Planning on a Big purchase Bking or Vmax?... or Other options.

[wymple]

The best in the business got a better time on a Max, by a good bit, than on an 1150. And thought he could have done even better with a bit more tire, it was worn some before he got to it. Same old story, "well, with just a couple of inexpensive mods", the 1150..........yada, yada. Truth is, 98 % of it at those levels are in the rider's ability. Your stock 1150 could never beat Gleason on a stock Max. I jumped a Max a couple of bike lengths on my 1100EZ, and it would have been close at the 1/4 mark. It was the rider, not the bike. Wound up that thing was closing on me like a runaway freight train and then it left. No 1150 ever pulled on me like that, they could beat me a couple or three bike lengths with an equal rider. I'm no Jay Gleason, but no V65 Sabre ever got me, so I wasn't that lame, either. I fail to see why Suzuki people, or Kawasaki guys can't give credit where it's due. Competitive or not, the 1150 wasn't quite the game changer the Max was. And I was bleeding Suzuki at the time. The 1150 settled the arguments, then Mighty Max came in and rewrote the book again. I could not beat a good 1150, but I could keep it close. A decent rider on a Max could lay waste. I once saw a 383 Charger beat a 427 Vette because the Vette driver didn't understand it was time to shift when then powerband flattened.

 

[blowerbike]

magazine's are bull s h i t...that's the facts.
i lived it for many years...the max guys came and went...always had excuses.
ran into to an old max guy a few years ago telling stories about running mid 10's at my local track...i called bull s h i t on his made up stories...he argued a little bit then left...his buddies had lost there hero..lol
jay gleason wasn't worth an extra second in the quarter and i never seen a 10 second anything v-max.
i give yamaha credit for bad second gears that's about it...hehe
and for the record my 1150 was faster than my 86 GSXR1100...well quicker anyways.
it's all BS unless you lived it every day of your life for 10/15/20 years..there is a few on this forum who have.
v-max/magna's...all of them was never in the running in the real world...just in magazines and TV commercials.

 

[Jedz123]

The other thing I don't like about the Vmax and would likely annoy me about 2k miles in is that it's shaft drive and you can't adjust you final drive ratio(at least as easy or as cheap) as a chain drive. True shaft drive is better for maintenance and when I retire the FZ1 I will likely trade up for a FJR just for this reason.... However for my weekend warrior machine I would love the best one to customize all aspects of my ridding. Swap in the larger front sprocket for that weekend 1k mile ride I plan to do 2 up, then when I return swap back to the smaller sprocket and have my wheelie king back. Chain drive is the most efficient way to transfer power for high end, correct? To me that appeals to me. Next season I plan on returning to the strip but on a bike. I want a bike that will be domineering, competitive and quick out of the box. I also want something that has potential if I did decide to upgrade to be very fast... We will see how it goes. My FZ1 has maybe 130whp now a jump of 50hp is going to be huge... Whatever route I chose.

As for my 2 cents on the classic Vmax's, I went for a nice jaunt up into grand Isle on the FZ1 a year back with the stock 01 motor that ran as well as a smoker/oil burner could. I had the hooligan setup for gearing (-2 up front) and was cruising with my sport screen and 1982 super bike bars I got from a parts GS750 I had, about as sporty as I set her up. Anyway I was passed by a guy on a Vmax, I caught up to him followed him maybe 5 miles and we both pulled over on the sand bar. The middle aged gentleman laughed and said "Boy I had you", I replied "Well sir I never really gave her my all and you startled me with that surprise pass". The sand bar where we pulled over is about a 3/4 mile straight, he looked at the road, looked at me then my bike and said " you think your little Yamaha can keep up with a big Yamaha" (Or something along those lines). I said "Not sure but I'll entertain a go" As we were lining up he was chuckling to himself asking if I knew how to launch (which I didn't really) but I did tell him I was a very seasoned rider and knew how to push my FZ1. So we lined up, he then took off a bit prematurely before I was set and took the lead through first gear but no matter by the end of second I was already caught up and by the end of third I was ahead... When my speedo crested 140mph the Vmax was behind me considerably. I remember shutting my machine down to my indicated 170mph and promptly pulled over at the next pull off to see what the middle aged gentleman would say about my Fizzy... He didn't even slow down, he just kept on ridding and passed me as I waved at him... I laughed and knew this young buck with his "little" smoking Yamaha hurt his ego and defeated his "big" bike.
True the Vmax is a cool machine but my 998cc 4Cyl Fizzy is faster then a GEN 1 Max... This I know. nothing against Yamaha.... Because the fastest bike I currently have and have ever owned... Is an Inline 4 998cc 20 Valve... Yamaha.
My Max story but doesn't mean I still don't want a Gen1...

 

[850 Combat]

The B King has a shot at being collectible.

 

[wymple]

"i never seen a 10 second anything v-max."

In Mayay of ‘85 the cries of foul were silenced when Cycle World magazine brought a production V-Max to the Bayland Raceway in Fremont, California and after a few shake down runs Mr. Max ripped through the ? mile at amazing 10.62 seconds with a trap speed of 129.87 miles an hour … with the mirrors still in place! On this occasion, the rider was 4-time US national drag racing champion Dale Walker who weighed in at “portly” 170lbs.

After people were dissing a 10.3 run by Gleason.

If you've never seen a fast Max, you should maybe get out of the house, and away from your little neighborhood. The stock bike was capable of mid tens with competent riders, the same guys who never got the same from a stock 1150.

