Buying a VMax tomorrow... Need advice

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I tend to agree, more-money spent on an operable candidate, is a better way to proceed. If you had the room, buying it for parts would be a tactic to use, but I'd want it cheaper than he's asking. If you don't have the knowledge, skills, and abilities (and a good place to work on it) to split the cases and to perform whatever-else is required to end-up with a reliable, safe ride, look for a runner.
 
Well, I already had bought it earlier before reading all your advice. I decided to risk it and hope for the best. I don't have much experience mechanically I would say, I am 19 and mostly haven't worked on anything large. Wanted a project to dive into to learn as much as I can right now that I have some spare time here and there.

I appreciate all your guys' tips and advice, going to be asking a BUNCH and reading a bunch from other threads to try and get this beauty running well. If you guys got any tips on what I should start with I'd appreciate the help!

Awesome community btw, joined a Honda Shadow thread when I owned one and it was definitely not as helpful and active as this one.
 
Anything can be done /fixed given enough time and money, so how much was it and photos.

Fingers crossed it works out financially, nothing wrong by a vehicle that needs work, hopefully you'll learn something along, even if it is don't buy a non-runner LOL.

Whereabouts are you in case you need someone local to help.
 
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One other piece of advice I'd offer is to acquire a copy of the Service Manual and back that up with a Haynes/ Clymer etc. version.
Essential if you need to strip the motor and even more essential if you want to put it back together (and work).
 
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Well, I already had bought it earlier before reading all your advice. I am 19 and mostly haven't worked on anything large.

Then this will teach you two things if nothing else:
  1. Never, ever rush in to anything.
  2. How to turn a few wrenches on a bike.
I hope it all works out for you, but I genuinely think you have bought a parts bike just like my buddy Frank did.

Here's what you do now: Give yourself a hard ceiling of 500 dollars. That's it. Absolutely no more money than that. If you spend 500 dollars and the bike still isn't running, give it up. You'll be out 1000 dollars total.

Then go out and spend about 2,000 dollars and get yourself one in good running order. You will then have a great many spare parts you can mix and match off of to get that bike exactly the way you want it or to replace a part should one go down.
 
While I think Parminio has a valid viewpoint, I think there should be some codicils added to the contract.

The goal is to get it running, at least-cost.

Forget the new seat, the new tires, a paint job, custom bodywork, the substitute H-D VRod headlight, the alternative tail light, the new 4/1 or Mark's 4/2 exhaust. You need to see/hear/feel and to use that V4 DOHC engine! I suspect the gas tank may be cruddy/rusty. Shine a light in-there, if you don't see shiny metal, you need to get the tank sparkling-clean. While it can be done with the bike's tank in the frame, you probably will better accomplish a thorough cleaning of it out of the bike. The removal and replacement, once cleaned, costs you nothing, and cleaning agents are inexpensive. Use the search function (try 'advanced search,' and several different ways of writing what you wish to accomplish, i.e., 'gas tank,' 'gas tank cleaning,' rusty tank,' etc.) and after digesting the material, decide upon a plan. If you get too-many things apart and scattered about, and you're trying to do this in a parking lot, you're going to become lost in the job, overwhelmed by the uncompleted multiple tasks, and lose interest in the final goal due-to frustration.

You need a battery to make things work, a new battery. This is another 'advanced search' topic, there are many opinions on batteries, battery designs (lead/acid, AGM, Lithium-ion) and brands (Yuasa, which is OEM; Panasonic, Odyssey, Ballistic, Shorai, Bikemaster, Sears Diehard, etc.) there are many threads on this, so read a lot, and decide what you want to do. At this stage of the game, I think I'd recommend an assembled glass mat (AGM) battery, they are durable, reasonable in price, and you should get a couple riding seasons out of it.

"A couple of riding seasons out of it? Whaaat?" This depends largely upon how you treat it. If you keep it charged, and you use the bike frequently, and encounter no issues which cause you to run-down the battery trying to make the bike run properly, that lifespan may-be extended. If you run-down the battery because you have a dirty gas delivery system, crud in the carbs, and someone was in-there before you, they left-out the carburetor float needles, and tried to adjust the float levels, doing it impossible-to-run wrong, and now you're on the starter, watching four black overflow hoses which stick-out the side carburetor brackets below the CV (stands-for 'constant-velocity,' the principle on-which the carburetors operate) caps, well, that battery will soon run-down. You get frustrated, you don't charge the battery back-up to a full charge, and abandon things for months, and when you return to it, the battery is too-weak to accept a charge. Remember what I said about you lose interest in the final goal due-to frustration? Now you're experiencing mission paralysis, the bane of well-intentioned projects.

