Old Vmax mag articles

[RaWarrior]

So I finally got around to digging out my ancient serial-bus scanner, putting my old desktop back together(the latest driver for said scanner was Windows ME), and getting it all working.

Good news, it amazingly all still works. Couldn't find the power brick for the scanner, but it said 12VDC, so I grabbed a spare connector, stripped the ends, and hooked my battery charger to it. Worked fine. Then convert and resize, since the stupid scanner dumped out 35mb bitmap images initially. And here they are for your enjoyment.

For people on cellphones, this thread might chew up your data use and/or make your phone explode as it tries to load all these. Each image is around 10mb as seen here. I put the scanner's dpi up to 300 to get clear text, it also gave me giant files(even after a 50% scale reduction). Probably best viewed on an actual computer.

Here's the famous "Taking it to the Nines" from Cycle World, March 1987

And I'm just getting started. I got a big box full of papers with my Max...including probably every magazine that ever even mentioned the Vmax.

Here's an even older one... Motorcyclist from April 1986

And here's another Vmax cover on Motorcyclist of November 1989

I kept these all nice and big so the text would be easy to read. The scanning/cropping/converting/resizing/transfer/upload process was painfully slow, above took around 3 hours. There's lots of interesting old advertisements and such in these, but for now I just kept to the Vmax stories. If there's anything specific you want scanned in, I'll look for it.

 

[DMAN999]

Thanks.
I just downloaded and rared your scans up for anyone that wants them for offline viewing:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/nj1che
OR
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/VMax_Articles.rar

 

[rusty]

Awesome Vmax history!! No wonder we are all here for this bike. Great job Ryan:thumbs up:

 

[Fire-medic]

Great documentation, thanks, "Ra!" I think I had nearly all those mags @ 1 time/another, but things get 'cleaned-up' to enhance matrimonial bliss. I ditched 30+ years' of bike mags this summer because of that, I can always see 'em here, right? I did manage to set-aside a few, a very few, but w/these articles scanned, I can see 'em again in all their glory. I just didn't want to try & deal w/selling the stuff, so 'pull some faves,' & the rest go into the recycling.

 

[PATMAX]

Got the original too along with some early sales brochures. Amazing how often this stuff shows up on eBay. Got the big Gen 2 dealer banner too!


When in doubt...Gas it !!!

 

[RaWarrior]

Here's another bit....apparently people have been whining about the oil light popping on for quite a while.... this was from a 1996 issue.

I also have an original 1997 V-max sales pamphlet, but it's an oddly shaped (big n square) piece and it won't fit on the scanner neatly.

 

[dtoebaert-5311]

Thanks.
I just downloaded and rared your scans up for anyone that wants them for offline viewing:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/nj1che
OR
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/VMax_Articles.rar

Excellent - thanks! :clapping:

 

[95spfldmax]

Great stuff!!...I still have all my old articles saved but too busy to break them out now.

I think the Mods should put this in a thread/sticky for "Ancient Articles" or something where we all can find them easily and add to it over the coming years.....JMO.

 

[Fire-medic]

Great stuff!!...I still have all my old articles saved but too busy to break them out now.

I think the Mods should put this in a thread/sticky for "Ancient Articles" or something where we all can find them easily and add to it over the coming years.....JMO.

A 'second' for the sticky topic, preserve those for posterity and easy retireval.

 

[Dr.n2o]

I love that old stuff man....thanks

 

[[email protected]]

There are some good articles here as well
http://www.outlawdragbike.com/forumdisplay.php?112-VMAX-Memorabilia

 

[Fire-medic]

Yeah, when I was off for a holiday break, I read all those, took awhile, but was a lotta fun. It helped me slake my thirst for a "VMax Experience," as I was deep into my Lazarus-project, returning my '92 to operable status after an extended period of storage/nonuse.

Reading the articles reminded me of how-much I enjoyed the bike when it was running well, and why I spent the $ to refurbish it. I just had another 4 weeks to go to hear it run for the first time since before these were popular:

Now try to get those pictures out of your mind anytime soon!:rofl_200:

There are some good articles here as well
http://www.outlawdragbike.com/forumdisplay.php?112-VMAX-Memorabilia

 

[VMike]

Thanks for taking the time to scan and post these Ryan! Really brought back a lot of good memories when Mr Max came on the scene and blew everyone's mind. From their history, it's easy to see why they've earned the the respect and iconic status they deserve. Remember Mr Max vs AC Cobra in 0-100-0 shoot out article?unk:
Mike

 

[Fire-medic]

Aston-Martin was a 'gentleman's express' capable of true grand-touring. In the engine compartment was a metal plaque bearing the name of the engine assembler, just try to find-out that info for your KIA Rio!

