It’s arrived!

[BikerMidwife]

Happy days. My vmax (my first) has been delivered. Now just waiting for U.K. registration to come through.

My poor LTD has never had to share the office with such a beastie.

 

[marsmax85]

good looking ride congrats !!

 

[Fire-medic]

Looks decent and it's a later model with the 43mm front end, a single ignition pick-up coil, and twin pairs of opposed brake pads for the front calipers and the 298mm rotors.

The LTD looks clean. I owned 550cc, 750cc, and 1000cc LTD's, all fun bikes and each good at something specific. Here are a few shots of some reworked LTD's, out of my friend's shop. The first bike (two pics) is drag-centric, the second (four pics) is a streetbike with style elements of dragstrip use.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Congrats !

 

[02GF74]

Good choice. The Z1000 (and derivatives Z1, Z900) are IMO the most beautiful motorcycled made.

The main reason for getting a VMax was 'cause I couldn't figure out the idling issue on my Z1000 A1.... which is now road tax exempt. The early ones are fetching crazy ££££.

BTW my Vmax was an import that needed registration - if you are unclear of the process, I may be able to help. Also consider joining the VJMC as they have a couple of people that specialise in this for a free of course, and being a member supposedly gives discount with some insurance companies. I'm with Footmen James, about 1/3(?) what MCN quoted me.

 

[BikerMidwife]

The LTD looks clean. I owned 550cc, 750cc, and 1000cc LTD's, all fun bikes and each good at something specific. Here are a few shots of some reworked LTD's, out of my friend's shop. The first bike (two pics) is drag-centric, the second (four pics) is a streetbike with style elements of dragstrip use.

Lovely!
I had a 250 and 440 LTD years back, this 1000 came up as I was looking for a 750. Have ridden it in all weathers for a couple of years and brought it in to pull it apart and sort out over the winter (grabbed a little SV650 as a winter bike instead). It goes in for a rewire next month (I don't DO electrics), and then its pretty much complete. At that point I can start on the Vmax and look at replacing the starter clutch. It sounds fine to me, but was sold as needing a new one and I havent listened to enough of them to know.

 

[BikerMidwife]

Good choice. The Z1000 (and derivatives Z1, Z900) are IMO the most beautiful motorcycled made.

100% agree. The Z1000s are out of my budget sadly. Flirted with the idea of one of the new Z900 RS, dont usually like new stuff made to look old, but they keep catching my eye.

 

[Woody]

Good looking bike.
Hang on tight. It's a blue one.

 

[Fire-medic]

Here's one that should get desert-max into his shop to get to work.



One of the bikes at an AMCA meet in so. FL. Lots of other pics of great bikes, some of which most of you probably have never-seen before.



This is a frame-maker of great renown in the U.K. but is hardly known in the USA except among the Anglophiles. The Dresda Triton is a Triumph engine in a custom frame, styled after the famed Norton 'Featherbed' frame. The Norton frame was one of the most-successful of the fully-suspended (front and rear) motorcycles (and no, Triumph sprung rear hubs don't count). Going to hydraulic front ends, and rear shocks was a great change in the handling qualities of motorcycles. If you look at a Featherbed at the steering head, you will see that the twin downtubes sweep-up from forming the engine cradle and they cross the horizontal seat tubes, the 'backbone' tubing which is horizontal to the ground, fastening to the steering head, and then continuing to the rear of the engine area, where they turn downwards. The featherbed design was widely-copied, it was simple, effective, strong, easy to fabricate, and changed how manufacturers thought about full suspension. Services – Dresda Classic Motorcycles

Great frame-builders from the U.K.:

Rickman
Seeley
Alf Hagon
Dresda
Add others:







The H-D VR-1000 was their AMA superbike entry. It was actually a limited production streetbike! AMA rules required a motorcycle for roadracing to be based upon a streetbike. They designed a completely-new motorcycle, this was it. To comply with the AMA rule for being a production-based motorcycle, the bike was homologated in Poland! That means it was accepted as a production motorcycle by the Polish government.

 

[Dansmaxresto]

Here's one that should get desert-max into his shop to get to work.

View attachment 82366

One of the bikes at an AMCA meet in so. FL. Lots of other pics of great bikes, some of which most of you probably have never-seen before.

View attachment 82367

This is a frame-maker of great renown in the U.K. but is hardly known in the USA except among the Anglophiles. The Dresda Triton is a Triumph engine in a custom frame, styled after the famed Norton 'Featherbed' frame. The Norton frame was one of the most-successful of the fully-suspended (front and rear) motorcycles (and no, Triumph sprung rear hubs don't count). Going to hydraulic front ends, and rear shocks was a great change in the handling qualities of motorcycles. If you look at a Featherbed at the steering head, you will see that the twin downtubes sweep-up from forming the engine cradle and they cross the horizontal seat tubes, the 'backbone' tubing which is horizontal to the ground, fastening to the steering head, and then continuing to the rear of the engine area, where they turn downwards. The featherbed design was widely-copied, it was simple, effective, strong, easy to fabricate, and changed how manufacturers thought about full suspension. Services – Dresda Classic Motorcycles

Great frame-builders from the U.K.:

Rickman
Seeley
Alf Hagon
Dresda
Add others:

View attachment 82368

View attachment 82369

View attachment 82370

The H-D VR-1000 was their AMA superbike entry. It was actually a limited production streetbike! AMA rules required a motorcycle for roadracing to be based upon a streetbike. They designed a completely-new motorcycle, this was it. To comply with the AMA rule for being a production-based motorcycle, the bike was homologated in Poland! That means it was accepted as a production motorcycle by the Polish government.

