New to the V-Max,& forum.Need Some Help.

[bobbybob]

I just bought a 1985 V-max yesterday with 3620 miles on it.The bike is pretty clean,but has been sitting idle in a barn for the past 18 years.I have proceeded to take the bike apart and clean it up,and check everything over,and i have a few questions.Firstly,where is the best place to find the air scoops for these bikes.The left side scoop is missing,along with the left footpeg mount and shifter.Secondly,while taking the carbs apart today,the butterflies are stuck closed,and the diaphrams will not come out.Even after soaking in carb cleaner,i barely got one of them out without breaking it,but the rest are toast.So the question is,where is the best place to find parts for these bikes besides the dealer?Ive been all over e-bay,etc...and finding parts for these bikes seems to be like looking for hens teeth!!. Any help would be greatly appreciatedunk:

 

[Rhoy Carter]

There are a couple of great guys on here for parts ( Sean Morley " one2dmax" ) and ( Keith "Capitankyle" )

 

[SpecOps13]

+1 Sean and Kyle are both great to deal with. Depends on who's got what you need.
Kyle's in Florida and Sean's in Kansas..

 

[alorio1]

Hope you bought it cheap enough, because you are going to have quite a few bucks tied up in it when you get it in road condition. I would get some oil into the cylinders and spin the engine over a bit, and run a compresion test before I went and bought any parts. With it sitting that long there is no way to know if the cylinders have rusted to the point of piston rings breaking when you turn the engine over. Any way thats where I would start and thats just my thoughts..........

 

[SpecOps13]

+1 to that first too.....

 

[one2dmax]

Yep, it's going to be cheaper to get a good running set of carbs then to rebuild that set with all the bad parts. I've got all the parts you need other then maybe the carb set (though I have sets I would be too high compared to ebay).

Sean

 

[bobbybob]

Hope you bought it cheap enough, because you are going to have quite a few bucks tied up in it when you get it in road condition. I would get some oil into the cylinders and spin the engine over a bit, and run a compresion test before I went and bought any parts. With it sitting that long there is no way to know if the cylinders have rusted to the point of piston rings breaking when you turn the engine over. Any way thats where I would start and thats just my thoughts..........

Absolutely! I have pulled the plugs and put some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders,because God knows i dont wanna break any rings.And im sure that the valve stem seals are nice and dry rotted as well.I only paid $650.00 for it,so i think i got a pretty decent deal on the bike,its just gonna take some TLC.

 

[bobbybob]

Yep, it's going to be cheaper to get a good running set of carbs then to rebuild that set with all the bad parts. I've got all the parts you need other then maybe the carb set (though I have sets I would be too high compared to ebay).

Sean

If you have the diaphrams for the carbs,i would be interested in taking them off your hands if the price is right.Ive gotten the butterflies freed up,after a good soak in some carb cleaner for a hour or so,but the diaphrams are trashed.There was no easy or tenative way to get them out.And being that they are plastic,and been sitting for so long,they were so brittle that they just broke into tiny pieces when removing them.I have a dyno-jet rebuild kit on the way for them,but i REALLY need those diaphrams,and everywhere i have checked is out of them,or wants 100 bucks apiece for them.I imagine that i will have the same amount in the carbs that i payed for the bike by the time that im done....lol

 

[4gasem]

If you have the diaphrams for the carbs,i would be interested in taking them off your hands if the price is right.Ive gotten the butterflies freed up,after a good soak in some carb cleaner for a hour or so,but the diaphrams are trashed.There was no easy or tenative way to get them out.And being that they are plastic,and been sitting for so long,they were so brittle that they just broke into tiny pieces when removing them.I have a dyno-jet rebuild kit on the way for them,but i REALLY need those diaphrams,and everywhere i have checked is out of them,or wants 100 bucks apiece for them.I imagine that i will have the same amount in the carbs that i payed for the bike by the time that im done....lol

Dyno-Jet huh? Hmmm... I'd have kept with all Mikuni parts. I believe most will agree with me here.

You will have a LOT in the carbs...

Chris

 

[one2dmax]

Exactly. The last set I rebuilt that sounds like a similar condition were well over $900 to get the carbs right. I charge $125 per diaphragm so as noted I am not the cheapest though I have them in stock along with all the other rebuild parts you need. The enrichener diaphragms are also likely to be bad too which are $40 each. Add in all the gaskets/o-rings needed for the "normal" rebuild which are $160 worth of parts and you'll see how much you are going to have in them.

Better to get a good running set off ebay for $400-$600 and be done with it.

Sean

 

[bobzdar]

Exactly. The last set I rebuilt that sounds like a similar condition were well over $900 to get the carbs right. I charge $125 per diaphragm so as noted I am not the cheapest though I have them in stock along with all the other rebuild parts you need. The enrichener diaphragms are also likely to be bad too which are $40 each. Add in all the gaskets/o-rings needed for the "normal" rebuild which are $160 worth of parts and you'll see how much you are going to have in them.

Better to get a good running set off ebay for $400-$600 and be done with it.

Sean

I got a running set off of ebay for $300. Shoot me a pm as I have another set with new diaphrams that came with the bike.

 

[bobbybob]

Exactly. The last set I rebuilt that sounds like a similar condition were well over $900 to get the carbs right. I charge $125 per diaphragm so as noted I am not the cheapest though I have them in stock along with all the other rebuild parts you need. The enrichener diaphragms are also likely to be bad too which are $40 each. Add in all the gaskets/o-rings needed for the "normal" rebuild which are $160 worth of parts and you'll see how much you are going to have in them.

Better to get a good running set off ebay for $400-$600 and be done with it.

Sean

I agree 100%,but the only vmax carbs i have found on e-bay,look in worse shape than mine.I did pick up the diaphram/slides up for 280 bucks for four,so im off to a decent start on this venture.

 

[bobbybob]

Thanks for all the input and advice.I ixnayed the dyno-jet kit,and instead bought a factory spec rebuild kit off of ebay.And like you guys said,the air cut off diaphrams are shot as well.....Guess i should have checked into these carbs before buying the bike.But,hindsight is 20/20,and ive always wanted one of these bikes,and i am,and have been a motorcycle tech. for going on 15 years now.So all this stuff isnt exactly new to me.But i must say,these carbs are the most fun ive had since the last 1984 goldwing set i had to do...lol.

 

[bobbybob]

It gonna be a fun fun time im sure!:rofl_200: