My first VMax ... Help. *New here

[Maustarman]

Hi everyone,
My name is Maurice live in the Bay Area San Feancisco CA.
Just got my first Vmax and I'm really exited but I can't run it yet.
The bike is a 1998 with only 1,400 miles on it it has been in storage for the last 15 years ...the bike looks brand new but unfortunately not properly stored.
Gas in the tank was bad
Coolant reservoir has some weird stuff in there.

I'm not new to motorcycles but definitely new to the Vmax.
I made a list of things to take care of ...please let me know if I'm missing something and if there are any how to's threads I'll highly appreciate it.

-drain tank and recondition
-take carbs apart, clean up and tune
-flush radiator and refill
-Change oil and oil filter
-flush brake fluids and refill

Where can I get a PDF of the service/chop manual?

Thank you in advance

 

[marsmax85]

Welcome to the forum Maurice unk: I also would replace fuel lines ,replace fuel filter clean out fuel pump . Flush out radiator using vinegar . Some one will be along with pdf for you .. Good luck hope you got it for a steal !!!

 

[Maustarman]

Welcome to the forum Maurice unk: I also would replace fuel lines ,replace fuel filter clean out fuel pump . Flush out radiator using vinegar . Some one will be along with pdf for you .. Good luck hope you got it for a steal !!!

Thank you sr..
I think I got it at a decent price $1K

 

[adambweird]

Welcome to the forum, nice find! You can get the service manual at vmaxoutlaw.com. Its a free download and has all the supplemental service manuals as well.

 

[DMAN999]

Look here for the Owners, Service, Haynes and Cyclepedia Manuals:
http://v4musclebike.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9801

 

[blaxmax]

If you need help with rebuilding the carbs i am in palm springs.

 

[jfeagins]

Fresh tires - 1998's have got to be a bit brittle by now. Pray the previous owner didn't break 2nd gear, and then store it. And welcome to the forum from SW Missouri.



Line 226 of my bucket list: go to San Francisco, CA, ride a street car up & down some hills while singing the old rice a roni song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzOR_Fal_SY

 

[D-Max2012]

Welcome to the forum.. Take some pictures of your new bike and post them.
Do yourself a favor and pick up your own manual for the bike...
The online PDFs are good but there's nothing like having the book at your fingertips.
I tried to fix a wiring problem with the PDF's. Because they are scanned in black and white, I could not note the polarity on a defective part. It drove me crazy, until my book came in, which has the wiring diagram in color.


http://www.clymer.com/clymer-manuals-yamaha-v-max-1985-2007-m375-2

 

[DMAN999]

D-Max,
Just a heads up.
The Cyclepedia Sevice Manual is full color:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55030067/1985-2007%20Yamaha%20VMX1200%20V-MAX%20CP%20Manual.pdf

 

[VMax-Mike]

Im with jfeagins first thing i thought is replace tires before any runs at speed. The first thing i would do is make sure i had 32 psi in the tires and than i would get the bike running good enough to go for a very short ride. Make sure you have help if the bike quits running. Vmax is fast when it runs good but super slow in push mode. recheck tires if good go for a ride. Well make sure you do a good safty check on brake and a one over on the bike. if 2nd gear and everything checks good than go forward with making the bike good and dependable. IMO i would sell the bike for $1500 running if i could get it running in a short time with little money and go look for one with 8000 mile and running good with good tires that is ready to ride for $4000 to $4500 JMO. You have alot of work ahead of you.

 

[D-Max2012]

DMann..
That's a nice PDF..
I should have had this 2 years ago.. Thanks

 

[DMAN999]

DMann..
That's a nice PDF..
I should have had this 2 years ago.. Thanks

No Problem.
And this .pdf of Haynes Manual has the wiring Diagrams in color (pages 206-209):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55030067/Haynes - Yamaha VMX1200 V-MAX 85-03.pdf

 

[tugla]

congrats on the max, you are gonna love it.
lots help on the forum so dont be affraid to ask.
also chg out your fuel filter, diff oil. might wanna check those fuel lines....

 

[Diggerdan]

Seems you have tons of great advise, please keep us updated...

 

[Maustarman]

Thank you all for the welcoming and the awesome advice and manuals.
I can't wait to get to it ...
I have no reason to believe that there is anything wrong with the bike other than storage..
I bought it from a newly added extended family member so, he better not be lying

Maurice

 

[jfeagins]

....I bought it from a newly added extended family member so, he better not be lying

Maurice

I hope so too - family can be the worst to deal with if it turns out otherwise.

 

[Maustarman]

Thank you so much everyone.
I'm headed out on a vacation but can't wait to come back and start working on this..
Will keep updates

 

[sdt354]

Welcome aboard Maurice.
Steve-o

 

[Maustarman]

OK..
Manage to get the fuel tank out to clean it up, also replaced the coolant and engine oil.
Opened up the top of the carbs from the sides and blew up some air in there..
Got a new battery and fired it up using a auxiliary fuel tank.
Now... Here is where I'm at...
It starts and runs with a full choke and after a while I'm able to bring the choke out about half way.
But it will not start with out the choke and dies immediately if out.
Also, if I have it with half choke (about 1500 rpm) and pull the throttle it dies..

Ideas?
Do I have to pull the carbs out ?

Any help will be highly appreciated

Thank you

 

[Traumahawk]

Sounds like time for a shotgun...

You were on the right track....but I dont think that you went far enough with the cleaning. Read this article....its not hard.

http://vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm

Normally this will fix your issues without having to rebuild the carbs.