Ready to buy a 1st gen Vmax

[cgswss]

I had a NEW v-max in '85, and again in '93. I'm looking to by a new to me used v-max. I want a first gen- don't like the looks of the 2nd gen.

I know the first couple of years had a 2nd gear problem and I understand that the 2004 and up have some improvements. Are there any model years that I should avoid? Right now I have several 1997 bike I'm looking at. (also a '02, and an '06) I'm retired and live on SS so I want to keep the price under $4000.

ALSO...

For some reason I love the look of "staggered duels" on Harley. I always wished someone made pipe for the v-max that would give "staggered duels" on each side.

On the other side of the coin, I'm avoiding bikes with after market pipes as I always heard the ANY after market pipe would cause one to loose HP.I'm also always concerned that the PO didn't make the proper jetting changes for the after market pipes.

Thanks!
cgswss (Craig)

 

[Fire-medic]

Personally, if the bike is well-maintained, and the price is right, any bike is ok as to year. My opinion. I have seen much-newer bikes that are hammered from indifferent use & maintenance, while 85 & 86 bikes frequently turn up in better shape than that. The 93+ bikes had better brakes, larger dia front end tubes, but probably the biggest issue w/any bike is the condition of the gearbox, specifically 2nd gear, which is prone to jumping-out of engagement when hammered hard, due to worn engagement dogs, which usually will require pulling the engine & splitting the cases, though the cyl. heads can stay in-place.

I think the UFO website has a year by year list of differences, but really, if the bike is in good shape, you should have no problems finding one that is in your price range. Since you already had two, you probably know about these things. The $3-5K price range is popular in south FL for these bikes. Anything much more than that and I would expect it to be a late model like an 06-07 w< 5K mi on it. You can also find 85's heavily modified for around that $5 K price too, so caveat emptor!

If you want to do it up, replace the steering head bearings, HH brake pads for the front, SS front brake lines, get some good tires, check the wheel bearings while you have it apart, flush the brakes & clutch w/new fluid, new oil & filter of course, new air filter, and a new lithium ion battery, expensive, but you will buy yourself 5 years of no battery troubles. Plus, you never had a battery spin your engine like this one will. Race Tech or Progressive Suspension fork springs, fork seals often leak; maybe a set of Prog. Suspension rear shocks, the 412's are relatively cheap and much better than stock. Of course, there are $700 Ohlins.

Check the connector from the stator to the regulator/rectifier, unplug it & check for burned wires or bad connectors or overheated & discolored plastic for the plug. A later model R/R from another bike can be retrofit, less heat, more-modern design, less trouble; do a search or see the electrical stickys for easy upgrades such as this.

Good aftermarket systems are ok for exhausts, the Cobras look & sound cool but cost HP. Yes exhausts have to be tuned to work well, but the stock head pipes w/slip-on cans are not in-need of jetting changes, Supertrapp is a popular setup for the VMaxes.

You could easily spend $1.5K+ if you just went to a dealer and said,"do all-this," but there really isn't anything in that list you cannot see on here how to do it yourself. And, you will save lots of $$ and you will 'bond' w/your bike, and find other little things you may want to do, like changing the coolant, thermostat & radiator cap, the cap is from a Ford Explorer, use the search function. Happy hunting.

 

[cgswss]

That's about what I was thinking. I have $4000 in my pocket and tomorrow, after church, I plan to look at a "adult owned" '97 with 19,000 (new tires, stock) If I don't buy that one I'll be looking at an almost identical bike ('97 silver) with 9,500 miles and factory windshield. And If not that one a '98 (red) with over 30,000 mile stock with windshield.

Tomorrow I hope to post a pic of the "winner"

 

[naughtyG]

That sounds good! With $4k though, I'd be looking for '99 and up. I bought a 2000 for $4k a few months ago with ~24,000miles on the clock, in mint condition and with aftermarket pipes (which I put back to stock) and orange custom paint.

Re exhausts - you got this slightly wrong: aftermarket mufflers do not usually require rejetting and make no difference to HP, just more or less noise. There is one exception - the 'Cobra slash cuts' which, by the sound of what you said, may be what you're looking for visually, but are stupidly loud and do lose you some HP.

OTOH, full exhaust systems (larger diameter headers + mufflers) such as Kerker, Hindle, Marks etc, actually increase HP, and do benefit from rejetting and other such tuning.

Again, I'd look at '99 and up, after that Yamaha upgrades are rather minimal IMHO, and for your money you should be able to get a 10-12 years old bike with low-ish mileage and in excellent condition.

 

[RaWarrior]

The major changes by year


-'86 quieter exhaust/larger v-boost tubes
-'90 switch from analog to digital ignition (much more reliable)
-'93 larger diameter fork tubes and improved front brakes
-'98 voltage regulator/rectifier updated to a better one
-'00 (?) shift drum segment updated with captive pins...not sure on the exact year of this one, the new part is a direct replacement for any year.

There were various color and cosmetic changes through the years but this bike really didn't change much in the 22 model years it was produced.

I'd really try to shoot for a '93 or newer. Trust me, you want everything you can get in terms of stability and braking on this bike (and will probably still want to mod it).

Finding a stock (or nearly so, or only with Yamaha accessories) bike is often a good way to go, knowing you're getting a bike that hasn't been fooled around with. Not saying buying a modded bike is bad, but you never know if the person who worked on it did things through-and-through. I spent a lot of time with mine correcting little problems with the previous owner's modifications.

In general less miles is better, but don't let 20 or 30k on the clock scare you off. As mentioned if the transmission is solid, no valve clatter or strange noises (though the vmax has a rather noisy engine to start with, so don't be surprised if it doesn't sound like a sewing-machine smooth honda v-twin), you should be good. The Vmax engine is pretty under-worked for casual riding....80mph is an effortless cruise, which is conducive to long engine life....as opposed to a 600 sportbike that's strung out at 9k rpm just to cruise on the highway.

 

[Jimsvmax]

I love my 85 and would not trade it for any other year. Brakes work fine, tons of horsepower and it looks bad ass! :biglaugh:

 

[CaptainKyle]

I have a 92 for sale runs & rides like new just had a full sevice done on it $ 2500

 

[DiveRSQ]

I bought an 89 for $2100 had a kerker 4-2-1 drag bars, aftermarket mirrors and turn sigs with 16000 miles. It ran good but had some stutter at 4500-5500. No gear issues though.

I'm bringing it to Paul at madmax.com to fix up the kinks. But otherwise I love gen 1 vmaxes! Good luck

 

[mccauley]

I really like my 85 V-Max and won't sale or trade it for a while. I also have an 87 Harley FXR Custom which I would trade or sell in a heart beat.

 

[scuff]

I say keep trolling this site, seems like guys are unloading there really nice Gen 1's now that Gen 2's are getting closer to the 10,000 mark, I've seen some smoking deals on here, IMO

 

[dannymax]

Guys, this thread is from 2012....just sayin' :blink000:

 

[liptoss]

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[liptoss]

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