1st Gen V-Max Maxed-out

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Bad Max

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
48
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VMax Year
1997
Hi all I'm AL this is my first VMAX a little while ago I had a TR1 vtwin loved it to death. First saw a max a few years back and put it on the list.
I'm in OZ Sydney and I haven't seen another Max for yonks so if your out there give me a yell.
 
Nice!! How is summer there? Hot? Australian December!!!! Be careful! Watch for kangaroos! :)
 
G’day Al, welcome. If you are looking for local riders, there are reasonably regular posts on the Facebook group ‘Oz VMax (Australia)’. Seems to be a couple of regular groups who ride together in Perth and SE Qld, can’t say I have seen a lot in Sydney but they may have their own FB group. I am in Queanbeyan/ACT.
Once you get the hang of the VMax forum, you will find heaps of good advice and ideas here. Cheers, Jason
 
"Grasshopper, learn the lore of the ancestors who preceded your Yamaha interests. We are not speaking of a Gen. 1 or a Gen. II, we are referring to a (here we go!) homologation special 750cc bike (OW01) made for roadracing, which had a 6-speed gearbox and was an aluminum wide-beam perimeter frame and equipped with radial tires, and Ohlins suspension, the first such-equipped production motorcycle to depart Japan, Inc. to cover its manufacturer in worldwide success on the racetrack. Its bigger brother was the 1987-1993 FZR1000. Learn of your ancestors' glory, revel in their achievements and by the written word and oral history, pass-down the accomplishments of the tribe members."

Reggie Jackson, baseball Hall of Fame member owned one. He had a terrible fire in a storage building where he kept his collection and he lost most of his collection of cars and motorcycles.

The OW01 made the same RWHP as a Gen. 1 VMax but had better aerodynamics (natch) and was over 200 lbs (91 kg) lighter. It had 3 intake valves and 2 exhaust valves per cylinder (GENESIS engine), and an electronically variable exhaust (EXUP). To give you an idea of the beast's specs, the 1192cc VMax uses 35mm Mikunis, while the 750cc OW01 has 38mm Mikunis. That's 3mm bigger carburetors on an engine 63% of the size of the VMax. Can you say, "more highly-tuned?" No wonder it outperforms a VMax!

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9 Brilliant Racing Homologation Special Motorcycles (rideapart.com)
 
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My friend Kurt bought a badly neglected FZR1000 and restored it:
IMG_2478.JPG

He kept teasing me how it was going to shame my V65 on the Dragon. It was raining the only day we rode the Dragon , so I escaped the trouncing.

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Jerry, owner of the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge became the new owner of that V65 after that day.
 
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I have an '87 FZR1000 I bought from a friend, barely 1 yr old. I prefer the riding position to the YZF1000's. I don't ride it much. I bought my VMax to have as an alternative to the FZR1000, 29 years ago. The difference is like my since-sold '80 Z-28 back in the 1980's, compared to my S2000 AP-1. The handling is on another level, though the FZR1000 is older than the VMax. Sportbike vs. cruiser. The comfort at speed is reassuring, where the VMax is, "hold-onto this, be brave." Of course the VMax was designed in the early/mid- 1980's, while the FZR used tech from the Yamaha international roadracing team's efforts, like the wide-beam, aluminum perimeter frame, and the Marvic-copy aluminum cast wheels using tubeless radials (Marvic uses magnesium). Then there is the 5-valve cylinder head, Genesis design. The FZR1000 made more RWHP than the Gen. 1 VMax, and it was well-under the street weight of a VMax, by about 120 lbs. with great aerodynamics and better suspension.

I think Sean had a FZR600 with an FZR1000 engine in it, for awhile.
 
My friend Kurt bought a badly neglected FZR1000 and restored it:
View attachment 82880

He kept teasing me how it was going to shame my V65 on the Dragon. It was raining the only day we rode the Dragon , so I escaped the trouncing.

View attachment 82881

Jerry, owner of the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge became the new owner of that V65 after that day.
That is simply gorgeous. VERY well done!
 
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