Tomorrow I am going with a friend to look at two VMaxes.
1. I am riding my Magna there. :lol:
2. Being another V4, any advice or experience with them?
3. I have a friend who owned one but he is out of country right now so I have to take my chastisement here in order to advise my friend properly.
Troy #309 and HAPPILY so!
PS, if you see the tropical bird on I-10 it was me... LOL
You may want to look over this thread (http://www.magnaownersoftexas.com/forums/index.php?topic=4248.0) and talk to IndianaMatt
Quote from: Troystg on April 09, 2010, 10:12:30 PM
Tomorrow I am going with a friend to look at two VMaxes.
1. I am riding my Magna there. :lol:
2. Being another V4, any advice or experience with them?
3. I have a friend who owned one but he is out of country right now so I have to take my chastisement here in order to advise my friend properly.
Troy #309 and HAPPILY so!
PS, if you see the tropical bird on I-10 it was me... LOL
One word...badass. Faster, turns just as well as the magna does, great burst of speed compared to Magna (not including V65).
Cons:
You can't lean in a turn as good as a cbr 600 or 1000.
Big gas hog...30 mpg at best I've heard (I'm sure you could stretch it by 10 mpg either way depending on how you ride). What can you expect though from a quarter mile monster.
I heard you should only buy models 1994+ and later b/c they got upgraded suspension, and other upgrades that pre 1993 models didn't have.
In summary, if you're tired of what a Magna can do, I think a Vmax is a big upgrade in the power department.
If I wasn't interested in purchasing a sportbike or a super moto for my next bike, vmax would be my top choice.
The only drawback in my mind is the fact that the lean angle is the same on the vmax as is my Magna so you'll still drag parts on the track while trying to keep up with the sportbikes on the track.
As I'm gettiing carried away,
my dream would be a V4 Vmax type bike that could be on equal par with sportbikes on the lean...but still keep the badass look of the vmax.
One day maybe...
:)
He bought this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Yamaha-V-Max-carbon-fiber_W0QQitemZ260582285215QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_motorcycles?hash=item3cabea1f9f#ht_500wt_1182
I drove it from JXN MS down to Hammond LA. ~100 miles. He took it the rest of the way to NoLA.
LOTS of power. No really. LOTS of power.
But I felt like I was sitting on top of a tractor or tank. Steering was twitchy, and I scrape pegs every time I ride my Magna, but I didn't feel the VMax could go that low.
Anyway, the guy is going to use it as a commuter so the stock one was the proper choice.
Did I mention LOTS of power?
Can you say 1300, shaft driven, FI'ed Magna!!! I would soooo be there.
The VMax was a nice vacation but I was glad to be home when I got back to Ole Blue.
Troy #309
I have some saddle time on V-max's and would love to own one. You are right though, you can get in trouble in a corner on one in a hurry; in fact I found it to be quite squirrely when going into a corner hot.
that was a good buy. that low of miles for 4500 was a steal!
MPG does suck, terrorizing my town i get around 20mpg if im lucky. if i go highway i prolly get close to 27.
going highway my fuel light comes on at around 80-85 miles on the odo and i fill up exactly 3 gallons out of the 4 gallon tank.
the magnas handle better at high speeds, the vmax is much better at low speeds.
vmax is much much more powerful than a v45, today i made a turn by my local dairy queen and hit the gas to about 20 mph, saw a pot hole and slowed down and hit the brakes... and wacked the throttle after the road cleared up, front wheel went sky high!
when you turn too fast the frame wants to twist and it gets scary, it feels like it wants to slam you down. my old magnas i could ride all day one handed lol.
i had a guy offer me 5200 for mine, i told him id do it if i kept the backrest. he bailed. im in no hurry to sell, im happy with it :)
Wow, I guess I really need to be twisting my throttle more. I bought an '85 VMax last May, and with "normal" riding, I can get 40 mpg. If I've been playing around dusting Harleys, Victorys and the like, I still get better than 30. I'm obviously not pushing hard enough. 8^)
My '94 Magna gives 40-50 depending on ride style.
ya theres no way in hail my max is gonna go 160 miles on one fill. if i was downhill on good wind it might go 120, and thats crawling into the gas station. if i pulled a couple spark plugs i bet itd get better mpgs
same with my magna i filled it up every 100 miles, i bet my magna couldve gone 120 miles if i went highway and used reserve.
the worst ive seen is 54 miles and the fuel light came on
56 to 65 several times when im just being a hooligan around town and rampaging some backroads.
highway i havent seen any better than i think 83 or 85 and the fuel light comes on.
i shift between 7k and 7.5k, so i know my mpg could be worse if i wanted it to be.
i do let it warm up a lot though, i dont even sit on it until the temperature needle is off the peg. if its not warmed up it wants to flood and shakes the ground. it takes 3 to 6 minutes depending on how long its sat cold.
that is one thing i liked about my magnas though too, they started sooo easy. just start em, throw ur helmet on, rev it to 3k slowly a couple times, hop on and ur off!
i wish theyd release a new magna with an actual vfr engine.
my plans right now are,
keep this vmax
buy an 09 vmax, 14k
buy a royal star venture, 7k
buy a honda shadow rolling chassis and a gsxr1300 or zx14 motor, 5k
or ?? i dunno what i want, i have bikitis.
if i ever stumble on a 88 super magna under 2500 in good shape im running to the bank. but whats up with honda transmissions? i havent had any bad luck yet but it seems like every time you find a good deal, 2nd gear is gone.
my v45 magnas never gave me any problems in the power department. they could do interstate just fine, but it just felt like they couldve had more. if they released a new magna with a rowdy v4 1000cc or bigger for under 10k id consider it.
itd have to be comfy
rev to 10k+
look mean
chrome
big enough to handle 2up riding
6 speed transmission
oh and horsepower, at least 115. at the wheel..
some guys want power and just want to cruise. and look good doing it
Sid's Vmax did ~100 miles per tank. But it was 90+ mph the whole 100 miles... :lol:
My inner thighs are sore from squeezing the tank... Ole Blue is more comfortable at speed.. To me anyway...
I definitely feel uncomfortable on the magna at high speed...90+ is pretty much off limits these days. The magna feels so light at those speeds...that I feel like I'm going to lift off anytime...
and I'm not talking strictly in a straight line, I've been on the highway hitting 90+ sweeping around a bend, and I didn't feel too confident.
Going straight in a straight line is fun and all but the biggest downfall of the old vmax is how it turns into corners.
I hear the 09 Vmax is a lot better though. Almost like a heavyweight sportbike...not as nimble as a 600 cbr but just as capable as a hyperbike like the busa or the zx 14.
If I could find a vmax for a steal...and I mean a steal...I'd def. love to ride it!
I'm leaning more toward a Supermoto like a Suzuki drz 400 or a VFR.
I want that extra element that my Magna is missing...either offroad capability or ability to turn much sharper/lean more.
Well I have always felt my Magna handled better than me. After riding the Vmax and getting back on Ole Blue I was making it do tricks since it could handle what I was then comfortable doing. Similar to when I pushed it in the hill country @ MM last year. I just didn't know how well the bike performed since I live in the land of the flat...
Now I come from a dirt bike background... I have never been on a crotch rocket as I would kill myself. But I scrape pegs on every ride with Ole Blue.