In the case of your battery, I suggest getting a decent battery charger for the type of battery you have. Li-ion batteries use a different charger than lead/acid, or AGM batteries. "Hey, I sprung for the high-zoot Li-ion battery, and it takes a charge when I hook-up my 25 year-old charger to it! What gives?" The type of charging a Li-ion battery needs is according to an algorithm to properly do the job, that is part of the charger's behavior, using a lead-acid type traditional charger could overheat the battery, and in an extreme case, it could not-only destroy the battery, it could cause a fire.

I use a Battery Tender, and the small eyelet wire adapter to allow you to use a polarized quick-connector point of attachment for the battery charging. There are many other chargers out there, NORCO is another one which does Li-ion batteries. If you have a lead/acid or a AGM battery, you don't need the capacity to charge Li-ion batteries. However, it's a good capacity to-have, it gives you the ability to buy a Li-ion battery, 'next-time.'

The eyelet attachment for a polarized plug to charge your battery also gives you the ability to use the charger as a booster when you're trying to get the bike running. I do-not recommend using the 50 or 75 amp booster capacity some battery chargers have, for starting cars and trucks. That is too-much amperage for a motorcycle.

There are more points of information upon the proper way to deal with the battery and the electrical system, the VMF members will likely share when you encounter specific issues, and you post questions. However, do yourself the favor of trying to locate related info by spending time using the 'advanced search' function. Make a folder, and save the stuff you find according to the topic, 'electrical,' 'carburetors,' 'tires,' second-gear doesn't work,' etc. I guarantee every single problem you will have, someone on-here had it before you (er, we're speaking-of motorcycles, you're on your-own for the G.F. issues!) so show some initiative and don't ask, 'what oil should I use?' The link to Ra Warrior's beginner's guide to the VMax answers that, and many-more.

Did you know, many riders on-here have bad second-gear issues? And, they ride their bikes frequently, they just shift from first-gear, to third-gear. They skip second-gear. That could be you, once you get the bike operational, and reliably-so, you probably aren't going to be able to dust-off your friend's Hyabusa 0-100mph but you can use the bike like that.

Dannymax, CaptainKyle, and Sean Morley ([email protected]) all offer rebuilding of your carburetors. It's worth it to have them done properly. The forum has many stories, "I took my bike to the shop, they charged me an arm and a leg, it doesn't run any-better, and I had to wait three months to get the bike back, now riding season's over!" I've done business with all of these guys, and they are honest, ethical, and reasonable in their pricing. Dannymax specializes in VMax carburetors service, CaptainKyle and Sean Morley sell new and used parts, they offer painting, mechanical repairs, and more.

I could go-on but I'm gonna leave it at this. Concentrate upon getting the bike operational (engine running properly) first, and save everything-else for after that. If the heart of the beast is mortally-wounded, there's no-sense in buying brake pads, tires, a new paint-job, chrome, powder-coating, a new exhaust, etc.
 
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I broadly agree with Mr Medic particularly about the fuel tank.

I would pull the carbs and remove the float chambers and see what is in there. If it is clean then put them back together and re-mount (Helpful hint: A little silicon grease around the moths of the inlet rubbers will help getting them back on).
If not you will need to clean out the gunge, fungus and any illegal immigrants you may find. Depending on the degree of crudishness it may be best to bite the bullet and have them ultrasonically cleaned.

Once that is sorted I would invest in a chep(ish) battery; until you know the motor runs - you need to limit spending.
Check the compression and see if there is a spark (a spark tester is a good investment).

Change the oil and coolant, replace the oil, fuel and air filters and replace the plugs.

Do that lot and if you have fuel, compression and a spark then it should start.

Woopee! :D

Now open your wallet 'cos this is where the spending will probably start with a vengeance! :eek:
 
I agree with Max Midnight, his points are good ones.
Apart from 1 point. By the time the carbs have been removed, it would be madness not to remove the jet block to examine the jets and clean them out, particularly the pilot jets.
 
I agree with Max Midnight, his points are good ones.

Yeah, and I'm not so sure about the "political correctness" of exorcising illegal immigrants from your carburetors. If you find any, best to let the authorities take care of that. Or an ultrasonic cleaner.
 
Yeah, and I'm not so sure about the "political correctness" of exorcising illegal immigrants from your carburetors. If you find any, best to let the authorities take care of that. Or an ultrasonic cleaner.
Yeah I ignored that one, on-purpose.
 
