Well, I've been wanting to start documenting my experiences with my new V Max for a few weeks now.  I guess there is no better time than now.

I bought this amazing machine on March 29th, 2010.  Its a rather funny story to me and many don't believe it is true but I swear it is.  See, I had a V Max many years ago and while being young, dumb, and drunk; I crashed it.  Flipped it over backwards because I was wanting to show off in front of some girls with a friend on the back.  I wouldn't say that I totalled it but I certainly didn't have the money to repair it myself and beer money was more important at the time.  So, I sold it for more than what I paid for it.  And ever since that day, I swore to myself that I would have another one some day.

I went for about 15 years with no motorcycle at all.  Personal and family issues took precedence over getting back into riding.  Every time I saw somebody race by on a crotch rocket, roll past on a cruiser, or rumble the windows with a harley, my heart broke just a little bit more.  After finally getting my life straight and getting stabilized in an amazing career, I broke down and bought a 2005 Yamaha V Star 1100 Custom.  I fell for this bike initially because the charcoal gray with gray ghost flame paint scheme matched what I had done with my first vehicle when I was a teenager.  But I wasn't happy.  I knew it on the ride home from the dealership.  It just wasn't right.  My wife even sensed that something was wrong.  She kept asking "You just got a new bike, why aren't you out riding?"  I just wasn't happy with it, it wasn't a Max.  I don't know why I bought it.  I had the money, why didn't I just buy a V Max to begin with.  Sometimes I don't understand the things I do.

I lived with the V Star for a few years and it was a very good bike.  I never had any problems with it and it was a very good ride.  I still watched Ebay and Craigslist for the possibility of finding that amazing deal on an older V Max though.  Most of the time they were overpriced (to me) or too far away.  Then I saw the adds for the Gen 2 and started seeing them at a couple of the local dealerships.  WOW!  Talk about adding fuel to the fire.  That just increased my desire exponentially.  My god those things looked incredible!  I HAD to get back on a V Max so I started searching even harder for a good used deal.  Finally, after having missed out on a couple of deals on Ebay, I decided I was going to go to the local dealers and ask them to call me if they ever got a used V Max in trade for something.  I even took my title with me, just in case I stumbled across something that wasn't shown on their websites.  Which of course, I did.  I didn't meant to but man it did.  Really, truly, I didn't 'plan' on buying anything that day.

I was strolling around looking at the small assortment of used bikes at our nearest Ride Now dealership waiting for one of the sales guys to get freed up and come talk to me.  I knew they would eventually, they always do.  Sales guy, Dominic, was the lucky guy that day.  He came wandering over and asked if he could get me set up with any of these 'sweet rides'.  I said "No sir, not any of these.  I want a V Max."  He looked a little shocked and expressed his suprise at how I was the first guy he ever helped that knew exactly what he wanted.  He also said that I was obviously aware of how insane those things were and I assured him I was.  He said they didn't have any used ones but they did just happen to have a new 2009 crated up in the warehouse.  They were actually getting ready to ship it to another dealership because they hadn't been able to sell it for several months.  They had had it custom painted to 'black on black' and offered to see what kind of deal they could work up for me if I was interested.  I wasn't at all interested in taking on that kind of payment because I was just hoping to find an older one to possibly trade mine straight across.  But hell, what could it hurt.  I gave him my terms and sent him off to see what he could do.  And, as expected, he came back with the sales manager and expressed how there was no way they could do that deal and gave me figures nearly triple what I had told them I was wanting to pay.  That was it, thanks for your time, please let me know if you get a used one so I can come see it.  I wasn't there to triple my monthly payment.  Then the sales manager started back peddling.  "Wait, wait, wait, maybe we can still work something out," he said.  I assured him there was no way I could make payments anywhere near what they were wanting.  I finally gave in just a little bit, knowing that I had just gotten a very nice raise at work, and threw out some figures that were just slightly higher than what I had originally given them.  I wasn't stressing it.  I knew there was no way in hell I could afford an $18k V Max.  He went away for a few minutes, like they always do, and came back with a big grin on his face.  He said, "We can manage that." 
HOLY CRAP!  OH SHIT!  OH MY GOD!  What had I just done?  Was this really happening?  He had dropped his price over $200 per month and I had only gone up $100 over what I had been paying for my old bike.  And I had just shook hands and bought a NEW 20009 V Max!  My heart was beating so hard and fast, my head was racing, and I'm sure I was stuttering like a nervous 8th grader on his first date.  I immediately called my wife and told her what had just happened.  She laughed and said, "Well at least NOW you will finally be happy."  And happy I was.  Words cannot describe how happy I was.

I patiently waited there at the table and wandering around the dealership looking at the riding gear and other accessories while they had the bike brought over from the warehouse and prepared for me.  They had several dozen other bikes of all makes and models, only one Goldwing was more expensive than the V Max.  Holy shit, I had bought the second most expensive motorcycle at the dealership, site unseen.  What the hell was I thinking.  I never thought I would be capable of doing anything like that.  Then I glanced out the front window and there she was.  My Max.  My dream bike.  MY 2009 Black on Black Yamaha V Max.  God she looked amazing.  She took my breath away.  The entire sales staff and service crew were circled around her while the lead tech walked me through the technical details, safety items, and starting procedures.  Comments and whispers were coming from all of them about how insane, awesome, and incredible this bike was.  Then he shook my hand, handed me the key, and said, "She's all yours, for god's sake be careful.  You do realize how massively powerful this machine is don't you?"  I said, "Yes sir I do."  Then I climbed on, took a couple of deep breaths to settle the butterflies in my stomach, and turned the key to ON.  Time to Ride - This is Vmax 
I think I wet myself a little bit.