New to me 2005 Vmax 20th Anniversary Edition

[Gtista]

Just acquired this 2005 Vmax. Has 44,000 gentle miles on it. Runs fine and pulls like a locomotive. V boost is something else!
Cosmetically bike is very, very clean. Not a ding on it. Did have a leaking right front fork and right brake caliper. Rebuilt both forks while I was at it. Was going to rebuild the caliper but found a very good used one for roughly 1/2 the price of the parts for a full caliper rebuild (pistons, seals, etc.).

Believe it or not, the original rear brake disk flunked Maryland state inspection by one one thousandth of an inch! Was the original ventilated rotor. Only rear rotor like that I've seen in 60 years of bike riding! Ebay to the rescue.

Missing the factory tool kit. But I found a brand new one still in the factory wrapper on Ebay for the princely sum of $50! BTW, anybody know what that nylon thing in the tool kit with "front" and "rear" molded into it is for?

Last observation/question. Bike has 11 inch center to center rear shocks on it. I understand 13 inches center to center is stock. If so, I think I'll go back to that length since front wheel wants to flop over at parking lot speeds and steering is quite slow. Of course, my last bike before this was a Ducati Monster with the 996 superbike engine in it so I am used to much quicker steering.

Bottom line -- I love the Vmax for what it is and this forum is truly great!

Thanks.
Gtista

 

[Fire-medic]

Looks to be in decent shape. Someone will buy your shorty shocks from you on here, they are valued by those of shorter inseam size. The Progressive Suspension shocks are a popular replacement, the least-expensive are probably the 412 series. They can get pricey if you go for the more-tunable P.S. shocks. There are other manufacturers, Race-Tech has 'em, and Penske for the $$$$ option, or Ohlins.

SHow us the toolkit, and the piece you're inquiring about.

 

[Gtista]

Hi, here is a pic of the tool kit. I found it on Ebay by searching the part number from the 2005 Vmax parts book.
Also here is the pic of the nylon item. the shorter end is printed "rear" and the longer end "Front." Looks like it might be intended to be cut in two at the joint in the middle. Any ideas?
Thanks much to all.
GtistaView attachment 91360View attachment 91361

 

[Fire-medic]

That appears to be some sort of a vacuum tube but I do not recognize it

 

[Gtista]

My lousy photography. It is solid with a rectangular cross section.

Thanks.
Gtista

 

[Scrape]

I think they call that a dohicky or a thingamabob

 

[Scrape]

All kidding aside, if it says front and back, could it be some kind of gauge stick for setting up suspension? I don't have a clue other than that.

 

[Fire-medic]

In the factory shop manual, there is a listing of VMax-specific tools, w/pictures, and I don't recall seeing anything of the sort.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Congrats and welcome

 

[Gtista]

In the factory shop manual, there is a listing of VMax-specific tools, w/pictures, and I don't recall seeing anything of the sort.

Found it! It is a dipstick, P/N 2H72815A00, for checking the oil levels in the middle and rear gear drive cases in some earlier shaft drive Yamahas. This explains why one end is marked "middle" and the other end "rear." Tried to get better pic, attached.

 

[Fire-medic]

I didn't notice the Yamaha in the earlier pic. It's upside-down there, and indistinct. But if you look long-enough, enlarged, you can make it out.