One of the qualities that A-M decided to advertise was that its car was capable of going from 0-100-0 in less than 25 seconds. Now, remember, this is a grand touring car with English leather hides for the upholstery, and the typical classy finishes on anything you would be likely to see as an owner. As an inline-6, the car had good performance, after all, it was the vehicle of choice for James Bond, although in Ian Fleming's stories he drove a blower Bentley.

Carrol Shelby decided to make his hot-rod metisse car from a proper low-production English lightweight body-on-frame construction which, with suitable allowances, was capable of accepting a 260 c.i. Ford thinwall casting V-8. The Bristol AC received the Ford after being shipped, engineless, to CA, where Carrol Shelby's guys dropped-in the Ford and made the running gear changes to allow it to live. The engine that the Ford replaced was actually a storied BMW WW II war-reparations engine from their pre-war 328, which was a successful racing design. After the war, the BMW factory was shipped to England, where a number of vehicles made use of the engine.

In a search for more performance, and to embarass Enzo Ferrari, who had rebuffed Henry Ford II's offer to buy Ferrari when Enzo was fielding offers, Carrol Shelby got some FE side-oiler 427's to be installed into the AC Cobra in-place of the 260 which had grown to a 289.

The performance was amazing for the big-block AC, but it tended to get light in the nose as the original design was only good for maybe approaching 100 mph, and not the 165 mph of the big-block Ford.

In a quest to fix the aerodynamics of the open-cockpit, a talented young designer in his 20's Pete Brock, was given the task of designing a bodystyle which would allow safer handling that the V-8 AC's were capable of. He penned the Cobra GT, which is probably one of the most-iconic designs ever to come out of Detroit's desire to combine American V-8 power and handling. It was one of the few cars which received extensive wind-tunnel testing before being approved for production, and it featured downforce tabs and a Kamm-design rear tail (the oblique chopped-off concavity at the rear of the car, designed according to Professor Kamm's aero studies, which allowed the air passing-over the car to merge smoothly together after the end of the car, a significant source of aero drag if this was not done. The alternative was a long compound-curve tapering tail, unsuitable for a racecar, but acceptable for a Bonneville streamliner.

So I think it was Cycle who came up w/the idea to pit the 427 against the VMax, and as those of you who purchased that magazine know, the race wan't even close. 13.8 seconds. unk:

Thanks for taking the time to scan and post these Ryan! Really brought back a lot of good memories when Mr Max came on the scene and blew everyone's mind. From their history, it's easy to see why they've earned the the respect and iconic status they deserve. Remember Mr Max vs AC Cobra in 0-100-0 shoot out article?unk:
Mike

 

[sdt354]

Great reading, thanks Ryan, and Mike. I love this stuff. And this bike!
Steve

 

[RaWarrior]

I'll boot up the old dinosaur comp again in a bit, I found a page in the '97 issue with an "artists depiction" of what the genII would look like. It looks totally bad-ass.....way cooler than what we actually got. I'll scan it in for you and post it in a bit. This one pictures my bike...or what it originally looked like...a silver '97.

Here it is....scroll to the bottom to see the "gen 2"

That's probably the coolest looking motorcycle I've ever seen. And so practical...same distinctive engine, modern chassis, updated styling while keeping evidence of it's roots. Check out those radial wheels, the rear shock, single sided swingarm, 6pot calipers....all the stuff the Max should have. How Yamaha failed to turn that drawing into real life is a fantastic blunder. The design oozes essence of Vmax, but without the annoying 80's-bike traits. If you saw that bike on showroom floors, you'd buy one. I'd sell my ass on the streetcorner to buy one of those.
*sigh*.....if only. Maybe the gen3 will look like that, in another 20 years or so when Yamaha gets around to another update.

 

[DMAN999]

MotorCyclist Magazine VMax Articles (in .pdf format)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/VMax%20MotorCylist%20Magazine%201986-2003%20Articles.rar

And This is a Guide for Vmax Clutch Maintence/Repair by LvLHead that I copied/converted from his Web page to .pdf format:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/VMax - Into The Clutch - LvLHead.pdf

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

Wow, I didn't realize that Targa made a body set for the 1st generation VMAX! I just bought a 900 Eliminator with one on it, minus the fairing which I've already removed, and I can't believe how UGLY they are! Absolutely hideous! Has anyone actually had one or seen one in person on a VMAX?

 

[DMAN999]

More Old VMax Articles in .pdf Format:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/CycleWorld Dec 1984.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/CycleWorld May 1985.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/CycleGuide Aug 1985.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/Cycle 1985.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/Cycle Jan 1986.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/CycleWorld Aug 1988.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/Cycle World Magazine Sept 1994.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/Rider Magazine Dec 1994.PDF
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55030067/Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine Dec 1996.PDF

 

[PATMAX]

I've got all these in hardcopy too but want to say thanks for digitize this stuff. I know it took some time and effort.