I'm 5'6"/buck-fifty .. too small for a Vmax?

[Rollie]

I think you will fin the gen1 a much better fit, and better looking IMHO......................Tom.

+ one of our forum members got 200 h.p. on a Fla. dyno at bike week w/o nos , turbo or supercharger .

 

[bobzdar]

To be honest, it has a power to weight ratio equal to that of many other bikes these days ... about 5.8 pounds carried by each horsepower. The "big torque" doesn't really come into things until the long end of the track anyhow, right? My 750 Magna has a p:w that is right at 5.8:1, so my guess is that it will do ok until we get up over 90/100mph. That's when the Vmax's torque comes in to play, right?

Hmmm.... got some thinking to do here. GREAT bike with GREAT support (both aftermarket and factory) and a GREAT forum to support it as well. Hmmm .. that's a LOT to dimiss. I just have to decide if I want another "half ton" bike with over 5 foot of wheelbase again.

Thinking ... thinking ....

(are the older Vmaxes the same basic overall size as the current one?)

Holeshot ...

Top end charge is, well, top end charge, HP is king there. The 'torque' comes into play at lower rpm/mid range where it will have good pull without having to downshift so you won't be constantly rowing through the gears. The advantage the VMAX has is that it doesn't pull the front wheel on acceleration so you can acclerate at the limit of the rear tire from a stop where most of the sportbikes can't use all of their power at lower speeds as you'll flip over backward, especially a light guy like you.

I have no idea how the GenII feels, I'm still getting used to my '85. The VMax is a nice bike to ride, much nicer (imo) than a 1200 sportster I tried out. I did not like the sportster, it's a similar weight and felt similar standing it up, but the VMax handles better and has a little more low end pull than the sportster. At about the time the sportster is running out of steam the VMAX is just starting to pull hard. I did not ride it for a long ride, just a shortish spin but it just felt like it didn't want to turn. I also remember it not being very smooth.

I'm not sure where you're located, but you should be able to find one locally that you can ride. If you're serious about buying, I'm sure a potential seller will let you take it for a spin.

As a side note, the FZX700 is one of my favorite bikes. One of my best friend's brother had one growing up (he actually still has it) and I always wanted one until I saw a VMax. Makes sense as the styling is similar. I'm sure I could pick up the Fazer from him for pretty cheap and it's still in great shape, but I barely have time to ride one bike, let alone two.

 

[wheelie250]

Hey bud, think you'll fit if you dont mind having the seat cut down. I am only 5'8'' and 145lbs. Stock it was a bit uncomforable. I ended puttin -1 lowering springs in the front 1 1/2 lowering springs in the rear and have a cut down seat. The seat looks soo much better and it is alot more comfortable. With all that being said I fit on it stock and you probally could as well. Also all the mods are pretty reasonable, seat is around 180$ i think, and rear shocks can be had for around 100. also depending on the bars you run you could loosen the pinch bolts on the forks and lower them down at least an inch or possibly 2.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

It felt like I was straddling a buffalo. It was a very heavy feeling 650 pounds. I've ridden/owned several heavy bikes, including that 700 pound Harley FXRS. It didn't ~feel~ nearly as heavy as the Vmax did. And the bike is ENORMOUS! Huge pipes, huge bars, huge everything .. to the point of being almost cartoonish.

To be honest, it has a power to weight ratio equal to that of many other bikes these days ... about 5.8 pounds carried by each horsepower. The "big torque" doesn't really come into things until the long end of the track anyhow, right? My 750 Magna has a p:w that is right at 5.8:1, so my guess is that it will do ok until we get up over 90/100mph. That's when the Vmax's torque comes in to play, right?

I agree, ...With the size thing............ I've ridden a few miles on several different GEN II's and they are just plain big LOOKING.....While actually RIDING the bike it felt small to me, handles WAY better than the Gen I and much more rider friendly in every way to me.......the fact that it didn't feel as big as it looked was the FIRST thing I noticed when I rode the first one..

Admittedlly I'm 6" 230lb

Torque.....???????????? no, I think you're wrong on that one..... it DOES come into play, IMMEDIATELY!! Not on the "big" end of the track........The big end of the track is where horsepower and RPM take over from torque, and is why Gen I's with less torque than some harley's will lose a few lengths to them off the line and then their superior HP and RPM take over and walk away....

With the GEN II you have GOBS of torque to get you off the line and stupid amount of HP to finsh off the kill......