Apart from 1 point. By the time the carbs have been removed, it would be madness not to remove the jet block to examine the jets and clean them out, particularly the pilot jets.
But where do you stop?
The point here is to minimise the amount of time and effort that Mr RVR spends until he is confident he has a viable project.
IMO if the inside of the float chambers are clean then it would be reasonable to assume that the rest of the carbs are also in reasonable condition.
Even with blocked pilot jets it will run (albeit compromised) and trying to clean them at this stage would be a waste of time if the rest of the motor is Donald Ducked.

Yeah, and I'm not so sure about the "political correctness" of exorcising illegal immigrants from your carburetors. If you find any, best to let the authorities take care of that. Or an ultrasonic cleaner.

If the UK government are anything to go by I wouldn't count on any help from them!
Is it permitted to ultrasonically clean illegal immigrants?

As for political correctness perhaps we should take a lesson and learn from Terry Pratchet's on how we should phrase certain terms?
“You're not allowed to call them dinosaurs any more," said Yo-less. "It's speciesist. You have to call them pre-petroleum persons.”
 
I writing about my own experience.
But where do you stop?
The point here is to minimise the amount of time and effort that Mr RVR spends until he is confident he has a viable project.
To reach this point the fake tank needs to be removed, air scoops removed, breather hoses unscrewed from air box, throttle cable splitter undone, LH pad holding relays moved out of the way, undo screws to remove plastic fake carb covers, screws on the intake clamps undone, air box breather hose undone, airbox removed, fuel hose to carbs removed, carbs removed, both e clips removed from throttle and choke linkages to disengage the link rods, carbs screws removed to split carbs, hoses between carbs removed, screws removed to take off the float bowl cover.

To get at the pilot jet, float removed, 2 screws undone and screw for main jet. Like I said, it's kinda crazy not to do that extra bit then undo and refit it all over again.

To refit, overflow tank needs to be removed in order to refit airbox breather.

Note - I may have missed steps out.


IMO if the inside of the float chambers are clean then it would be reasonable to assume that the rest of the carbs are also in reasonable condition.
In my experience that was not the case. I cleaned carbs, let bike stand over winter and had to unblock pilots - float bowl was clean.

Even with blocked pilot jets it will run (albeit compromised) and trying to clean them at this stage would be a waste of time if the rest of the motor is Donald Ducked.
Again in my experience that was not the case. Engine would fire, would attempt to idle then stop fairly quickly after say 3-5 seconds.
I'm not here to argue the toss, though it may appear so, but giving advice based on my experience. Whether the OP decides to follow it or do what you suggest is neither here nor there.
 
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Well, I already had bought it earlier before reading all your advice. I decided to risk it and hope for the best. I don't have much experience mechanically I would say, I am 19 and mostly haven't worked on anything large. Wanted a project to dive into to learn as much as I can right now that I have some spare time here and there.
Advertize it on craigslist for 300 more and good luck!
This is the best advice you will get. 😁
 
The more issues he mentions (brakes and all broken down, no battery to test it with, suddenly it has 30,000 miles, etc.) the more I tend to agree. I tried to talk a friend of mine out of buying a money pit Max a few years ago and it didn't work. He threw 1200 dollars at it (AFTER he gave 800 dollars for it) and it now sits in the corner of his garage in pieces.

You can get a Vmax in decent running order for not a whole lot of money. 500 dollars isn't a deal at all if you have to spend 2000 dollars to get it running.
I can buy his bike if price is right.
 
But where do you stop?
The point here is to minimise the amount of time and effort that Mr RVR spends until he is confident he has a viable project.
Which was precisely my point as well.

Everyone that gets into a "I'll buy it on the cheap and fix it up like new" situation runs the risk of falling into the Money Pit Syndrome.

In fact, that happens the vast majority of the time because regardless of your mechanical skills the parts are just so damn expensive.

That's why typically, if the bike isn't running, you DO NOT BUY IT. Not unless you're intentionally looking for a parts bike.

You add to that we're talking about a 19 year old with zero experience getting into a bike that has nothing but problems that he's already into for 500 bucks and you can pretty much guarantee it's going to end badly.
 
You stand a chance of riding sooner, definitely. Consider the services of one of the members mentioned, it will get you into the saddle quicker, it will be done right, and you eliminate the frustration of trying to do it yourself, and then crying, bollocks! when things do not happen as-hoped-for.
 

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