1985 max

[nutcase_dann]

i was thinkin of buyin a max this spring to put a end to my days of droolin i'm leaning toward a 1985 what would a fair price be for a 85 max..i hope to find a good one that has all gears working and does not have the shit ran out of it..i was kinda thinkin any where from 2500 to 3000 would be a good price any help would be great..also was the 85 really the hot rod of the max's i've been told it was true but i've also been told it was a ugly lie...any one feel like helping??

 

[Dreamster66]

that sounds like a fair price....I got mine on ebay....2700.00 for a 85.
Had to go to Orlando, FL. for it tho.
Theres one on ebay in KY.
Randy

 

[mikemax04]

1985's are NOT stronger running than the others. Think about the various upgrades since then, how old the rubber and plastic parts are that might give you problems and a host of other considerations you should make before deciding. A bike 10 years younger might be in better shape, have the upgrades and might not cost much more. Age is a consideration but also how many owners it had, how it was treated by them and it's maintenance. You could get lucky like Randy (D66), but you could also buy someone's junk. Get somebody that really knows these machines inside and out to check it over and test drive it for you, even if it costs you. Don't be fooled by some lame excuse why it won't run or has some noise or clunk in it.

 

[Dreamster66]

1985's are NOT stronger running than the others. Think about the various upgrades since then, how old the rubber and plastic parts are that might give you problems and a host of other considerations you should make before deciding. A bike 10 years younger might be in better shape, have the upgrades and might not cost much more. Age is a consideration but also how many owners it had, how it was treated by them and it's maintenance. You could get lucky like Randy (D66), but you could also buy someone's junk. Get somebody that really knows these machines inside and out to check it over and test drive it for you, even if it costs you. Don't be fooled by some lame excuse why it won't run or has some noise or clunk in it.

I totally agree with Mike 100%.
I got a deal..... normally an 85 vmax in that price range IS reasonable but look for how someone has used it.
I got a deal (not GREAT but still a deal)
and....the 85's were toted as the "most powerful"
I disagree.....new, maybe 5 hp better but not SUPER powerful!
Take your time....look around.
You CAN get a nice max for a good price, but dont just jump at the 1st one that comes along AND LOOK IT OVER.... even have someone that knows these kind of bikes come along and look it over.
And for heavens sake.... if the guy wont let you test ride it, dont buy it.
That tells you he's hiding something.....anyone agree?
Randy

 

[jfeagins]

I had to give a whopping $4,500.00 for my 85. Plus tax!

Of course that was back in 85 and it was new in a crate.

Hey, guys, I thought the 85 had smaller venturi's in the carbs and less restrictive pipes from the factory. Then, in each successive year, didn't Yamaha have to restrict the pipes a little more for improved emissions for the EPA? I was once told by a Yamaha dealer that the factory made up for the more restrictive pipes by putting a little bigger venturi's on the carbs and re-jetting accordingly - all of which dyno'd out about the same overall.

Was there any truth to that tale from the dealer?

Good luck getting a good deal on a used 85. You know there is one out there somewhere that was babied and garaged with few miles just waiting to be found. Also add that if the miles seem too good to be true, check around the speedo cable up at the speedo for signs of loosening and re-tightening. Some cleaver artist might try to retain value by fibbing on the overall miles that way.

LOL:eusa_dance:

 

[maleko89]

Carbs were the same, vboost manifold increased 1 mm in 1986....and that was because the exhaust was a bit more restrictive.

 

[MaxPower]

I bought my 85 Max from a good friend for $2,500.00 last year.

Love it!

 

[Bill Seward]

I have an '85 Max I bought new. It was my 35th Birthday present to myself!
It's got 117,600 miles on it, and after 2 year retirement, just got put back on the road this week. A bit of starting fluid, and a jump start, and she fired right up!

So what goes wrong with a 22 year old Vmax, with over 100,000 miles on the clock?

Wore the brake rotors out at 50K.
Needed a clutch and clutch cylinder rebuild at about 65K
Half a dozen batteries - the charging system on this bike sucks!
A hellacious stack of tires!
A Corbin seat- the original just wore out....
A starter motor at about 90K
Stator coil (a while ago, I don't remember the mileage)

It needs a set of fork seals - finally started to leak a bit.

