AMEN to what has been said!!!!!! I shall add to my original post.

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post '09, 3 years, & 21,000 miles later....... I had NO freakin idea what this Gen2 would do to me. I knew it looked badAss. I knew it would be fun, butt, HOLY SHITE Batman!!! The stump pulling torque of this mighty V4 iz unparalleled to anything i've ever ridden. OK, i havent ridden the rocket, butt, I dont care. That bike iz ugly to me, anyways. I need a bagger and will prolly end up w a road king or something(in addition to Max, of course).....yet this Vmax has literally Ruined me for all other bikes. They feel like scooters(i'm not including sport bikes cuz i'm over that phase in this lifetime). The Vmax, to me, iz ALL Attitude. I blip it, smash it , hammer it, roast it, and it just keeps comin back sayin, 'Ju wanna some O this mother f'er????!!!!!'. Bulletproof. And you know EVERYone I run into around here respects the Beast. Hell I found this huge, 5 foot dead rat snake in my garage yesterday. I've been telling everyone 'the VMax killed it'

I also shall Never sell mine----unless 'they' make me. Like Ted said, I truly hope to see a Gen3 in my riding lifetime.

BTW great topic cap

docrok wrote:
Dought they'll ever make another "true" V4 muscle bike....
The Gen III will probably be electric or solar powered....

docrok wrote:

I agree, MAX has ruined me in regard to other bikes. I will buy other bikes in the future that will do some things better than MAX. That is a no boner!
The problem is, MAX has a soul like no other bike I have ever owned. e.g. Hardleys, Ducatis, BMW`s,other Yammies, Triumphs, BSA`s ect. 15 that I can think of at least over the years, as well as the test rides on heaps of others to numerous to count.
NOT ONE has effected me (for want of a better word) as much as the VMAX 1700.
Even my son who now rides a Ducati says that MAX is never to leave the family or else. He hasn`t ridden it yet, but maybe in 6 months after riding his bigger bike for a while.
He has already dropped the Duc so maybe a bit longer?
I find it hard to explain to other bike riders what my Max is all about. I will not let anyone ride it yet. But just tell them try and ride a demo and then they will know what they are missing out on. Don`t knock anything to you have tried it is my motto.
I don`t care if bikes are faster or handle better, but I will continue to spend money (heaps) to make it do what I want.
I hope this story has no end
VMAXD

We have a few more members since and some slackos who havn`t added their reason yet for purchasing and what they like about MAX.lol
All good fun and interesting reading.
Any more contributers?

Doc , If you need a bagger and you like V Max torque look at the new Six Cylinder sport tour
BMW 160 HP and 130 Ft lbs torque starting at 1500 RPM,s all the way out.

Now thats a Bagger with power. 20 LBS lighter than the Max too.

But it has no SOUL it's cool it's bad Ass but not BADD AZZ !!

Observation at the Dragstrip a guy comes up all puppy doggen my Max tellin his buddy all about it and they were blown away walk over near the tree watch me run give me a thumbs up
puts his helmet on hops on his Turbo drag bike and runs a 7,91 talking about respect.

VMAXD wrote:
All right Vic......you son-of-a-gun, you called me out!

I've held back from telling my story because it is so long. I've owned VMax's since 1991, 3 Gen 1's, and there was no question that I would own the next generation VMax .........if it ever came out. It was a long wait, I was convinced it was in development, there were always rumors of a new top secret VMax being in the works but year after year passed and nothing. Almost every one on the Vmax forums I was frequenting at the time gave up hope, some made fun of me for still believing. I think it was 2004 when I was heading out on a business trip and on the shuttle bus to the terminal across from me was a guy with a Yamaha Corporate shirt on. I asked him if he worked for Yamaha, he said yes. I said "Listen, I need to know what the story is on the VMax. Is a new one in development? He said "Well I can't really say." I said smiling "OK.....that pretty much answers my question" As we were pulling into my terminal I said " So, this is going to be a Bad Ass bike isn't it.....and I love VMax's so I should start saving my money right?" He just grinned ear to ear. What a way to start my trip! He only said 4 words to me but I was now convinced that some day I would own the next generation Max!

