'09 B-King vs '09 Vmax

[max_caper]

Motorcyclist (March 2009 issue) magazine did a comparo of the'09 B-King vs '09 Vmax and gave a slight edge to the new Vmax. The article was objective with the specs, 1/4 mile times and dyno results which mostly favoured the B-king but overall the reviewers were more impressed with the audacity and fun-factor of the Gen-2.

Blaine Williams
Oshawa, Ontario

 

[mr.maxx]

interesting

im not really keen on this comparo...

IMO these are not really similar enuff bikes....:confused2: JMO

 

[ValveGod]

but what bike would be similar to the Gen 2? haha

 

[Transam]

Only thing close is the Vrod and the Max can wax it ass !

 

[Mr. Pickles]

They are both bikes that manufacturers took forever to finally put out to the general public. The B-king failed IMO because it wasn't what Suzuki was teasing us with. No 240 rear hoop. No supercharger. No 210 HP.

The Vmax was pretty much what yamaha said it was going to be.

The straight line performance of either bike is not it's main focus. If you want fast, buy a 1000cc supersport or Hayabusa.

It's a bike that was meant to be greater than the sum of its parts. To me, the Bking fell short. It's not very attractive in stock form and while it may be considerably quicker than the max, it's still no contest in my opinion.

The Bking is awesome on paper but gets lost in the translation when you see it in person.

The Vmax is the opposite. It's a visually appealing motorcycle IMO/

 

[sbeduckman]

There are a lot of new max critics around. It is constantly being compared to the busa, GSXR1000, and other huge sport bikes. I'd like to tell those folks that THE MAX ISN'T A SPORTBIKE! The max is a cruiser. It is THE muscle cruiser. The Bking is cool, but it is what it is, a sportbike w/o fairings. It is not a cruiser. IMHO, Yamaha got it spot on. You can see the old max in the new one. It has character, it has class.

I ride with a couple guys who have big liter bikes. Yes, they can outrun me. Yes, they can out corner me. Yes, their bikes all look just like everyone elses. They have no soul, no character. This is why I love my bike, and why I've wanted one since I was 5....it drips attitude.

If Yamaha decides to continue producing the new generation vmax I will own one. It may be a few years, and will be used, but I'll have one. The people who buy the new vmax get it....who cares if the others don't.

 

[Earlzach]

When you look at the speed compairo of the two in the artical. Take notice the two key things that edge the Bking over the Max by a couple 10ths. One is obvious 125lbs lighter. the other is a 17" wheel to the Max's 18" it takes more to spool up mass. So I say take off 125lbs of the max and reduce the real "Wheel" to 17" and run them again. I know it was a run what you brung artical but if your going to put a cruiser up against a Sportbike and give up A hundo + in weight then I think a little respect is due for the Max as far as hanging wihtin the few 10ths it was beat by.unk:

 

[vmax1125]

the stock tire on the 09' can not put all that power on the ground i can blow the tire loose in 3rd at 50mph. change the tire and those #'s will get flipped but it still comparing apples to oranges its a hp cruiser just like the gen 1.
Chris

 

[Jayhawk]

I'm not going to join the pissing match on performance, but why is the BKing a sportbike? BK is a naked standard, in fact, a 600-lb naked standard just like a Gen. 1 VMax. It does sort of look like a sport bike, but it's function in the bike world is similar to that of both VMaxes. The Max would make a more comfortable cruiser (especially for a passenger), but the BK would probably fare a bit better in the twisties.

 

[betts]

Yamaha!!! ---------the end

lol

 

[chainednitromaxx]

unk:I think it sucks the Max got beat in the 1/4 mile by a crappy B king.I REALLY COULD CARE LESS IT A CRUISER I WANT THE THING TO BLOW THE B KING OFF THE MAP.Guess we got to do it all over again. Loose some weight,put more power to it, change the rims,got to love it.Just think all the time and money and they still could not figure out on correct rim size, proper weight to hp,and biger freakin gas tank.You can call it a cruiser all you want but when you get smoked by some kid on a plastic bike it will suck bottom line! JOHN ride on lets get to workin on it.

