The Max's rep

[VikingD]

Heading home from school yesterday I came up behind a newer Hardley. It was actually a guy that went through the BRC with me, but he didn't recognize me because the only times he saw me was in his mirror and then the back of my helmet as I blew past him. The next light was my turn so as I stop at a yeild to turn I hear a very loud tractor sounding ear splitting roar, I look expecting to see my prior BRC classmate hauling some serious ass and at least doing a wheelie from all the noise hes making. Instead I see his blue hard saddlebagged full dress whale of a motorcycle going about 35 or 40 MPH.:ummm: He was even tucked down like he was gonna go real fast. I laughed to myself and continued home. I still remember when I was in the BRC and this guy was real cool, with the same :worthy: regaurding the Max's rep. I also got the whole "Thats not the best starter bike, you need to take it easy for at least 6 months or so." from my instructors who all ride their R1s and Gixxers and who knows whatever other tupperware torpedos down to Laguna Seca (only 10 miles from my house) every weekend. I had already been riding my old Yamaha 850 special for a couple years, and had been riding my max for a couple months at that point, so I just smiled and nodded.

 

[Mitchell]

Yah and the whole, take 3 miles to get to the speed limit thing. ???????

Thats just par for the course. Gives you several more minutes to re-fuel the gas guzzler while you wait for the slugs to catch up:whistlin:

 

[4gasem]

You know I am not a Harley fan but I have seen quite a few that are DAMN fast! Of course they have 5-10 thousand in the engine...:whistlin::clapping:

 

[Mitchell]

You know I am not a Harley fan but I have seen quite a few that are DAMN fast! Of course they have 5-10 thousand in the engine...:whistlin::clapping:

I hear ya! Reminds of the time about 4 years ago on a hot summer night I met this guy at bike night with a major customized Duece. I was riding my Super Magna and we got to talking about them because his first bike was a 88 Super Magna, 20 years ago. He ended up invited me to ride with him and his group of friends for the evening and we hit all the hot spots around town for several hours. Well on one ride we were both leading on a stop light when he yells over and says.... I'll run ya for 1. I say 1 what :ummm: and he says 1 grand. So I'm like :surprise: Uh' sorry dude, I may ride a Honda but I'm not that sutpid:whistlin:You have a super charger and nos on that HD and I dont stand a freakin chance:worthy: Anyway, he proceeded with a serious holeshot that left rubber all the way across the intersection. Long story short, we developed a respect for each other that night and still get together to ride every once in a while. However, now that I got my Vmax he doesnt talk about racing for 1 again. :biglaugh:

 

[4gasem]

I hear ya! Reminds of the time about 4 years ago on a hot summer night I met this guy at bike night with a major customized Duece. I was riding my Super Magna and we got to talking about them because his first bike was a 88 Super Magna, 20 years ago. He ended up invited me to ride with him and his group of friends for the evening and we hit all the hot spots around town for several hours. Well on one ride we were both leading on a stop light when he yells over and says.... I'll run ya for 1. I say 1 what :ummm: and he says 1 grand. So I'm like :surprise: Uh' sorry dude, I may ride a Honda but I'm not that sutpid:whistlin:You have a super charger and nos on that HD and I dont stand a freakin chance:worthy: Anyway, he proceeded with a serious holeshot that left rubber all the way across the intersection. Long story short, we developed a respect for each other that night and still get together to ride every once in a while. However, now that I got my Vmax he doesnt talk about racing for 1 again. :biglaugh:

The Magna's are cool looking but S-L-O-W... :whistlin: My buddy sold his when I got my SV and got a max because he couldn't keep up with me... lol

Of course his max doesn't stand a chance against the SV in the corners and the SV is equally as fast as the max...:thumbs up:

 

[shawn kloker]

The Magna's are cool looking but S-L-O-W... :whistlin: My buddy sold his when I got my SV and got a max because he couldn't keep up with me... lol

Of course his max doesn't stand a chance against the SV in the corners and the SV is equally as fast as the max...:thumbs up:

I know of one Vmax that can keep up with your Sv in the corners, running on 3 cylinders. LOL!

