not sure what that sentence means. But since the big four all made sport bikes in huge volumes, I think Suzuki made 40,000 GSXR 600's in 2006. I just going off memory from a conversation. So if you can find the info to correct me awesome, so take it as hearsay. If that number is true.... that would probably be almost half the production of Vmaxes for Gen 1's, in one year for one cc sized sport bike. So your going to see a ton of sport bikes for sale. Better yet, look at Harley ad's for sale. That will blow your mind....
I can respect that you love your Gen 2. I will own one most likely at sometime. I ve owned just about everything else you can imagine motorcycle wise. And I love Vmax's, or else I wouldn't have owned 4 of them.
Some of my opinions vary greatly from the general populace. I like the forward position. I ve had surgeries on my knees and feet. If I ride my Vmax without putting my feet on the passenger pegs, I am good for about 200 miles before I say screw this. The wind force on my current Gen 1 during Thunder sucked ass big time. I was riding my other Busa for a little while before I switched back to the Gen 1. It was the first thing I noticed and hated with a passion. Anything above 60 mph you felt the constant push on your body. The upright position on the Gen 1 bothers me. I liked to lean forward and it was uncomfortable for me.It hurt my back and my butt. If I build another Gen 1 , which I may or may not, I ll be custom making a front USD fork setup with rear sets to match so I can lean forward on the bike and be more comfortable.
But bottom line is fun. The guy who has fun on his Gen 2 Vmax, Gen 2 Busa, CB 350, whatever.... its about having fun. If you like to go fast, you buy a Gen 2 Vmax. If you like to cruise you buy a Harley. If you like to be a show stopper you buy a 1969 Honda CB 750 fully restored.
I'll never care what people think of what I say, do or own. Because the only thing that matters is I am having fun. My idea of fun may be different than someone elses idea of fun. Thats what makes the world great. We are all different.
We all have one thing in common. We love motorcycles. My biggest disdain if disorder among the ranks because your bike is a Vtwin and my bike is a V4 or inline 4. Riding down the road and the "secret" wave that never comes from "the other" guys because either they are too good or .... well I don't know the or.....
Todd