Added a Vmax to the fleet

[Bellerophon]

Man cannot live by FJR alone, so I added a 2001 Vmax to the collection.

I bought my first Vmax brand new off the show room floor in Roseburg, Oregon in 1987. It was a brand new non-current 1985 model. I sold the bike in the mid-90s and always regretted it. The gen 1 Vmax is without question one of the greatest bikes ever produced, in my mind a true living legend.

Now that I am a bit older, and more importantly a little bit more financially stable, it is time own a Vmax once again.

This 2001 is an eBay purchase, with a little over 7000 miles on the clock. There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller.

Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil.

The fork oil leaked on to both front brake calipers and the pads are soaked in fork oil, and the front brake is useless.

The carbs are a mess. The bike will not run without the choke partially on. Even then it pops and sputters.

The battery is shot and will not hold a charge.

The steering stem bearings are loose and need to be adjusted.

All of that said, the bike is in great cosmetic condition, and I cannot wait to get the other problems taken care of. I have asked the seller to help pay for repairs that could have and should have been disclosed....we'll see. All I can say is buyer beware on eBay.

Here are some pictures.

 

[frankenfeejeer]

The VMax is a great bike. Handles like a tractor in the corners, but fantastic for pure acceleration!! Happy you added one to the fleet.

 

[ionbeam]

...There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller. Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil...

Say, did you know that the V-Max wheelies really good?

 

[wfooshee]

If it's not in the condition represented on the listing, you didn't have to buy it. That's not an eBay buyer beware, it's a general anywhere-in-the-world buyer beware.

 

[Bellerophon]

...There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller. Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil...

Say, did you know that the V-Max wheelies really good?

Indeed I did know that. They also do amazing burnouts.

 

[ionbeam]

...There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller. Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil...

Say, did you know that the V-Max wheelies really good?

Indeed I did know that. They also do amazing burnouts.

Now we know why the front seals are blown, is the rear tire bald also? There may be a pattern here My V-Max (Mad Max) was candy-apple red. Need a Corbin seat for your Max?

 

[Niehart]

Mine did not have a corbin seat but it did have wheelie bars and way to many paychecks put into the motor.

 

[Bellerophon]

...There are some problems that were not disclosed by the seller. Both fork seals are shot, and the forks are virtually empty of oil...

Say, did you know that the V-Max wheelies really good?

Indeed I did know that. They also do amazing burnouts.

Now we know why the front seals are blown, is the rear tire bald also? There may be a pattern here My V-Max (Mad Max) was candy-apple red. Need a Corbin seat for your Max?

You know Ion, I'm not sure if I need a Corbin. I don't plan on much more than day rides on the Vmax, longer distance is what the FJR is for. Is it much more comfortable, and how much?

I think the issues with my Vmax are from sitting. The PO has only put 1K miles on it since 2004. The back tire looks pretty good.

 

[scubatech]

It's beauty no matter what!! Those carbs are probably a bitch to get to being in the V, but will be well worth the effort.

 

[Bellerophon]

Just a quick update. The bike is at the dealer. They of course corrected the fork seals and the brakes. The carbs as it turned out had been removed at some other time, and were re-installed incorrectly. Evidently the carb boots were cracked and broken when whomever was trying to install them tried to cram them on. They also found the pilot jets occluded, so the carbs were cleaned.

The PO said he would consider paying for part of the repairs, so we'll see.

 

[Bellerophon]

Just another update. The bike runs awesome now. Snake River Yamaha cleaned the carbs, replaced the v-boost boots, installed new fork seals and new front brake pads. Video attached.

 

[Bellerophon]

I did get resolution with the previous owner, he wrote me today, and has agreed to send me roughly $240 of an $800 repair bill. I'm happy with that, because he could have told me to go fly a kite, and I would not have much recourse.

I will say that if you are contemplating buying a bike off of eBay, and it's not possible to inspect the machine yourself, hire an inspection firm to look at it and send you a report.

Any time you are buying something used, you expect to find a few problems. At the end of the day I knew I was buying an 11 year old bike. My issue here is that these were things that should have been disclosed in the listing. I do not believe the previous owner was purposely trying to deceive anyone with the listing, but simply was not as comprehensive as he could have been with the description.