 

[Mitchell]

Sure the Magna's are slow when compared to sport bikes or bigger displacement V4's and some V2's. But, its still a old machine thats carbed with only 700 & 750cc's that can spank over 95% of the "cruisers" that are built today. Stock for stock, the V-Rod, M109, Rocket III and the Vmax are the only classified cruisers that will spank it, that I'm aware of? I know for a fact that in a quarter they will stick with a fuel injected 1800 VTX and 1700 Warrior. To me, that says a lot for them.

 

[4gasem]

I know of one Vmax that can keep up with your Sv in the corners, running on 3 cylinders. LOL!

Your a little more nuts than me... I didn't know those corners and my self preservation mode kicked in pretty heavy which is good as we passed that cop on the ride home...

I'd still put a stock SV up against a slightly modified Vmax like mine on a track. There's just no comparison, and as well there shouldn't be. Two different machines all together.

 

[shawn kloker]

Your a little more nuts than me... I didn't know those corners and my self preservation mode kicked in pretty heavy which is good as we passed that cop on the ride home...

I'd still put a stock SV up against a slightly modified Vmax like mine on a track. There's just no comparison, and as well there shouldn't be. Two different machines all together.

I did not know that mountain road either.I was kind of expecting to come up to some cars at those speeds.I wouldn't consider my max stock either in the handling dept.I almost rear ended you 3 or 4 times so decided to drop back a little.

 

[bobbfrommn]

Heh, the max rep is nice. Before I got the max I had it's little brother a '86 Maxim X. At around 500lbs the 700cc 90hp really moved. Talk about no respect. The harley snobs would turn up their nose at the little rice burner at the first bar and be gathered around once they caught up at the second.

 

[gleno]

Sure the Magna's are slow when compared to sport bikes or bigger displacement V4's and some V2's. But, its still a old machine thats carbed with only 700 & 750cc's that can spank over 95% of the "cruisers" that are built today. Stock for stock, the V-Rod, M109, Rocket III and the Vmax are the only classified cruisers that will spank it, that I'm aware of? I know for a fact that in a quarter they will stick with a fuel injected 1800 VTX and 1700 Warrior. To me, that says a lot for them.

Love the look of your Magna. That is a superb looking piece of art.

 

[Mitchell]

Love the look of your Magna. That is a superb looking piece of art.

Thanks, I appreciate that:thumbs up:

 

[4gasem]

I did not know that mountain road either.I was kind of expecting to come up to some cars at those speeds.I wouldn't consider my max stock either in the handling dept.I almost rear ended you 3 or 4 times so decided to drop back a little.

Yeah I learned long ago to give a wide birth to riders... If I'd of gone down I probably would have taken you with... My rear tire was TOAST as the very next weekend I was showing over 1 foot of belts. That bike felt like the rear tire had 10psi in it... Weird as hell.... I will never do that again!

Hijack over
:whistlin:

 

[shawn kloker]

Heh, the max rep is nice. Before I got the max I had it's little brother a '86 Maxim X. At around 500lbs the 700cc 90hp really moved. Talk about no respect. The harley snobs would turn up their nose at the little rice burner at the first bar and be gathered around once they caught up at the second.

I knew 2 guys with MaximX's.They were a cool bike too.They run alot like a fazer,Fly once you wind them up.

 

[shawn kloker]

Same head(20 valve) as a fazer but different bottom end.

 

[RJ RJ RJ]

this has been entertaining to read...

I do think that the Max is unique in reputation, deserved or not.
Every vmax owner echoes what you have all said... its not just fast or scary or fun to ride etc...its fear....people FEAR the vmax and it just sticks in the mind with the name.(btw have you noticed that vmax was the first use of a letter followed by a word...Ipod made that a popular linguistic endeavor much later).

Think about it...other bikes are fast...Busa's have a patient on fast but no one FEARS them...
Its as though the average bike enthusiast knows that "this or that" group of bikes are fast but only the Vincent Black Shadow and the Vmax will actually go thermo-nuclear, blow up, go airborne, catch file and irradiate the landscape!

