3 years later ..

[gunrunner]

You actually knew Burt Monroe ? Wow. If you guys haven't seen "The Worlds Fastest Indian" you should. One of the greatest movies regarding motorcycles you may ever see. A fearless "Kiwi" at Bonneville. Good on yer mate, what a wonderful story. I'm truly humbled.


Chris.

My Dad knew him , he bought his 1st bike from Burt and used to ride together on occasion mainly on shingle roads and inexcess of 100kmph .
My Dad said Burt was fearless .

 

[gunrunner]

Sadly to say I have come to the decision that my body cant handle long rides on my beloved vmax . It must be the riding style or something as on my t-bird im fine . So the vmax has now become my weekday ride . No more long trips on her . :confused2:

 

[CustomMax]

Congrats on getting your bike back! And before you give up on the longer rides maybe you should try a set of forward controls with a MaxGasser seat. I have the forward controls on my 92 and I have a starfighter seat but I tried the MaxGasser for comfort and although my seat w/ forward controls lets me ride all day with no discomfort I'd bet money Ricks seat would be even more comfortable. Something to think about anyway! Good luck!

 

[invalidsession]

Congrats on getting your bike back! And before you give up on the longer rides maybe you should try a set of forward controls with a MaxGasser seat. I have the forward controls on my 92 and I have a starfighter seat but I tried the MaxGasser for comfort and although my seat w/ forward controls lets me ride all day with no discomfort I'd bet money Ricks seat would be even more comfortable. Something to think about anyway! Good luck!

That's getting away from the V-Max ethos though isn't it ? Disable the boost and add forward controls, comfy seat etc and you might as well be riding any V-Star but sure as hell not a MAX.

Chris

 

[gunrunner]

A year has pasted doesn't time fly , the garage is almost finished got held back a lot over the winter due to the weather . I pulled the Vmax out of our storage shed to find the scoops etc are covered in oxidization . So I know what I will be doing once garage is finished - just has the final flashings , power and lights to be done and the doors to be put on ... :clapping:

 

[Rollie]

That's getting away from the V-Max ethos though isn't it ? Disable the boost and add forward controls, comfy seat etc and you might as well be riding any V-Star but sure as hell not a MAX.

Chris

Oh Hell no. He said his body was uncomfortable with long rides . I had the same issues and got forward controls and a comfortable seat. Nobody told me I had to de-nut the V-Boost . Cams , stage 7 , & radials with a HMF full exhaust .

Hoo rah.

 

[88vmx12]

Well along time ago I was pretty much forced against my will to get rid of my vmax that I loved so much for the fact my body just wouldn't let me enjoy riding it again . All I can say is ive had some very scary health moments in which I even considered giving up riding all together . My Thunderbird is an awesome bike , great for 2 up and very economical and would kick a Harleys arse if it had to but my 1st love was always the bike my dad wouldn't let me buy when I was younger - the Vmax . Later on in years when I did buy 1 I went to the south island to visit mum and dad who at that stage were in a home . Riding down the road I saw my dad cruising down the footpath in his motorised wheel chair , he didn't know it was me until I took off my helmet . The first thing he said was " I hope that's the vboost model " , see dad was a biker in his time and had in his time bought a bike from and ridden with Burt Munro .
Fast forward 7 or so years my parents are now longer with us and my partner told it would be nice to get something to say mum and dad bought you that with some of their estate . A Vmax was back on my mind again after 4 years from getting blown off the road and injuring my already curved spine . I started trolling the auction sites in japan as this is where I had bought my 92 from , then the other sunday I just happened to go on trademe which is our version of ebay here in NZ and came across a couple of Vmax . 1 Partically I like as from a glance it looked like my old 92 , same colour , same polished scoops , same fog lights - FUCK ME it cant be it had the same number plate .
So I rang the guy and he was getting rid of it as it was too much for him so I told him that I was the original owner and that I was keen on it so he said he would hold it for me to take a look at on Friday as it was the only day he could do it . Luckily for me I didn't work Fridays so as the week dragged on I couldn't wait .
Friday morning we were off and when I saw it again that was it , was in nearly the same condition as I had kept it . Well off for a test ride and haven't ridden 1 since I thought I just better go slow but next minute there's that oil light - old habits aye .
To cut a long story a little bit shorter on a cold rainy day I rode it home , almost like the first day all those years ago but once again I didn't care .
This was the perfect gift from my mum and dad but this time its a keeper .


Here's is some pics , 1 taken in June 2010 and 1 taken on Saturday which another love my german shepherd Max .

Love the story... What caught my eye was "Burt Munro" to me that would be an honor to own one of his bikes. I legend in my eyes for sure! I don't live more than about 2 hr drive from the salt flats where he made history!

G