It comes in to play from a standstill, and the Gen II will smoke the living **** out of simliar Hp/lb ratio bikes with less torque/lb than the GEN II because of it's outstanding torque.................I'm not saying it's the fastest thing around, it's not.... it's just that if you take another 680lb bike like the GEN IIand less torque than the GEN II then the answer is obvious to me at least.......

I've seen enough big Block chevy muscle cars beat the sport compacts off the line yet lose at the "big end" at the strip to see this. When the turbo'ed sport compact is lacking in the Tq department yet has superior horsepower (I've seen some around houston that are putting down 600-1000hp to the rear wheels; with my own eyes at dyno days, seen a couple Supras put down 1200Hp to the rear wheels yet only make around 400ft/lb TQ; not talking about civics with a fart can), if the torque of the muscle car doesn't get it "enough" of a lead off the line the HP of the sport compact will let it win on the big end....Reverse that total power equation and I think it'll be different, give 'em both the same HP and weight and one with more torque,....I think the torque wins, it just has to have the HP to back it up...Unless it has a stupid amount of torque to get it out in front so far the HP of the other car just isn't enough to let it catch up??

If you don't like how the GENN II looks, I can't help you, I'm iffy on that one myself...But you need to ride one to see how much smaller it feels than it looks.....

 

[Holeshot]

Thanks guys ....

I guess I should have worder that better. I tend to be VERY verbous, so I pursposely edit myself a lot to keep myself brief. In that attempt I think I mis-spoke.

What I guess I meant was, getting a lot of bike weight *moving* is harder to do with heavier bikes. It's a matter of basic physical laws. While I have zero expeience with the Vmax in any flavor, I know it easier to ride a lighter bike ... period. So I suppose I was sortof paraphrasing my feelings about the bike in the whole P:W vs the abilty to keep moving under load (aka torque).

In any case ... what I am REALLY glad to hear is that the Gen1's are not so piggy. And that they also *ride lighter* than they handle in the parking lot. This is great to hear!

I need to do what several of you have suggested ... I need to ride a Gen 1. End of sentence.

Wow .... thanks tons fellas.

Thinking ... thinking ...

Shutting up in 3 ... 2 .. 1.

 

[gamorg02]

no need to shut up man, as long as you treat people with respect (which i think you have) no one here is gonna yell at you for talking too much. hell if they did i think they'd be looking at the person approaching 9k posts!

 

[Rusty McNeil]

no need to shut up man, as long as you treat people with respect (which i think you have) no one here is gonna yell at you for talking too much. hell if they did i think they'd be looking at the person approaching 9k posts!

+1 on that! I think i'm one of the biggest wind bags around, can't help myself:bang head:

 

[Fire-medic]

:worthy:

Hey bud, think you'll fit if you dont mind having the seat cut down. I am only 5'8'' and 145lbs. Stock it was a bit uncomforable. I ended puttin -1 lowering springs in the front 1 1/2 lowering springs in the rear and have a cut down seat. The seat looks soo much better and it is alot more comfortable. With all that being said I fit on it stock and you probally could as well. Also all the mods are pretty reasonable, seat is around 180$ i think, and rear shocks can be had for around 100. also depending on the bars you run you could loosen the pinch bolts on the forks and lower them down at least an inch or possibly 2.

You better check prices yourself before you take this poster's word for pricing! Morley's basic seat price is $260 before options & the "good" Progressive Suspension shocks (440's) are going to cost you $450+ shipped.

I don't think you could find them used for what he said!

 

[Holeshot]

That's cool, I am already a pretty big Racetech fan, so it sorta goes without saying I'll be investigating something other than $100 shocks.

Same with seats, you get what you pay for.

Thanks for looking out for my best interests folks!

Still looking for a worthy victim bike. Missi (my wife of 30+ years) is presently on the freeway on her way to the LA basin to pick up a 1982? Yamaha Maxim 650. Her and my brother are picking that bike up today (it was "well purchased" as they say!) and so we'll be getting that prepped as her 1st highway capable street bike. Tires, wheel bearings, a set of the $214 Progressives (the near standard 12.5 inch #412's), air filters, as well as whatever else it will need to make it safe.

In the meantime the search for the *right* Vmax continues. I think I'm after about the earliest one I can find that hasn't been thrashed on. I truly dig the look of the first model year. But I think I read that those are rare and somewhat iffy in a few areas (engine issues I believe is what I read here).

In any case, the help I've rec'd here is above value ... thanks tons fellas! I mean even an EARLY one should be able to put it on the likes of my current ride ... (mocking up some new stuff in this pic ...)

HAA!

unk:

 

[chadb1]

Were twins.Im the exact size of you and am on my third Vmax