Never had the heads off, never split the cases. Never jumped out of gear or did anything expensive to itself.

Uses/leaks no fluids (except that fork seal problem!)

Original pipes still on it. A few dents, but they are still OK
The bike definitely does not look as new as some of the others I've seen here, but still turns heads when I park it at a saloon or other bike friendly place.


And it's NOT for sale! I have a 2002 RoadStar, that I do most of my riding on. The Roadie will be gone and forgotten, and the Max will still be in my garage!

 

[shawn kloker]

I will never sell my 88 either!

 

[Bill Kratzenberg]

I bought my 85 three years ago from a guy 5 miles from my house.
He hardly ever rode it , just pulled it out of the garage to fire it up every now and then and go around the block. it had 5300 miles on it and looked like new.
He was asking $3500 but i ended up talking him down to $2400 due to the fact it was 20 years old. To tell you the truth this was my first street bike and i had no idea what i was buying. Now 3 years later it has 21,000 on it, runs strong and i am so glad i didn't buy that harley i was considering.

I can tell you as long as i am able to ride, there will always be a max in my garage. Good luck in your search!

 

[mikemax04]

Welcome Bill. Just out of curiosity, did it ever have the pan dropped to check on that dreaded "0" ring problem? You being the original owner, and the bike having almost 120K miles on it and 20 some years old, it would be good to know first hand. Appreciate your come-back.

 

[Bill Seward]

Mike:

Never heard of this problem, but you can bet I looked it up pretty fast!
No, the pan never has been off the bike. I've only had the valve covers off for valve clearance checks, and the stator and clutch covers off to replace those parts. I actually drive the bike gently, seeing it's age and mileage, but I am thinking about getting in there to have a look.

I just put it back on the road after a 2-year "retirement". I also have a 2002 Roadstar, but seeing the Max out there in the garage finally got to be too much. Actually, it started up pretty easily after the long layoff. I usually have to d what you guys call the "peashooter" fix after a winter's storage, but this time it started up easily. I did have a bad plug, though, left front cylinder wasn't firing. Pulled the plug, gave it a shot of ether to clean it up, and the bike ran fine! I'm gonna put new plugs in tomorrow. I've got to get a new battery, and I'll get them at the same time. I probably will do the peashooter and shotgun thing while I'm working on it.

I did the VMax Outlaw "crimp" fix to it today. This bike has never charged a battery worth a shit. I have one of those little Kuryakyn LED charging system indicators mounted to the top of the right air scoop. It tells you the state of charging, by using the colored LRD's... I never got it to go into the green (charging OK) range of the indicator, but it does now. In fact both the green LED's light up!

I removed the stock taillight bulbs and replaced them with an LED board that fits right in. I figure this also saves me a bit of watage, as they draw almost no current, and are plenty bright enough. I disconnected the running light feature in the front turn signals, just leaving the signals working. This saves me a few more watts of power.

The battery is 5 years old, and wasn't used much during the bikes "retirement", so that's getting replaced, as I said before. I put a new starter in it about 10 years ago.

We'll see what happens... I'm really impressed with this board, and plan on contributing often. thanks to the folks who set it up! I've learned new things about the Max already, and I'm a newbie!:thumbs up:

 

[mikemax04]

If you have never heard of the "0" ring problem, then it's best you don't know about it. Congrats on the longevity and number of miles on the old girl. You must have taken good care of her. :clapping:

 

[clintard]

This is what we need to finally decide how "dreaded" the o-ring problem is. I Would love to find out if you have the problem or not. Please let us know if you ever take a look. Its not that hard just pop off the oil pan.

Im sure everybody that knows about the o ring thing is dying to find out if yours is popped or not hahaha, i know i sure am!

 

[mikemax04]

This is what we need to finally decide how "dreaded" the o-ring problem is. I Would love to find out if you have the problem or not. Please let us know if you ever take a look. Its not that hard just pop off the oil pan.

Im sure everybody that knows about the o ring thing is dying to find out if yours is popped or not hahaha, i know i sure am!

Len, I'm going to start a new thread on this issue and hope everybody will join in and voice their opinion.