Thinking about it…

[naildrivingman]

I’m really drawn to the Vmax simply for the way it looks. Very few bikes are attractive to me, but this one has a special place. I’m aware of many of the stories about how fast it is, not for the timid, etc.

I’d like help with info on this bike. All comments welcome. Please tell me of your personal experiences, maintenance/repair issues/insurance costs versus other bikes, anything you wish to share.

I’d like to take short road trips. Maybe suggest maximum daily miles for comfort.

I do not intend to be flying down the road any faster than typical highway speed of other vehicles. I’m not interested in this bike for the speed. Maybe I’m a bit foolish for punishing an iron horse by not letting him run, but oh well.

Since a used purchase is my only option, perhaps suggest model years that were especially problematic. Again, no comment is unappreciated. Thanks.

 

[MaxMidnight]

My twopenneth...

Which to go for will really depend on what you want, apart from the very early ones there is very little visual difference apart from colour schemes.
The bikes didn't change much over the years, have a look here for details. The post '93 iterations don't change much. More detail on the attachment.
All years are pretty well bulletproof assuming they are reasonably maintained and not abused.
The earlier ones had issues with jumping out of second gear but I'd be surprised if there are any that still suffer with this unless they have never been ridden much. Would you want a bike that has spent the majority of it's life stationary?
The early two brush motors can give some hot start problems and r/r on these benefit from a separate earth.
Like all bikes they have a few foibles but these are relatively few, some things to look out for on the other attachment.

How far you can ride one depends on the individual so that's not something I can comment on. Note that the (relatively} small fuel tank will mean you will have to stop every 90 miles or so.

The design of the bike goes back to the early eighties and the handling and brakes reflect this. Much can be done to bring the bike up to a standard where it is more capable round corners than the majority of riders.
Unless the suspension has been uprated then put some cash aside for better rear shock, front springs and emulators. The brakes can also be improved if required.
Most spares are still available from Yamaha.

Like all second hand machinery there will be good examples and not so good. Buy with your eyes and brain and not your heart. A good chat with the owner should let you know what they know about their bike. They should be open about when it was last serviced and when they last changed the brake fluid and any problems they have had with it.
If you can find someone who knows Maxii to accompany you when viewing that is a bonus. Even better is someone who is bigger than you who will pull you away should the bike be a dog.

 

[Fire-medic]

I wouldn't be afraid of a higher-miles example, if it's maintained. I think the #1 problem with these is abuse leading to expensive repairs, and probably the most common of those in terms of neglect is stopped-up carburetors. Fixing that takes knowledge and skills, but once you learn the technique, you won't hesitate to remove the rack of carburetors, split 'em into left and right pairs, and probe into the 'guts' to clean-out the pilot jets, which have the smallest passages of which I'm aware. Clogging of the pilot jets makes the bike hard to start, affects low-to mid-speed operation, and is a source of continuing frustration if you don't fix the source of the pilot jet blockage, usually due to a rusty gas tank.

If I was going to look at a VMax offered for sale, I'd first feel the engine somewhere like a side case. Is it warm, or cold? A cold start can be difficult if the starting circuit has sticky pistons, if the pistons are not rising/falling together when you attempt to use the starting enrichment lever. Fixing that requires care, as the connection of the starting enrichment pistons to the bar which opens/closes them is a slender brass shape, and attempting to force the pistons may snap that small-diameter pin. Replacements are available but are not inexpensive. One good thing about our first-generation bikes is that sixteen years after the last model year, you can still order the majority of parts for the bikes, an outstanding feature of the Gen. 1's. Yamaha just announced they are stopping production of snowmobiles after the 2024 model year, so their continuing support should be taken as a godsend to keeping our bikes on the street operational.

Back to the potential bike for purchase evaluation: pop-open the seat bolster, assuming it has a OEM seat and not a Corbin, Max-Gasser, or other aftermarket seat, ask the seller to open the gas tank cap, and use a flashlight to illuminate the floor of the gas tank. What you want to see is a shiny, bare steel bottom, which is stock. No rust! No gummy deposits. Rust and gummy deposits are going to continue to pass material to your recently-cleaned carbs, clogging them once-again, and will continue to do so, until you get the rust and/or gummy deposits totally-removed. Someone who has a not-been run for years bike, who didn't drain the gas tank and the carburetor float bowls before the period of not running the bike, probably has a thick layer of deposits of evaporated gasoline in the gas tank bottom, creating a layer of smelly goo which will continue to cause problems until it's thoroughly removed. The 'cheap' owner of such a bike, might just throw a couple of gallons of gas into the contaminated gas tank, hoping to get the Y&$#! running to sell it to an unsuspecting purchaser. If one of these sales opportunities is what you find, a warm engine is probably going to start easier than a cold one, if it starts at-all.

