Thanks to Sean Morley for help on my Vmax collection: 1998 21" wheel, 1985 custom nitrous chaindrive

VMAX  Forum

Help Support VMAX Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

drdan1341

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
14
Reaction score
10
Location
Gilbert, Az
Sean, thanks for everything that you have done for me. You have helped bring a dream alive times two. For anyone who wants a Vmax fanatic to help you fix or modify your Vmax....Sean is the man. Communication is great, prices are great, and I am glad I ran into Sean to help me along this journey.
Dr. Dan.

I fell into a 1998 Vmax on Offerup, ran over there and made an offer and hauled it home as the bike hasn't been ridden in 4 years. I changed the fluids, put in a new battery, started right up, rode 4 miles then came home and put it up on a lift and started tearing it apart. I wanted to make this mine with mods that I've thought of for years. Plus the guy I bought it off of said that it was his brother's who passed away from a heart attack, and riding motorcycles just wasn't for him and he wanted it to go to a home that it would be appreciated, not just for transportation. I initially was going to rake the frame but with Sean's options, I chose a different route, but keep reading for what happened at the fabricators shop and my Vmax journey.

vmaxstock.jpg
I sent Sean some photos and he had some ideas of his own and I started to modify and ended up with this:
vmaxblackleft.jpg
vmaxblackfrontleft.jpg vmaxblackrightrear.jpg
Specs: 1998 Vmax 24,000 miles. Stock motor. Mark's 4:2 exhaust. K&N Air filter. Morley's muscle 3" extended braced swing arm and solid racing shaft, solid billet 18" wheel from RC Customs to Morely specs, CBR led rear tail light, Yamaha Venture controls, custom hidden wire 32" handlebar, Morley's raked triples with 2" fork extensions, 2002 Yamaha R1 forks and rotors, Suzuki Hayabusa front brakes, custom billet 21" wheel from Sean, VROD headlight, Night Train front fender. Rides incredible with no wobble, turns incredible, no rubbing, low and wide.

So this brings to my next bike that I fell into. I called Bryon Pryde of Pryde Fabrication, a friend of mine, and told him that I wanted to rake the frame of the 1998, he said bring it on over so he could look at it. He calls me the next day and says he forgot that he had a Vmax here in a trailer and we could look at it. He states that this bike belonged to a friend of his, Ed Plow, who was an engineer for General Motors and they had worked together at Arizona Speed & Marine. By the time I got over there, I had decided to go with Sean's options but wanted to look at it anyway. He states that it has been stored there for years and his friend had just had him start to put it back together on his spare time. The bike came with a ton of receipts, along with a fresh motor built by PCW, full nitrous system installed, custom so ugly it's cool 80's paint, chain conversion and Kosman 18" rear wheel, etc. He states that Ed wanted to sell it and he would call Ed to see if he still wanted to part with it as Ed was having some health issues and had moved back to NY. A few days later after no call back, Bryon had given me Ed's number to try and get a hold of him. Unfortunately, through my research, I had to call Bryon the next day and let him know that Ed had passed away 3 weeks earlier. I forwarded Bryon the obituary and my condolences. Bryon tracked down his son, John, whom had the title to the trailer and bike and knew the bike was somewhere but had no idea where and said that he would be open to sell it. John and I put together a deal and I hauled it home. Here is the first photo of when I opened the trailer.
vmaxyellowbarnfind.jpg
Specs: 1985 Vmax. PCW built 11.5:1 compression 1261cc with Cosworth pistons (along with an extra set of pistons), Kosman rear 18" wheel with chain drive conversion, NOS nitrous set up (never ran), custom acetylene torch smoke paint, drag bars, custom bodywork, velocity stacks, Kerker 4:1 exhaust, etc.
I pulled the wiring off of the nitrous set up to return it to stock wiring so I could finish putting it back together and break in the motor with instructions that were sent to Ed by PCW; I was told by John of PCW to start the motor up after sitting for years with the same instructions and it should be fine. Sean helped me with the wiring troubleshooting, and with God's blessing, the motor was broken in this past Sunday with no issues whatsoever. Oil pressure is good, no blow by, no smoke, etc. Ed if you are looking down we got it running brother and here is what it looks like.
vmaxyellowrightside.jpg vmaxyellowrightback.jpg vmaxyellowrightfront.jpg vmaxyellownosgauge.jpg vmaxyellowmadmax.jpg
 
Those bikes are killer!!!!! That black one especially, looks incredible!!! I love the wheels, the massive front looks pretty cool, and that rear is just amazing. Awesome job to the builder, and congrats on owning two really cool machines
 
Those are awesome! Hard not to respect something so distinctive and so well done. Sean has helped me out too. He and a handful of others here are why mine is right where I want it.

Darn I love happy stories and great bikes.
 
Cool indeed. I thought I was lucky to have 1 vmax… nevermind 2.. and quite a ways from stock I'd say. Congrats.
And yes, Sean Is the man.


What seat is on the black bike? Looks pretty cool...and custom?

T.
 
Hey T, the seat on the stock black Vmax in the first photo is a Corbin that I have the oval backrest for. The seat on the finished balck Vmax I think is a stock seat that has been braced and riveted with aluminum panels, then cutdown maybe? I don't have a stock one to compare it to. Just as a comparison, the yellow bike has a Corbin and I think it's been modified as it looks different than what's on the website, maybe an older version, I just don't know.

Thanks to everyone else for the kind words. Just as an update, I sent Ed's son photos of his dad's bike and he is coming out in October from New York to check it out. Dan.
 
I thought it looked "corbin-ish", maybe modded. I don't love the regular "flatish" corbin. This looks more swoopy. Cool.

T.
 
Two very special bikes. The wild custom "so ugly it's cool 80's paint", is an awesome period piece. I hope you don't touch the paint. That bike would be awesome to see at some bike shows as a "blast from the past." Thank you for sharing your photos. Made my day.
 
Back
Top