Kind of a long intro, but you'll see why I'm supporting at jump street. New to the VMax as well. I used to ride a Maxim many years ago, but I couldn't afford a VMax as a young Airman in the late 80's. I remember when the VMax came out, and reading all the reviews in magazines. I've always wanted one in the back of my brain, but life kept getting in the way.
Lucky for me I recently had a few saved on FB Marketplace I was watching. They just aren't selling for people I guess. I drove 4 hours to look at one that was price dropped after 2 months. A 1985 in super clean condition and 30K original miles. Seller had kids and didn't have time to ride the old girl. He kept it stored in a garage and recently put new tires on it. When I bought it I talked him down a couple hundred more. He called it a military discount, and threw in 4 helmets, a battery tender, and a magnetic tank bag.
The bike was running, but had to keep it choked. When I got it home it started back firing on deceleration and had horrible throttle response and would stick open, then decel slowly. It also went thru an entire tank of fresh non-ethynol and Seafoam in about 60 miles. I was digging down into it and started reading the posts on this forum. I cleaned and gapped the plugs (2 cylinders were wet). Reconnected some vacuum lines that had fallen off, adjusted the trottle, and it started right up. It was now running off choke. I synced the carbs, ran another tank of fresh fuel and then another tank mixed with Seafoam (2 oz per gal). It fires up beautifully now, choke for like 30 sec to a minute, then it idles steady on the high side of 1000 rpm. The V-Boost works intermittently, so I will have to check connections on that. At least I can commute to work on it, and tinker in the afternoons.
Because of this forum, I have saved money I would've needed to spend on a mechanic. Therefore, you have my support membership already. I am a jet mechanic and was told by a mentor many years ago, "parts is parts". So I am still going to rebuild the carbs at some point, after I get some time on it in the beautiful FL sunshine. Or when I find the weakest link and have to tear into it. Definitely going to be a fun hobby, owning a classic V-Max.
Lucky for me I recently had a few saved on FB Marketplace I was watching. They just aren't selling for people I guess. I drove 4 hours to look at one that was price dropped after 2 months. A 1985 in super clean condition and 30K original miles. Seller had kids and didn't have time to ride the old girl. He kept it stored in a garage and recently put new tires on it. When I bought it I talked him down a couple hundred more. He called it a military discount, and threw in 4 helmets, a battery tender, and a magnetic tank bag.
The bike was running, but had to keep it choked. When I got it home it started back firing on deceleration and had horrible throttle response and would stick open, then decel slowly. It also went thru an entire tank of fresh non-ethynol and Seafoam in about 60 miles. I was digging down into it and started reading the posts on this forum. I cleaned and gapped the plugs (2 cylinders were wet). Reconnected some vacuum lines that had fallen off, adjusted the trottle, and it started right up. It was now running off choke. I synced the carbs, ran another tank of fresh fuel and then another tank mixed with Seafoam (2 oz per gal). It fires up beautifully now, choke for like 30 sec to a minute, then it idles steady on the high side of 1000 rpm. The V-Boost works intermittently, so I will have to check connections on that. At least I can commute to work on it, and tinker in the afternoons.
Because of this forum, I have saved money I would've needed to spend on a mechanic. Therefore, you have my support membership already. I am a jet mechanic and was told by a mentor many years ago, "parts is parts". So I am still going to rebuild the carbs at some point, after I get some time on it in the beautiful FL sunshine. Or when I find the weakest link and have to tear into it. Definitely going to be a fun hobby, owning a classic V-Max.