Saw Miguel Duhanel ride the HD VR at Mid-Ohio. It sounded good and he was running well but then the shift lever fell off. We then made the required jokes about Harley’s reliability.

 

[desert_max]

Here's one that should get desert-max into his shop to get to work.

View attachment 82366

You are relentless my friend. My current feeble energies are directed towards my CB750 K5. I am so close to getting that thing finished I can taste it.

I think the whole Cafe theme has been overdone, but I have always liked format. Here's an image of the bike on the trailer as I was preparing to take it home early last summer. Yeah, I know, the trailer needs a little bit of love too. The bike itself needed quite a bit of love although it doesn't look it. Now, I just need to stuff the carburetors back on it, buy a chain and fire it up. Maybe this week...(for the record, I have all the bits to return it to factory configuration except the exhaust - including wheels. However, I do have a pristine Kerker on there now.)

 

[Fire-medic]

Is that a 1974? I think the gas tank is, at least. Looks pretty-good to me. At the Dania Beach AMCA show this weekend, I bought a used front master cylinder that would fit that. It needs a rebuild, I already have a kit. I like the seat/bum-stop, very traditional in appearance, as a replacement. The project looks pretty far along in the scheme of things.

The trailer looks like a good scuffing and a fresh coat of paint would make it cosmetically more appealing. As long as the bearings are greased, the tires aren't dry-rotted or thin, and the wiring is OK, that makes for a serviceable transport piece. I like a good set of safety chains too.

 

[desert_max]

Is that a 1974? I think the gas tank is, at least. Looks pretty-good to me. At the Dania Beach AMCA show this weekend, I bought a used front master cylinder that would fit that. It needs a rebuild, I already have a kit. I like the seat/bum-stop, very traditional in appearance, as a replacement. The project looks pretty far along in the scheme of things.

The trailer looks like a good scuffing and a fresh coat of paint would make it cosmetically more appealing. As long as the bearings are greased, the tires aren't dry-rotted or thin, and the wiring is OK, that makes for a serviceable transport piece. I like a good set of safety chains too.

It's a 75 (K5).

The trailer is a lot more solid than it looks. I rewired it, new lights, new wheel bearings, new tongue jack, good tires, "OK" chains.

My son took it to Sacramento and back a few months ago without a problem.

 

[desert_max]

By the way, the planet blue was only available in 75. My opinion, one of the nicest colors ever applied to an SOHC.

 

[desert_max]

2000 apologies to the original poster. At least Planet blue Honda sort of fits with your original introductory message. Enjoy that VMAX

 

[Clyde Porter IV]

It's a 75 (K5).

The trailer is a lot more solid than it looks. I rewired it, new lights, new wheel bearings, new tongue jack, good tires, "OK" chains.

My son took it to Sacramento and back a few months ago without a problem.

Who gives a **** what the Hauler looks like? Keep it rolling my friend. The less you put into the trailer the More you will get out of the Subject that matters.

 

[BikerMidwife]

2000 apologies to the original poster. At least Planet blue Honda sort of fits with your original introductory message. Enjoy that VMAX

hey no issues here. Absolutely my type of bike, the 750 for me is one of the ones that got away.

 

[desert_max]

Well, since Bikermidwife has shown a little latitude for his discussion, I'd like to expand on the Kawasaki topic if I may.

I had a brand new zl900 I rode off the showroom floor in Florida in 85. Had the good fortune to acquire a very nice specimen 13ish years ago... which was a sweet machine. It was unfortunately lost in a rear end collision. I had just completed making some stylistic changes and was bitterly disappointed.

Anyway, with number one back in 85, a friend at the time had an LTD 1000. I know they are wonderful machines, but I can tell you that I frustrated the heck out of him with that Eliminator. It shadt all over him every time we went out. The Ninja engine was something else. Of course its evolution has been fun to watch as well.

Here's the one I lost in 2011:

 

[BikerMidwife]

Anyway, with number one back in 85, a friend at the time had an LTD 1000. I know they are wonderful machines, but I can tell you that I frustrated the heck out of him with that Eliminator. It shadt all over him every time we went out.

My LTD was a US import and was sooooooooo slow. Revved crazy high and did nothing (but took off nicely from a standstill). Changed the sprockets and at the loss of some take off, it has far more top end (about another 40 miles worth) and the engine now isn't screaming. As for friends, I can just about keep up with them in the twisties but it's a 41yo beastie.

Sweet bike, shame it got rear ended

 

[Fire-medic]

Here's a rare one, I doubt many of you have run-across one of these, a Z-2! It was made for a specific foreign market, and few survive today. You could swap even-up a Gen. II VMax for one. This just arrived in my friend's shop, and they expect to soon have it operational, and to leave it with the patina it's acquired. It's a 750cc Z-2. They are rare, very collectible, and use Z-1 parts, but the VIN begins with KZ750D.