Vmax commercial from the 80's

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Cool find and post. Talk about hokey and dated! Times were different back then for sure. I don't think thing these would have drawn me into a dealership back in the day.
Lets see, I was a soph/jun. in college at the time. Didn't follow cycle motorsports at the time. When and where would these be played? Saturdays Wide world Of Sports?, occassional drag race coverage on TV? I've never seen them broadcast.
 
Very cool. Part of the reason I wanted one back in 85 when they came out. Combine that with the fact that Yamaha kept to that design for over 20 years and you have the reason I bought mine (finally) and will probably keep it forever.
 
I loved that burnout with the "Corney" fire that they started behind the bike.:rofl_200:That was an impressive wheelie J did.I never had the nerve to try that on my Vmax:stretche:
 
I loved that burnout with the "Corney" fire that they started behind the bike.:rofl_200:That was an impressive wheelie J did.I never had the nerve to try that on my Vmax:stretche:

wasnt it tho:punk:......hesa crazy bastid!! not much 4 wheelies muhself:rofl_200:
 
When and where would these be played? Saturdays Wide world Of Sports?, occassional drag race coverage on TV? I've never seen them broadcast.

I think it was intended as an in-dealership promotional video. The kind of thing they would play on a loop on a little monitor kiosk somewhere on the showroom floor.
 
Thanks Rat Fink. I just showed up in a dealership in 85 and was hooked on the first purple one I saw. Of course they sold that one so I ended up with the maroon 86 they got in. Always wondered what happened to my purple one. I never saw it around town.
 
If he ran an actual 10.20 on that bike, I believe that motor was "massaged" a lil bit. Either that or a chipmunk ran through the beam on the big side :hmmm:......I want a cheap tire just to fry off like that in a 2nd gear roller
 
Jay could squeeze speed out of a rock. Besides, he weighs so little, it's almost like a remote control bike....:rofl_200::clapping:
 
The dealer had to talk me into stopping long enough to even look twice at the original 85 poster they had hanging near the showroom in Dec84 while I had my XS1100 in for some routine maintenance. My original gut feeling was that Yamaha was trying to duplicate the V-twin design Hardley lovers are always looking for.

When I went back to pick up my XS, the dealer reminded me of the new 85Vmax a second time, and this time, he had the brochures to go with it. He also mentioned the HP rating, and est quarter mile times etc. I said "SAY WHAT?". Took a brochure home with me. (Now it was Jan 85)

Four weeks later, I was back with a deposit for their first red one and thought the darn thing would never be delivered. By the first week of Mar, I could hardly sleep nights thinking about the new bike that never seemed to get delivered. :bang head:

The only place I ever saw that video was on the kiosk running in the dealer showroom. At the time, some claimed to have seen it on TV, but I never did.
 
It was quite a blast looking at the videos sharing them with you'll having come across them on youtube .
 
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Awesome... Abike we all (all of us here ) love...and a time we all (those of us who were there remember fondly (tho few admit it)

Thanks,

T$
 
Yeah, I recall the debut. I was into literbikes, owned 3 KZ1000's, when the VMax was released. Had a friend working for the Ft. Laud area dealer, never crossed my mind to own one of those. Then, in '88, I bought my friend's '87 FZR1000, which coming-off the KZ1000's, was like a world of difference in handling, speed, and looks, still have it. Five years after I bought the FZR1K, I decided to look for another ride, looked at a Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000, a Ducati 851 (owned by the Ft. Lauderdale Ferrari dealer) and then stopped-in to visit my salesman friend at the Yamaha dealer. They had just taken in on trade a barely one-yr. old '92 VMax, < 2K mi. I brought it home the next day-off I had & still have it.

My two favorite pieces of advertising/road tests/ articles are the Clint Eastwood vs. the 'highboy' yellow hotrod article, and the 'Taking It to the Nines' article. I have subscriber copies of both of those in the library.
 
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