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Well I finally got to have a test ride on my dream bike last weekend 
The local Yamaha dealership was hosting a testride day on The V-Max
Ever since I had job @ Cairns Yamaha (circa 1992), part of which was assembling, making ADR changes (These were new American spec bikes) to new V-Max's & of course test riding them, I have lusted after one. The early models had no issues lifting the front wheel in the first 3 gears once the V-Boost was activated @ around 7000rpm, only trouble was getting them to stop & turn safely. Not easy when you where used to riding a sports tourer (CBR1000FH).
The impending test ride was looking even better when I found the escort rider they were sending out with me was a young lad I dragrace with, so I knew she would be a no holds barred ride, Fuggin' Awesome
The V-max is a perculiar bike, mainly cruiser but with that beautiful 200HP 1700cc V4 donk, gotta love that
.
First thing I noticed once onboard was how light it was to pick of the side stand. The 'Busa takes more effort & an M109 I test rode previously takes a very firm hand to lift of the stand, so well done there & a nice start.
Took me a while to get used to lifting my feet to slightly fwd (even compared to the ZRX) when leaving the lights, but not uncomfortably fwd, quite nice once you get rolling.
Roll on power was nice with that chunky V4 throb through the bike, moving into the insanely fast once further up the rev range. I found the shift light quite handy as the V-max has a lower redline than the 'Busa & with only stock pipes the Max is way to bloody quiet.
I did a standing start launch to try & gauge the acceleration against the 'Busa, first gear & as expected, bit of wheelspin prior to the front lifting nice & smoothly, coming back to earth with out a ripple through the bars before noting the shift light & slicking into 2nd, no more front up that I could detect anyway. With the sit up position I am sure these style of bikes feel more powerful than they are & it was a bucket load of fun, bloody quick for a heavy bike.
Cornering & general handling was very stable, tended to fall into slow corners, but that is a relative thing I suppose & without time to really get used to the bike it is hard to judge.
If I could afford it & had the dosh $34,000+ , I would have one as an only bike for sure .
After the ride & once other potential riders/buyers where otherwise engaged the Yamaha Australia man who was chapperoning the bike from dealership to dealership, asked me how it felt acceleration wise against the 'Busa, I wanted to say how f*&^ing awesome it was but really, ....., it does NOT have the eye watering blast of power that is so addictive in the 'Busa, but horses for courses & it certainly was not lacking get & go. Had I not been lucky enough to be riding the 'Busa for the last 7 months, no doubt I would have been walking around with drool coming from the corner of my mouth as I tried to work out how to get another ride, just for that power fix.
This would be a great long distance bike ride wise, shame about the 15 litre/200km range, & who the hell puts the fuel filler under the passenger pearch
This would mean stopping often & then having to remove your swag to access the fuel filler, what a f*** for the dogs that is. Still, if I owned one I am sure I could come up with a solution to remove luggage easily enough to make it viable.
Aww well, until I win lotto (which I don't enter) it remains a dream. But I know wear my next power fix is coming from, & now I know I am not missing out on a bigger fix not having a V-max so I can sleep better @ night
The local Yamaha dealership was hosting a testride day on The V-Max
Ever since I had job @ Cairns Yamaha (circa 1992), part of which was assembling, making ADR changes (These were new American spec bikes) to new V-Max's & of course test riding them, I have lusted after one. The early models had no issues lifting the front wheel in the first 3 gears once the V-Boost was activated @ around 7000rpm, only trouble was getting them to stop & turn safely. Not easy when you where used to riding a sports tourer (CBR1000FH).
The impending test ride was looking even better when I found the escort rider they were sending out with me was a young lad I dragrace with, so I knew she would be a no holds barred ride, Fuggin' Awesome
The V-max is a perculiar bike, mainly cruiser but with that beautiful 200HP 1700cc V4 donk, gotta love that
.First thing I noticed once onboard was how light it was to pick of the side stand. The 'Busa takes more effort & an M109 I test rode previously takes a very firm hand to lift of the stand, so well done there & a nice start.
Took me a while to get used to lifting my feet to slightly fwd (even compared to the ZRX) when leaving the lights, but not uncomfortably fwd, quite nice once you get rolling.
Roll on power was nice with that chunky V4 throb through the bike, moving into the insanely fast once further up the rev range. I found the shift light quite handy as the V-max has a lower redline than the 'Busa & with only stock pipes the Max is way to bloody quiet.
I did a standing start launch to try & gauge the acceleration against the 'Busa, first gear & as expected, bit of wheelspin prior to the front lifting nice & smoothly, coming back to earth with out a ripple through the bars before noting the shift light & slicking into 2nd, no more front up that I could detect anyway. With the sit up position I am sure these style of bikes feel more powerful than they are & it was a bucket load of fun, bloody quick for a heavy bike.
Cornering & general handling was very stable, tended to fall into slow corners, but that is a relative thing I suppose & without time to really get used to the bike it is hard to judge.
If I could afford it & had the dosh $34,000+ , I would have one as an only bike for sure .
After the ride & once other potential riders/buyers where otherwise engaged the Yamaha Australia man who was chapperoning the bike from dealership to dealership, asked me how it felt acceleration wise against the 'Busa, I wanted to say how f*&^ing awesome it was but really, ....., it does NOT have the eye watering blast of power that is so addictive in the 'Busa, but horses for courses & it certainly was not lacking get & go. Had I not been lucky enough to be riding the 'Busa for the last 7 months, no doubt I would have been walking around with drool coming from the corner of my mouth as I tried to work out how to get another ride, just for that power fix.
This would be a great long distance bike ride wise, shame about the 15 litre/200km range, & who the hell puts the fuel filler under the passenger pearch
This would mean stopping often & then having to remove your swag to access the fuel filler, what a f*** for the dogs that is. Still, if I owned one I am sure I could come up with a solution to remove luggage easily enough to make it viable.
Aww well, until I win lotto (which I don't enter) it remains a dream. But I know wear my next power fix is coming from, & now I know I am not missing out on a bigger fix not having a V-max so I can sleep better @ night