VMAX feel!!

vince99frc · Jun 14, 2018

Hello Guys,

It could just be me. I sold my old Busa back in 2007 and this is the first time owning a bike like this. I have always ridden sport bikes. I am 6'7" 275lbs. I use to be able to whip my Busa around like it was a 600. I was able to do a U-Turn on a small street. I felt really confident on it. Now on my 1998 Vmax.. I don't feel as confident. It actually feels like it's 100lbs heavier than my old Busa. My sport bike power was more linear and this bike is snappy. Like an on/off switch when you twist your wrist. I personally like to give some throttle during turn's, but kind of hard with this snappy beast. I am wondering if I need to take off in 2nd and do all my slow turns in 3rd. Is what I am feeling normal for the VMAX? How well do you guys turn and do figure 8's? I can do figure 8's, but not as tight as my old Busa. It could be due to lack of confidence in the bike not staying up if I lean too hard. I looked down and was really close to hitting my size 15's trying to make the figure 8 smaller.

Norm and I just need to get more seat time and suck it up or I need to inspect something?

I live in Seffner, Florida if anyone is local to me..

Drew_STNY · Jun 14, 2018

So, I've been riding an 86 for about three months. At first, I felt very unstable on it at low speed. It's better now, but very low speed, sharp corners are still a bit wide. The bike is very top heavy compared to a lot of bikes, so that's a lot too get used to. Comparing a MAX to a Busa is a bit like apples and oranges. The MAX will least anything on the road in a straight line, but corners are more difficult. The peg height is higher than most other cruisers, but it's definitely not as high as a sport bike.

I changed from drag bars to ones that are wider and have more pull back than stock. That made a huge handling difference for me. I just didn't like the hunched over feel of the drag bars. They're not ape hangers by any means, just an inch more pull back than stock and about 2-3 inches wider.

Now that I have put a few thousand highway miles on it in this configuration, I am looking at a wind screen or flatter bars.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

vince99frc · Jun 14, 2018

So it's not just me. Whew!!! Do you have pictures of your bar? I am curious to what you have. When you first look at the bike you would think at low speeds it would be easy to maneuver, but when you turn the bar to the left or to the right the weight of the bike seems to want to pull it and you immediately have to lean more in the opposite direction to keep it balanced. When I felt that on previous bikes I could easily turn the throttle and it would just whip around, but the VMAX is so snappy it jerks and produces lack of confidence in whipping around and fear of quickly falling down instead...

Piercems3 · Jun 15, 2018

vince99frc said:
So it's not just me. Whew!!! Do you have pictures of your bar? I am curious to what you have. When you first look at the bike you would think at low speeds it would be easy to maneuver, but when you turn the bar to the left or to the right the weight of the bike seems to want to pull it and you immediately have to lean more in the opposite direction to keep it balanced. When I felt that on previous bikes I could easily turn the throttle and it would just whip around, but the VMAX is so snappy it jerks and produces lack of confidence in whipping around and fear of quickly falling down instead...

if you are going very slow (parking lot speed, or small turns), you need to modulate your clutch to stay smooth, or the bike will buck as you get on and off throttle. Make sure you have upgraded springs in your forks or 15psi or so in the forks, that made a huge difference for me.

93max · Jun 15, 2018

Piercems3 said:
if you are going very slow (parking lot speed, or small turns), you need to modulate your clutch to stay smooth, or the bike will buck as you get on and off throttle. Make sure you have upgraded springs in your forks or 15psi or so in the forks, that made a huge difference for me.

I think it's this is more exaggerated coming from a chain drive vs driveshaft.

Redbone · Jun 15, 2018

It is mostly a feel thing IMO, the Vmax is a different beast for sure. I have drag bars with a slight pull back 33 or 34" wide which gives me great control. Other changes I have made over the 11 years of ownership include:
* Fork brace, which helps with steering precision for my '92 w/ the smaller diameter forks
* Progressive fork springs and Ricor Intiminators (fork valving)
* Progressive 440 shocks 13" with both std. and HD springs
* Extended swingarm 3" and braced
* Added Carrozerria wheels to run radials

Here's what it looks like: