New to the vmax world

VMAX  Forum

Help Support VMAX Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Did you get to take it out for a test drive?.............................Tom.


Didnt get it out on the main roads yet but rode it thru the parking lot. Got on it in second didnt really wind it out but at seemed well. Theu said once it gets nice and i get it out and there are any issues with it at all they will stand behind it 100% and fix it.
 
Congratulations on your new bike. Ask Beekeeper all those questions, he should be able to help you to make your bike work well for you. The roads in SW MI have lots of good places to ride, and Allegan Co. has some topography to it that places like Mt. Pleasant in the center of the state doesn't. I bet you've been to the 'Little Red Barn' in Hickory Corners, the Gilmore Museum? There are some good roads in the Gull Lake area, not so-much for top-end rush, but up & down, and curves, I like M 37 too between Hastings and Grand Rapids, and around Yankee Springs Recreation Area.

Look for RaWarrior's sticky for new VMax owners, lots of great info. http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=21240

SS braided brake lines and HH pads for the front should give you confidence in your brakes to work well all the time. Change your fuel filter, and you might consider doing the same to your forks, and adding Progressive Suspension or Race Tech fork springs (Race Tech is according to your 'ready-to-ride' weight, PS is one size fits all) and one or the other of RICOR, Race Tech, or YSS fork cartridge simulators, wave-washer stacks you use to replace the damping tubes' function, easy to do and that should help your front end greatly. Add a good pair of rear shocks in the 13" stock length (any shorter and you compromise your cornering clearance) and you should have the suspension good to be exuberant in the curves, and w/the benefit of added control.

I'd stay away from engine mods until you have at least a season of riding the way it is under your belt. It can benefit more from suspension tuning than from performance mods. And then there's the radial tire conversion, requiring at a minimum a new rear wheel, you can get by w/the stock front and a radial properly-sized to it. My suggestion for the front is to resist the urge to go wider in the front (if going to a radial), and get a stock width tire which is radial (when you add a radial at the rear) because the wheel is already a bit narrow for a radial tire, and going wider than stock will compromise the tire footprint even more.

People spend $$$$ on their bikes, but there's no reason to do that out of the gate. Ride it for a season, consider the mods I mentioned if your brake pads need replacing, and if you want to make some easily-accomplished suspension mods which will give you confidence in the bike. The only 'death-wobble' I know-of comes from worn or out of adjustment components and bad tires. A new pair of quality bias-ply tires will make your bike ride much-better, and those Battleax tires are a good choice. I use them, but as radials.

Read the stickys, lots of good info for killing wintertime evenings.
 
Drilled some holes in my exhaust. Wow what a difference. Made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I love it!!!
 
Take care of the bike, and it will last many thousands of miles.. Make sure you have it aimed when you hit the boost the first time. I'd just ride it for a while before I started changing too much too soon. If I was going to advise one mod to consider, it would definitely be the COPS (coil sticks) mod..

I've had my '85 for over 30 years, and am still honeymooning with it. 130,000 + miles, with no major repairs.
 
+1 Bill on the cops
I make them and sell them on here if you look under parts for sale.
 
Like was stated, I would not go crazy with the mods right away, when I got mine I did some simple things up front, flyscreen, case guards and a shift light, later on I installed progressive springs up front and added slip on mufflers, no real performance gains just a nice rumble, I wish you would have called me before drilling your mufflers, I have a real nice set of drilled stock exhaust you could have installed and saved the origionals, looking foreward to some good riding weather myself!.......:punk:......Tom.
 
Like was stated, I would not go crazy with the mods right away, when I got mine I did some simple things up front, flyscreen, case guards and a shift light, later on I installed progressive springs up front and added slip on mufflers, no real performance gains just a nice rumble, I wish you would have called me before drilling your mufflers, I have a real nice set of drilled stock exhaust you could have installed and saved the origionals, looking foreward to some good riding weather myself!.......:punk:......Tom.


I dont really plan on doing anything major until i get some seat time on the bike. Right now im just going through and checking over the bike. Alot of the fluids are a little low. No biggie i can top all those off. I wanna do a bounce test and adjust the steer head bearings if i have to. Didnt think to call ya about the exhaust. The bike was just too quiet for my liking.
 
Welcome to the world of VMax.

I bought mine this past August and am on the path that everyone responding to your post has recommended. I put some miles on the bike and have done a number of basic things like changing out all the fluids, adjustment of bearings, progressives, HH brake pads - all of which were very worthwhile.

One thing that I find fun is making an upgrade and and then taking the time to ride and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

I have a host of "projects" that I am working on over the winter, with the idea that I'll get those done, ride and enjoy and then get the Mod Monkey itch for the next thing.

Enjoy, ride safe, and post some pics!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looks like you brought it in the garage and modded the exhaust right away.

Well yea you cant have a quiet bike. I mean it was really quiet. Thatll be the only mod i do until i get some miles on it and im used to it. Im sure its gonna be a completly different beast that my fz1.
 
Id love to buy some aftermarket exhaust but im gonna hold off on that for a while.

And thanks but its a little messy right now.

Bought the stove to replace my electric one with a gas one. But thanks for getting the gears turning in my head about powder coating!:punk:
 
Back
Top