In the mean time I had 2 beautiful Gen 1's in my garage, an 86 bone stock with low mileage that I bought from a Tennessee State Trooper, and a 98' that had a Kerker pipe with the racing baffle and Kehin flat-slide carbs. Up until meeting the guy at the airport I had been pricing hopping up the 98 because I had no interest in any of the new faster bikes that were out there. I loved my Vmaxs......I just wanted one that was faster. After those 4 words from the guy at the airport I made the decision to hold off and wait.

And wait I did.....1, 2 years past....no new news. Then out of the blue information starts to leak on a "new" VMax. There are conceptual drawings and patent drawings floating around on the web. Soon after a questionnaire is put up on-line by Yamaha asking a whole bunch of questions on what people would like to see in the new Max. I answer the questionnaire and in a few months I'm contacted by Yamaha and told I've been selected to be visited by Yamaha to discuss the new VMax. I'm naturally thrilled and schedule a date for them to meet me at my office. I invite a friend who has a early production 1985 max......the bike that captured my imagination and hooked me on VMaxs.

Three Yamaha employees from Japan and the East coast Yamaha rep show up at my office to discuss the new Max. One guy, Hank is a very "hip" and interesting guy who turns out to be the Head of Yamaha's worldwide sales. Wow! This is serious business! They have photos but not much technical detail.....but a lot of questions for me. I ask Hank before answering any questions "You are building this bike ....right!" He says "Yes, and this comes from the my boss, the President/CEO of Yamaha". I react with a "Yes!" and a fist pump. He questions me for a couple of hours, I give him some suggestions, we look at photos, and he takes pictures of my tattoos. LOL The questions were all marketing type questions, like: "How do you feel when you ride a VMax", "What would you be willing to pay for the new VMax". Of course I wasn't interested in any of that, I just wanted to know how fast it was going to be!!

So in conclusion (I've left a bunch out to keep this reasonable in length), I always knew I would have one......never a doubt. It was a looooooong road though. The wait after I ordered mine was nothing compared to the prior years when I was just wishing and hoping for the re-design.

Mark

Thats a damn good story Mark if not the best to date.
The VMAX book that came with my 2009 literature and badge numbers etc. actually has some of that mentioned in it (I`ll have another read). But no names, no pack drills!
I am really pissed off that I never got on a MAX earlier as I have always been an odd ball in what I rode. I have tried most, but have never been fully satisfied with any brand or models. It`s got me buggered how I never tried a VMAX. I think working away and not riding regularly put blinkers on me.
I test rode a good standard cross four Jap bike once. It had heaps of go and good stoppers but was just"bland". When I returned the salesman asked me what I thought. My reply that it was like riding a "washing machine" really pissed him off big time.lol
I think when I first picked up MAX (sight unseen and that is another story) and road home, I pulled up at the traffic lights beside a Triumph Rocket 3 and the middle aged rider with his missus on the back said "what the F@#K is that. I knew I was home.

Ive had about a dozen street bikes since i started rideing 25 yrs ago at the age of 17, i wont bore your with a list. I loved them all in one way or another. I bought my first max ( an absolute cherry condition 85 w/ 9,500k on the clock ) 4 years ago. made it mine w/ some of this $$ and some of that $$. I bought it from a guy right in my home town, bugged him every 3 months to sell..lol..then,two years later...(one week after the brass told us all that the plant was shutting down for good)...he said he would sell, without batting an eye I cashed out my 401k and picked it up. ( paid to much for it but would have given him even more if he wanted )
There are few bikes that trigger that quizicall look, with the tilt of the head and that glint in the eye, when they see the max for the first time, the comments on the sound of the exhaust, the stance, the styleling that could pass for 2005 instead of 1985.. or the fact that it looks like its screaming down the road when its sitting still! but now Im rambling..lol
With that being said, seeing as i had the first gen 85, I absolutely could not live without the gen 2!! ( an 09 was the only option ) I called satan himself and with great hesitance on his part he agreed to accept my sorry soul for down payment for my gen 2.
Crotch rockets are fast, terrible fast and thats no lie!! but if i can figure out how to get that damn grease off from this rear tire i'll give everyone of them hell..
Its my story and im sticking to it.
Shorthair...

Shorthair.......

"Crotch rockets are fast, terrible fast and thats no lie!! but if i can figure out how to get that damn grease off from this rear tire i'll give everyone of them hell.."

Classic with my morning Coffee.............