It's an amazing and totally unique machine.
And built to last forever. I have a friend on another forum who since new has ridden his VMax like he stole it, in the Texas heat, for 60,000 miles. He just now at 60k had his first issue that involved output bearing failing. It was an easy fix and covered under his extended warranty. This bike has been ridden really HARD, hammered over and over with only normal maitenance....has not even had the valves adjusted yet. When you get to see one up close, and work on one you can see the quality of the parts and workmanship. The frame, suspension and drivetrain are all "over " built.
The bike is long, and heavy.....but also extremely powerful, responsive, stable and has great brakes. I've run at 170 mph and it's as steady as a rock. At my age and with my riding style I'm not interested in some high strung wheelie machine like a ZX10. This bike can be just as exciting and also can be ridden just like a Hardley if you want to.
I hooked up with some sport bikes today and granted they weren't BMW 1000RR's but the fastest guy there on a modified RC51 was totally blown away that I was destroying him on every straight and hanging right with him in the turns. There is no other bike in the world Like the Gen 2 when you look at what it is, and what it can do.
All that being said it has some shortcomings:
The range is poor, you'll find yourself thinking about the next gas station often.
It's not great 2 up stock. There are kits for lowering the passenger pegs, and a backrest helps a lot.
For pure drag-racing it's not the best platform, mostly because of the shaft drive. That's where all the extra weight is, and it doesn't allow you to change the gearing. There are cheaper ways to go as fast or faster.
The price. It's unfortunate that the price has gone up since the introduction in 2009. I paid $16,500 new when I pre-ordered mine in 2009, that was a bargain for what I got. Absolutely NO regrets worth every penny and then some. I would have no reservations buying a used one, if the owner could show they just did the minimum required servicing. It's built that good.
So in short it's a bike that can do some amazing things for a "cruiser" and there is no other bike like it in the world... IMO. Puts a smile on my face every time I ride it. :biglaugh:
-Mark-
Oh...and it draws crowds and questions every where you go, I still get a kick out of that.
