The twin shocks, also Kayaba, had preload and rebound damping adjustability. The air-adjustable 40mm Kayaba fork was connected, fortunately, so only a single valve was needed rake was a stable 29 degrees, trail, 4.7 inches. The frame was a workmanlike tubular-steel cradle. Final drive was by shaft, surprisingly, but obviously the engineers felt the engine was so strong they could waste a few horses. Gear ratios had been altered, with the gears reinforced and a new diaphragm clutch to help control all those horses. Power passed through a 5-speed gearbox, vaguely similar to the one on the Venture. The neophyte needed to learn that when the low-fuel warning light came on, the switch for the reserve was a button by the right thumb. But in truth, the V-Max was not intended to be ridden more than a century at a stretch, one reason being the rather uncomfortable saddle. With “average” fuel consumption in the low 30s, this meant the bike had about a 100-mile range before the rider began to worry. There was one minor drawback to all this complication with the air-induction system, which included a large airbox under the cover that looked like a gas tank, and that was that the fuel tank had to be placed under the seat and held a mere four gallons. Cram that fuel in, spark the plug, and the factory was claiming 145 crankshaft horses. The boost was complete at 8,000 rpm, with the power maxing at 9,000 rpm. And since the pistons were on different strokes, one side was not stealing from another. To over-simplify Ashihara’s V-Boost concept, at 6,000 rpm a little servo-motor kicked in and began opening a butterfly valve that separated the intakes of the two carbs on each bank of the V-four. And then something new was added: V-Boost. The valves were increased in size, and the Venture’s 34mm Mikunis were upped to 35mm, with each cylinder fueled by its own carb. Basically, the more combustibles one can jam into the cylinder, the bigger the explosion and the more power. Performance, the cams were reground to provide increased low-end power, but it was the top end that achieved startling results. Kawasaki, sensibly, decided to stay away from the internecine V-4 struggle. Third was Suzuki’s Madura 1200, with a mere 90 ponies and a quarter in the high 11s. Its closest competition was the Honda Magna 1100 with 100 horses, and a half-second slower in the quarter. The Japanese felt that the way to serious muscle was with a V-4, and the Max’s rear wheel showed 120 horsepower, with a 10-second (barely) quarter-mile. The V-Max was all about muscle, little to do with practicality, even handling. Yamaha called it a “muscle” bike, but if it were compared to Arnold pumping iron in ’85, he would have been stricken from the competition due to overuse of steroids. The V-Max was a genuine butt-kicker, the likes of which had never been seen before. The V-Max appeared back in 1985, was on the books for ’86 then skipped ’87, only to reappear with new wheels in 1988, then lasted with minor changes for the next 20 years.
Too modern for Retrospective? Perhaps not.
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