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Welcome to the best the best forums for the max !!

timpilot said:

Hello all,

Earlier this year I bought a red '95 Vmax but after 4 months had a chance to make over $3000 on the bike so I foolishly sold it and went back to an 1100 Shadow (my third in three years). Before long I was seriously missing the horsepower and cool-factor of the Vmax and bought a '97 silver 'Max with barely 16,000 miles and lots of cool and tasteful mods. I got fork, frame, and swingarm braces, cut down seat, tail tidy, narrowed scoops, 3K VBoost switch, fan switch, Barnett clutch spring mod, and probably other mods I can't remember-or haven't discovered yet.

I have owned 12 bikes in the past 5 years or so but think the Vmax is a keeper and will be my daily driver. Since I'm in the Phoenix area, I ride year-round, mostly commuting 12 miles one way to work.

I'm a manufacturing engineer, pilot, and former aircraft mechanic. Do all my own maintenance and love tinkering. I'm newly into LED strip lights and plan to add some blue lights to the Vmax.

I have already gotten lots of help here solving a clutch slipping problem. Glad to be here and to have met and benefitted from knowing some of you already.

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Timpilot,

You may want to check out your shift pedal. Something doest look right with the way it's mounted

Hi all,

I've been cruising this forum for a little while now, just looking for small parts of information since I got my VMax about 18 months ago. Picked up a 1985 in Minnesota to play around with while working in North Dakota and brought it back to Colorado. Not my first bike, but my favorite so far! Previous owners did some cosmetic mods, but the drive trian I believe is still original with about 32xxx miles. Going to be getting the correct jets in this winter for the altitude here.

[email protected] said:

Timpilot,

You may want to check out your shift pedal. Something doest look right with the way it's mounted

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Yeah, I know. It is because the foot pegs have been re-mounted about 1-1/2 inches lower and about 1/2 inch aft. Shifter looks a little goofy but it feels good and works perfectly. Good eye, though.

timpilot said:

Yeah, I know. It is because the foot pegs have been re-mounted about 1-1/2 inches lower and about 1/2 inch aft. Shifter looks a little goofy but it feels good and works perfectly. Good eye, though.

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The footpeg relocation is also the reason the kickstand has an odd bend in it.

Just wanted to say hi - so HI everyone. You wouldn't believe how long I have waited to join a Vmax users group, virtually my entire life.

I'm a retired a engineer and recently checked off another line on my bucket list - a 2014 Vmax. I already know that I will never sell this bike!

My last ride was an M109R which was a lot of fun, but nothing like the max.

I have enjoyed following some the comments and hope to be able to chime in now and again.

Hope all are having a great day!

Welcome to the club Halmax.

Welcome to the forum Halmax. Don't hesitate to ask any question.

Welcome, Halmax, from a Vmax and M109R Owner.

new vmax owner

alright,not really new.but new to me .97 with 10k miles,very well kept.looks like a ton of helpful info here.....unk:

Welcome Ramingspeed, You didn't happen to attend Faber College did you??.............:biglaugh:.............Excellent choice on the 97 Max!!...........Everyone knows they're the best ones!!.................Just ask Jackie Chan!..........:rofl_200:.............Tom.

Think of a VMax as the "DeathCycle"! We had our own little bit of "Animal House" at Thunder a few times!!

Ive had a lot of bikes and like so many others always wanted the vmax.Ive had it 6 weeks and love it.put the supertrapps on and love the sound....:eusa_dance:

ramingspeed said:

Ive had a lot of bikes and like so many others always wanted the vmax.Ive had it 6 weeks and love it.put the supertrapps on and love the sound....:eusa_dance:

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Welcome to the forum, Ramingspeed. I also have a '97 with Supertrapps. Mine are the open endcap "off-road use only" ones that set off car alarms. I ride with earplugs but love the bike and the pipes.

New guy here!! Just picked up a 92 with 23k showing. I know its heading into winter but I think a got it for a steal.($2000) Mechanically its perfect. The carbs got service/rebuilt last year and there is no shifting issues. My other bikes are a Honda 97 cbr600f3, 2005 Hayabusa, and a 2007 R1. I've rebuilt the hayabusa from the ground up so I know my way around a bike.

I gotta say I'm really in love with this thing, I've ordered up new brake lines, pads, tires and fork seals. Basically the consumables. The valve covers are weeping so i ordered up new gaskets for those. And I've been removing/stripping a part a day and hitting it with the polishing wheel. It may seem like a lot of work and having 4 bikes to maintain may seem a bit, but my wife told a friend the other day "when my husband gets bored, he likes to put his hands on things, so I prefer it to be motorcycles. I know where he's at, what he's doing, and who he's with!!!!"

Is there anything I may be missing or some helpful tips? I plan on riding this thing till the snow hits and I'm not looking to turn it into a show bike. Just cleaning it up and keeping it tuned up is the way to go for me!!!

unk:unk:unk:

Welcome to the forum , Mr. Fugg. Friendly bunch here, lots of folks willing to help with any problem you may have with your Max.
Suggestions, you ask? I'd suggest replacing the stock springs, while you are doing the fork seals. It's amazing how much that mod improves the handling!

And that other thing...."when my husband gets bored, he likes to put his hands on things, so I prefer it to be motorcycles."

My sympathies. My wife says the same thing! For the life of me, I can't understand why.Maybe I should change my brand of mouthwash:ummm:Cheers!

Mabuhay from the Philippines, My name is Gee. I just got me a cool vmax. 1st gen. Rides like a bat out of hell ! I can see why these bikes are iconic. Safe ride brothers !

Welcome to the forum.

gslate said:

Mabuhay from the Philippines, My name is Gee. I just got me a cool vmax. 1st gen. Rides like a bat out of hell ! I can see why these bikes are iconic. Safe ride brothers !

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Welcome to the forum. Is the Vmax really rare in the Philippines? Are most of the bikes there pretty small displacement?

New member. I have been riding and building bikes for over 40 years.
Traded a 2002 buell x1 lightning (10,000 miles) for an '85 vmax with 10,000 miles and some musical instruments and cash. Was told only thing wrong with it is a leaking fork seal that just happened. At the scene he show how he starts the bike (full choke and wait 45 secs then 1/4 choke for 15 secs) i rev it up to around 4 g's. Slow coming back down and i say "it needs syncing" and he agrees.
Bluebook on the buell was $4255 and the vmax $2700.
The buell had a racing eci box and header with racing canister so another $1000 ahead in the trade. Made sure i got that in the difference on the trade.
Riding it home (88 miles) and temp goes up to the "h" so pull off the freeway and into a station for water. Fan comes on and starts to cool down. It was 110 in palm springs that day.
The first thing i do when i get home is remove the faux tank, front fender, rear fender, side covers and air horns- IT WAS GREEN.
I purchased a pro motion carb sync on ebay for $75 and wait for arrival- start to do some painting. Motion pro arrives 2 days later go to sync the carbs and #4 tube has tons of air bubbles so i go with sound. 3 more attempts and manometer fluid in sync tool will not come down. Send it back to seller on ebay as the screw on #4 will not back out. Order carbtune.
Now it starts without choke and just idles perfect. A little lean on top end so i decide to change main jets and do a complete cleaning.
This is what i find-Radiator hose for intake manifolds and 2 cracked coils.
No heat shields on the motor and exhaust