 

[Dezeez]

Being an older fart, I'll never forget when the Max was first released. People sat up and noticed, women cried and dogs barked. People here seem to forget that it blew everything away, sportbikes, cruisers, come one, come all. My 1984 Honda 1000 Intercepter had about 109 hp and this hot rod thing has 145? WTF! I wanted one for 20 years until I finally bought one in 2005.

It continued to be the quickest bike for a few years. That's why even today at a Bike rally, a couple of kids came up to me and asked how fast it is. After I told them the truth, the one kid said that his 600 can go faster then that and I agreed. Mystique baby, and I don't mean the naked blue chick.

20 years from now, I'm pretty sure that no one is going to be asking a Gen2 owner how fast it is. That's why I think Yamaha missed the boat. You can't release a new Max, especially at that price, and have a half dozen other production bikes that can kick its ass. They don't have any trouble putting the rubber to the road.

Don't mean to piss anyone off. I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part that Yamaha could recreate a motorcycle icon.

 

[gnappi]

I ride with a couple guys who have big liter bikes. Yes, they can outrun me. Yes, they can out corner me. Yes, their bikes all look just like everyone elses. They have no soul, no character. This is why I love my bike, and why I've wanted one since I was 5....it drips attitude.

I now ride my 04 max with a bunch of sporties, and like you I can't tell one from the other... yes, they're all very fast but I keep up and have no shame. Oh well, to each their own.

It would be cool if there were a group of Max owners that got together in South Florida. Wouldn't that be a sight? A bunch of VMaxs going up the Turnpike?

 

[vmax1125]

i dont want to get into a pissing match but the b king is a naked sport bike look at the seat pos. ,the tank in your nads, stance, chain drive, exhaust ,ect. just like the yamaha fz's. not a cruiser thats for sure.
Chris

 

[max_caper]

I'm hearing a lot of talk about how these bikes look. To a bystander, most bikes going past at a 100 mph probably look like the same kind of blurr. Heck, how many riders going 100 mph appreciate his/her bike for its looks. "Looks" may be fine in a driveway, the parking lot of a donut shop, or at a bike show but it has nothing to with ride-ability. If we were back in the 80's, the gen-1 would arguably look like other cruisers of this era, especially if you were to attach faux air scoops to them.

Blaine

 

[Theemax]

Name one.

 

[Theemax]

I guess all the cruisers that looked like the max in the eighties slipped your mind. It was a bike in it's own world back then, no comparison. The gen 2 on the other hand is not that original, either in looks or blowing away the competition. With mods it will be a kick ass bike, but at 18,000 dollars, I will let other people mod one, then buy it from them 50 cents on the doller.

 

[max_caper]

Generally speaking, of course, but many of the cruisers of the 80's followed the same school of design: upright seating, low saddle, dual springs/shocks in the rear, and no aerodynamics so to speak. Yes, the Vmax took this design and made a unique styling statement (kind of like the Kawi Eliminator made a unique styling statement) but it essentially uses 80's technology. Has anyone ever taken a V65 Magna image and tried photo-shopping some fake air scoops on it...I think that there may be a slight resemblance...maybe not identical-twin resemblance but it's there.

Blaine

 

[rumblethump]

Generally speaking, of course, but many of the cruisers of the 80's followed the same school of design: upright seating, low saddle, dual springs/shocks in the rear, and no aerodynamics so to speak. Yes, the Vmax took this design and made a unique styling statement (kind of like the Kawi Eliminator made a unique styling statement) but it essentially uses 80's technology. Has anyone ever taken a V65 Magna image and tried photo-shopping some fake air scoops on it...I think that there may be a slight resemblance...maybe not identical-twin resemblance but it's there.

Blaine

I see it.They both have two wheels.

 

[max_caper]

LOL! I know my point will be lost on some (just like some HD riders think that his/her bike is different from every metric cruiser). Back in 1985 the VMax was probably considered the race bike of its day and it definately kicked ass. In the last 10 years windtunnel technology, aerodynamic drag, ergonomics, etc have created a new breed of bike design. Because today's race bikes employ a leaned-over posture, low bars, fairings, low centre of gravity and huge weight reductions through use of carbon-fibre they all generally look like they do today. However, I'm sure any Ducati owner would argue that that their 1098 doesn't look "just like" buddy's TL1000.

Blaine