The name vmax will forever be linked with unbridled power, barely controllable acceleration and fearfully gutsy riding ability. And like all great reputations its only part true or real. The interesting thing is its been 20 years of this and once the new one comes out there will be story's about "the original was twice as bad!!"...


It always comes with a warning no matter what.

1. when considering buying a vmax friends will warn you to be careful regardless of your riding experience .

2. Parking your vmax at a bike night makes you some kind of "mysterious stranger" as you are asked by perfect strangers whats it like? (as though riding to the local hang out was spent on the ragged edge of destruction)

3. owning a vmax means you now have to be told about everyone,s mythical "cheating death" story about friend, brother, father, uncle or "guy i know" who either jumped the grand cannon, forced the earth to counter rotate during a burn out, or jumped on one drunk and ran from the cops for 5 days across 3 provinces only to bail out from fear...


Speaking as a professional marketing guy...its a bloody miracle... to develop and launch a product with a reputation as perfectly bad ass as that... its almost luck and definitely a moment of great celebration when you pull it off.. you couldn't hope to get that kind of street cred through the most elaborate marketing plan... although i assure you they tried. Sometimes the stars align.

 

[Lordofwyr]

Made a run through the Texas Hill Country to Wimberly last Saturday. Beautiful day. Perfect weather.

My friends (all Harley riders) actually apologized for "going so slow" with me closing the door behind them!

I guess they felt bad that the Max had to poke along. I told them it was ok... it just allowed me to let the Max "Stalk her prey!"

They got the idea....
:rocket bike:

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Made a run through the Texas Hill Country to Wimberly last Saturday. Beautiful day. Perfect weather.

My friends (all Harley riders) actually apologized for "going so slow" with me closing the door behind them!

I guess they felt bad that the Max had to poke along. I told them it was ok... it just allowed me to let the Max "Stalk her prey!"

They got the idea....
:rocket bike:

Hey, you gonna make the Vmax run to Bandera next month? It's March 28th and 29th. Ride down, ride the 3 sisters all day Saturday and back on Sunday.

Rusty

 

[4gasem]

Hey, you gonna make the Vmax run to Bandera next month? It's March 28th and 29th. Ride down, ride the 3 sisters all day Saturday and back on Sunday.

Rusty

Are they hot? I'll be down to ride 'em...:banana:

 

[MBreinin]

I just got an '85. When the bike came out when I was 15 ('85 as well) a neighborhood guy had one. He would cruise around on it and we would just stare at it in awe. We could imagine no more beastly motorcycle on the planet.

I also recently got an '84 RZ350, the other bike I lusted for back then (aside from a 900 Ninja). The RZ is warmed up a bit and very quick.

I was terrified to ride the Max, or "The Kracken" as I call it. I downloaded an MC report of the bike, read all of the tests, surfed the net and read the stories. I fully expected the bike to follow one or multiple courses of action upon opening the throttle:

1. Big power wheelie;
2. Huge fishtailing burnout;
3. Stretch my arms to the point of pain and give me serious pucker;
4. A wormhole would open up and space and time would be altered forever.

Well, I was actually very surprised at how docile and confidence inspiring the bike is. Unlike the RZ, the Max is very easy to just tool around on. Huge torque and smooth power delivery make it a real sweetheart to ride. Within 40 minutes of getting on it and getting adjusted to it, I wound it up out of the hole to redline in the first three gears. No wheelspin, no wheelie, no plasticman arms after the burst and no rip in the fabric of time and space. Yeah, it MOVES, but it doesn't strike instant terror into my heart or cause massive pucker. In fact, the RZ with its light weight and explosive power delivery from 6-10k is much more scary to ride. I STILL have not been able to wind the RZ up in first gear because it will come up the second it comes on the pipe in 1st.

So, it IS a fast bike. It is not the Devil's motorcycle. :biglaugh:

Hell, I expected it to be faster! :thumbs up:

Mike