1st Gen V-Max The BauTown Special (a build thread)

[BauTown]

VMax Year

1993

Hello all,

I purchased a 93 Vmax that's been sitting for some time. I was a little apprehensive about buying a non rideable bike but the fact that the engine ran made me think it wouldn't be too bad. I've been working on it fairly non stop for the past week so here's a run down if issues I've fixed and worked:

Fixed:
- coolant was leaking out of the front of the engine. Previous owner noted that the petcock drain was leaking and bought a spare. Without any coolant in the system, I went ahead and changed it but it was still leaking. Upon closer inspection, I saw it leaking from the thermostat. It turned out to be the thermostat top cap seal. Lesson learned: just shotgun order seals at the problem area instead of ordering each seal one by one.
- Changed all fluids. Found that the oil filter was missing the metal washer that goes between the spring and filter.
- Replaced random frame bolts that were not installed. Weird. This bike is far from abused, but there's random bits and pieces that are missing. Luckily most of them were in a parts bin that the previous owner gave to me.

Issues:
Right now my biggest issue is a rough idle. Previously the engine wouldn't run without the choke but since then I've rebuilt the carbs, tightened all the intake tubes, and drained the old green gas. It's now running at 90% but it's totally rideable as is minus a slightly shaky idle and some idle hang. I'm hoping installing some missing exhaust washers and a carb tune will fix that. Most of the air fuel mixture screws are stripped so I'll look for someone to extract them eventually. However if it runs decent, I may just kick that can down the road.

Update 23 April
Rebuilt the slave cylinder and what a pain it was with the holeshot exhaust. I managed to remove it with a little disassembly and gentle prying. The inside bore of the cylinder had some pitting but I sanded it smooth with 320 grit and cheated with a tiny steel brush Dremel wheel. The picture still shows some visible pitting but it felt smooth too the touch. Hoping for no leaks.

Update 30 April:
Got new tires and front brake pads as well as tuned the carbs but I'm still fighting a hanging idle. I noticed three carb boots were cracked and ordered a set. Not too much news but I did a lot of detailing the engine to help track down leaks. I believe I have a valve cover and shift shaft seal leak but these are so minor and lesser priority at the moment. I also fixed some damaged threads on the sissy bar so it's not wobbly anymore. Cleaned switches and contact points so my brake light works normally again. I took it out on the freeway for the first time and this thing is fast!

 

[Fire-medic]

Hello all,

I purchased a 93 Vmax that's been sitting for some time. I was a little apprehensive about buying a non rideable bike but the fact that the engine ran made me think it wouldn't be too bad. I've been working on it fairly non stop for the past week so here's a run down if issues I've fixed and worked:

Fixed:
- coolant was leaking out of the front of the engine. Previous owner noted that the petcock drain was leaking and bought a spare. Without any coolant in the system, I went ahead and changed it but it was still leaking. Upon closer inspection, I saw it leaking from the thermostat. It turned out to be the thermostat top cap seal. Lesson learned: just shotgun order seals at the problem area instead of ordering each seal one by one.

Issues:
Right now my biggest issue is a rough idle. Previously the engine wouldn't run without the choke but since then I've rebuilt the carbs, tightened all the intake tubes, and drained the old green gas. It's now running at about 90% but it's totally rideable as is minus a slightly shaky idle and some idle hang. I'm hoping installing some missing exhaust washers and a carb tune will fix that. Most of the air fuel mixture screws are stripped so I'll look for someone to extract them eventually. However if it runs decent, I may just kick that can down the road.

Member dannymax (email: [email protected]) is a specialist in carburetor rebuilding including the air idle screw extraction issue. CaptainKyle [email protected] and Sean Morley [email protected] are also capable of doing any work you may need done to the carbs.

There are parts for the VMax which you can find acceptable substitutes for in your local auto parts store. These include the thermostat, the cooling system cap, the cooling system sending unit, beneath the thermostat housing, and you can use the search function for the posts listing these.

I bought a flat-bottom tap to chase the threads of the air fuel mixture screws, and was able to make the new screws hold in-place.

Have you synched the carbs after cleaning/reassembly?

Your bike has a lot of desirable accessories: seat, Dale Walker Holeshot Performance exhaust, a backrest, and case guards. It's a '93 so it has the larger fork downtubes, sliders, and 4 piston brakes, and larger brake rotors. It has the newer ignition (1990+). Someone cared about that bike.

 

[BauTown]

Member dannymax (email: [email protected]) is a specialist in carburetor rebuilding including the air idle screw extraction issue. CaptainKyle [email protected] and Sean Morley [email protected] are also capable of doing any work you may need done to the carbs.

There are parts for the VMax which you can find acceptable substitutes for in your local auto parts store. These include the thermostat, the cooling system cap, the cooling system sending unit, beneath the thermostat housing, and you can use the search function for the posts listing these.

I bought a flat-bottom tap to chase the threads of the air fuel mixture screws, and was able to make the new screws hold in-place.

Have you synched the carbs after cleaning/reassembly?

Your bike has a lot of desirable accessories: seat, Dale Walker Holeshot Performance exhaust, a backrest, and case guards. It's a '93 so it has the larger fork downtubes, sliders, and 4 piston brakes, and larger brake rotors. It has the newer ignition (1990+). Someone cared about that bike.

Thanks so much! I just got the carb tune tool so we'll see if I want to go down the road of drilling them out. I may want to enjoy it for a while before sending my carbs out but that's great to know. I'll definitely wanna get it done eventually. Thanks for identifying the aftermarket parts! I was apprehensive about the exhaust at first but it's starting to grow on me. The 4-into-1 exhaust reminds me of 90s Japanese sportbikes.

Someone definitely cared about it. Kind of neat history: the original owner was in the Air Force as an F-15 mechanic, then went to an Air Force Security Forces guy, and to me, an Air Force Aircraft Mx Officer. Unfortunately that means it will see more neglect between overseas assignments.