If you see what appears to be some sort of coating instead of shiny steel, the gas tank was given a rust-coating treatment like KREEM, Eastwood tank coat, POR-15 gas tank treatment, or similar. The key to having these work properly, is to do the coating exactly according to instructions! Failure to follow the instructions will result in a failed coating, producing volumes of carburetor-clogging debris which will be an ongoing problem until it's thoroughly removed. Properly-performed, these coatings can end the shedding of rust particles from the gas tank into the fuel delivery system,; once the tank is cleaned as-well as it can be, and then coated.

I'll tell you what one of my friends told me about rusty gas tanks. He's a Yamaha dealership mechanic, he's worked as one since he entered the workplace, and he was already in his 30's when the VMax was released. He serviced many over the years, and installed many hop-up parts for them to the delight of their owners. He said the Dynojet Stage 7 carburetor kits and the Kerker 4/1 complete exhaust headers to end canister kits were especially popular when they came out, and they continue to be today. There are other options to those now, and Sean Morley [email protected] will be happy to discuss that, and to sell you what you decide to use, if you go in that direction. The advantage to doing business with Sean, is that he will provide you with information about selecting components, tuning them as in the case of carburetor modifications and aftermarket exhausts (know this now, slip-ons, using new exhaust canister(s)- 4/1's only use one, of course, slip-ons do not increase RWHP! They change the exhaust note, change the appearance, but do nothing for the power, with one notable exception! The Cobra 4-into-4 exhaust decreases your RWHP because it interferes with exhaust scavenging. The Cobra 4-into-4 system looks fearsome, they're two bulky chrome exhausts on each side, but they cut your RWHP by a figure approaching 15%. Some people like the appearance and that's enough to justify their purchase, even at the expense of power output. Your bike, your vision, make it how you like. If you really want to give it the look of four exhausts, there's the UFO (now Star Rider Performance) 4-into-4 system, which requires effective hearing protection, but is also capable of boosting your RWHP, because it's a complete headers to exhaust canisters system, when coupled with complementary intake modifications, tuned properly. But it's LOUD! Remember that a single prolonged exposure to excessive noise can have a permanent effect upon your hearing acuity.

 

[Fire-medic]

Part II

MaxMidnight's links and comments were a good view of the process of evaluating a possible purchase. I just added some detail on part of the evaluation. If you dont 'know bikes,' enlist the assistance of someone who does, to help prevent you from the acquisition of a turd on wheels.

The savvy customer may be able to find a less-desirable bike, needing some replacement parts, and work to correct neglected maintenance and repairs, which sells for a greatly-reduced price just because of these things. One example of this among our ranks is CaptainKyle, who isn't afraid to purchase a VMax needing repair of the problem of the transmission jumping out of second gear, because he's a mechanic, and has done probably dozens of such repairs on bikes he's bought for a song, just because of this, or on customers' bikes, who need their rides restored to function from a damaged transmission.

A VMax needing a transmission repair like second gear jumping out of engagement, loses probably half its value because of this. A Yamaha dealer may not consent to performing such a repair because in the course of attempting such a fix, they discover other things needing repair, and suddenly the dealer's expenses for parts and labor exceed the value of the motorcycle, should the owner abandon the bike, and now the dealer's stuck with a bike which is now repaired, but which has numerous cosmetic conditions, making it a tough sale on the marketplace. If you want to find this out for yourself, speak with your friendly local MN Yamaha service writer, and tell him, "I just bought a (1985-2007) VMax, but when I accelerate, it jumps out of second gear. I want you to fix it, how-much?" and I bet his/her response is, we don't work on anything that old and that in-need of extensive repairs." Why is that? Because when you abandon the repaired bike with a $2000+ repair bill, they have to file a mechanic's lien and attempt to sell it. They don't want the headache.

Common VMax issues on a bike sitting for months or years, and suffering from various maladies which caused them to be not used, include:

starting issues (use the search function to read about this, 'box of rocks' is what the problem sounds like (starter clutch issues)

worn-out clutch: slave cyl. needs rebuilding/replacement; system needs bleeding (it's hydraulic); worn friction discs

View attachment 89860View attachment 89861

tires are shot, especially the rear; tires are many years old (every tire has a date code, learn how to read it); worn tires cause wobbly handling, especially at higher speeds

worn steering head bearings, a source of imprecise handling. The top bearing outer race can be problematic to remove. Welding a couple of beads 180 degrees apart on the inner surface of the outer race does two things: the heat helps removal, and the beads give you a purchase point for a chisel or punch to knock out the race. Some use a Dremel cut-off wheel to notch that pesky outer race in a couple places, be careful not to cut-into the steering head! Then a chisel to remove it.

f & r brakes need calipers rebuilt, replacement brake pads (HH for the front compound recommended), and proper bleeding (search function for the 'reverse-bleed')

leaking fork seals, not particularly difficult, but use of a pneumatic gun is useful to loosen the bottom allen screws holding the damper rods, access is at the bottom of the sliders, after removing the front wheel/axle; a cordless impact may also do it. Badly leaking fork seals can contaminate your brake pads which are lubricated from the factory and need no additional oil (joking!) The brake pad contamination is no joking matter though.

a fresh battery is often needed, the CDI ignition whatever the year (1985-'89 have a 5-wire crankshaft/stator pick-up coil; 1990-'07 have a two-wire ignition pick-up coil) doesn't work well unless it has a strong battery. Consider that a replacement battery is a usual and customary replacement item on any used VMax, unless it was replaced by the seller recently. Failure to spin vigorously, and quickly running-out of 'beans' on a second successive attempt to turn the engine over, without getting it running means budget for a battery

chasing-down prior owners' botched electrical repairs can be frustrating. Soldering is superior to Scotch-Locks! Or crimping. There are some places where you can improve upon OEM wiring. One is the connection from the stator which makes AC power and sends it to the regulator/rectifier (R/R) via 3 wires along the left engine cradle frame member. There is a nylon 3-wire connector which often turns brown with age, and even crumbles due to the energy the stator produces to power the motorcycle electrical system (~50 VAC for all three wires) This is a common location for problems at the connector. Many owners solder the wires from the stator to the R/R. It makes no difference which stator wire goes to which R/R wire, what's important is no broken wires, no corrosion, and no loose wires. Again soldering beats crimping.

Charred wires, they could result in a fire: Say, what's that white plastic canister, full of liquid? The gas filter
View attachment 89862

In the wire harness beneath the seat, is a large crimp connector (white arrow) where several wires of the electrical system, are collectively ganged-together and a brass crimp collar makes the connection. Spending a few minutes to remove the black tape covering this part of the wire harness, and soldering the wires to a shiny end-product (a small 25 watt soldering iron like for working on circuit boards will not generate sufficient heat, you need rosin core solder or rosin paste and a heavier-wattage iron or gun) will usually increase the conduction to the battery by 1 VDC. Homework: search function for 'crimp-fix')

View attachment 89859View attachment 89858

These are some of the things to look-for. Ther are many others. Don't be afraid to walk-away from a bike sending out all the wrong signals: it doesn't run/won't start; battery is flat, so you can't even see if it turns-over (put the bike in 5th gear, and try to push it to see if the engine is frozen, if it has no battery); crash damage (more on that, below); the coolant reservoir is dry (you have to remove the right scoop to access the coolant cap, if that's dry too, better give the bike a thorough inspection); you cannot see any oil in the oil window on the right side case of the engine; the master cylinder reservoirs for the hydraulic clutch and front brake are dry, or the brake fluid is low and opaque; the levers pull-back with no resistance whatsoever; a hacked-up wire harness, or random wires hanging-out or cut; scabby, rusty fork downtubes, new OEM are hideously expensive, see Race-Tech or Forking by Frank for more reasonably-priced ones, but that's going to be a $500 bill after purchasing new downtubes, seals, and fork oil. Your labor is free.

I mentioned crash damage. Places to look for obvious signs of it are the ends of the handlebars, the ends of the footpegs, the accessory case-savers at the front left and right of the frame; the handlebar levers (front brake, clutch); a broken headlight, and more-obviously, bent front forks. They are not supposed to look like a backwards boomerang.

View attachment 89866

Also check the lower fork triple tree and examine the fork stops. In a bad accident, those can be snapped-off. Broken, crushed bodywork. On the OEM exhaust megaphones, road rash on the outer edges of the rear-most diameter. Additional dents no extra charge.

View attachment 89865

I've often bought non-operational bikes for minimal expenditure because I was willing to take the gamble, but for your first VMax, I suggest only purchasing a functional bike needing very little, or nothing. Few things are as frustrating as buying a new to you bike, and discovering it needs more in repairs than you've budgeted. "It doesn't run," you tell your mechanic, and he texts you this pic:

View attachment 89863View attachment 89864

Because I had a lot of parts, when I found this on a bike, I just replaced the cam, and had it running at no additional cost in a couple of hours. I suspect you'd rather not be faced with this level of repair.

This thread could go on and on, but I'm going to close with, "if you don't know bikes, find someone who does and inspect the bike thoroughly." Happy hunting.

 

[cbx1260cc]

WOW!!! VERY COMPREHENSIVE Information and VERY VERY HELPFUL.

THANKYOU to Fire-medic and Maxmidnight.