 

[lurch12_2000]

10 seconds? low 11'S? who cares....the FZ1, Bandit and VMax all haul a$$ on the street so it comes down to price and handling. I'll take the Bandit or FZ1 any day. I never rode the BKing so I can't speak to that. The VMax seems overpriced right now and the Bandit has been the bargain for awhile. If you're patient then the FZ1 Gen 1 can be found at a good price. Both the FZ1 and Bandit will have everything you need on the street for power including handling and comfort and leave $ left for gas and travelling expenses.

 

[Rob S.]

V-Max story

V-Max story

In the '80's there was a V-Max owner near here I used to see at gas stations, etc. I guess he got so fed up with folks not knowing how big his bike was, he had painted "1200" on each of his side covers.

I thought that was the dorkiest thing in the world. Now, without my side cover emblems, people kept asking me if my Z1 was a 650. And I'm anxious to replace the "GS1100E" on my left cover. But a Max?

I thought the whole point was it doesn't need numbers on it - it's just obviously big and bad.

A guy was admiring (looking at, at least) my bike the other day and asked, "750?" I corrected him, and directed him to the right side cover.

But a Max? Nothing else looks like it.

 

[blowerbike]

"i never seen a 10 second anything v-max."

In Mayay of ‘85 the cries of foul were silenced when Cycle World magazine brought a production V-Max to the Bayland Raceway in Fremont, California and after a few shake down runs Mr. Max ripped through the ? mile at amazing 10.62 seconds with a trap speed of 129.87 miles an hour … with the mirrors still in place! On this occasion, the rider was 4-time US national drag racing champion Dale Walker who weighed in at “portly” 170lbs.

After people were dissing a 10.3 run by Gleason.

If you've never seen a fast Max, you should maybe get out of the house, and away from your little neighborhood. The stock bike was capable of mid tens with competent riders, the same guys who never got the same from a stock 1150.

you have no clue of who i am or what i have done...i stand by by statement that a v-max was mostly hype.
so from Cincinnati to Columbus is a small area?
plus IDBA and prostar??
and for the record i never said my "1150" was stock...close but not 100% stock.
quoting magazine's don't impress me anymore..25 years ago...sure but i grew up...
the max was hype and over rated...those are just the facts.

 

[blowerbike]

wymple,
why do you want to get in a ****ing match with me?
i stated what i have seen...my facts...
you quoted magazines...that's fine but why call me out? me and my "little neighborhood" or to "get out of the house more".
sense 1986 i have been involved with fast import bikes and working for several shops and having my own business till the mid 2000's.
this is just dumb s h i t...move on....i'm done.

 

[Jedz123]

10 seconds? low 11'S? who cares....the FZ1, Bandit and VMax all haul a$$ on the street so it comes down to price and handling. I'll take the Bandit or FZ1 any day. I never rode the BKing so I can't speak to that. The VMax seems overpriced right now and the Bandit has been the bargain for awhile. If you're patient then the FZ1 Gen 1 can be found at a good price. Both the FZ1 and Bandit will have everything you need on the street for power including handling and comfort and leave $ left for gas and travelling expenses.

Lurch I entertained the thought of a Bandit-1250(or GSX1250FA) but I just wasn't too impressed with power to size, 95hp on the 1250 and yet my 650 (the B-12.5's little brother) has 86hp... I will say my GSX650F has gobs of midrange and every time someone asks about it I tell them the bike feels more like a 750 then a 600. Maybe why I love ridding it so much for the power band is rich in torque the whole time its just a hoot to ride, just like my old GS750 was, it was torquey and quick but had nothing past 10k rpm... Now I've read that the 1250 is much of the same in that regard, just loads more torque. I do like the idea of getting back in the saddle of a Bandit and if they made it faster then the gen 1 Bandit I would be on board... But it's slower and fatter then the old B-12. Great for touring, but not so much for that weekend warrior I'm looking for. Maybe a test ride would convince me otherwise but the numbers the 1250 put out aren't that impressive... Except it's very fat and flat torque curve (if you even want to call it a curve)
Love my FZ1, it's been a great mule and surpasses my old B-12 in all aspects.

 

[amxsteve]

For the record any well tuned 1150 i have owned definitely felt faster than my vmax. Is there truth to them being detuned after the first couple years?

 

[wymple]

wymple,
why do you want to get in a ****ing match with me?
i stated what i have seen...my facts...
you quoted magazines...that's fine but why call me out? me and my "little neighborhood" or to "get out of the house more".
sense 1986 i have been involved with fast import bikes and working for several shops and having my own business till the mid 2000's.
this is just dumb s h i t...move on....i'm done.

YOU are the one who said magazines are just BS, as if Cycle World was in on a fix, or that Gleason and Walker ran fake times or something. As if it didn't happen because it was 29 years ago? You poked the dog and now cry because you're bitten? Rewrite history all you like, the fastest times on stock bikes at that time were on the V-Max, not the 1150. It happened, give it credit and get over it. I see no room for brag from you or any other pilot that brags about the 1150 as king when it was not beginning the day the V-Max landed. The GS was a great blend for drag racing, chain drive, less weight, great launches. The Max was heavier and saddled with a shaft, and out of the box it got it done. Go tell Gleason or Walker your BS. I'm done with this as well. All I tried to point out was the Yamaha was not the whipping boy for the 1150 that Suzuki guys like to claim, you just stick in a little caveat about being modified. You can find the same story over on the Honda forums with the V65 crowd.

 

[blowerbike]

i have been bitten before and your teeth are to small to hurt.
the funny part is you only know what you read..never once have you said...yeah i seen a v-max run a 10.92 or what ever.
if so i would have took it for face value.
i say i have never seen one run a 10 anything and your smart azz tell me to get out more....travel more.
like i said...i lived this s h i t for many years and seen many things but one of those things was not a 10 second v-max.
that is my story....MY facts...and the little dog tells me i can not offer this information...yeah wrong guy.
let me ask you this...what have you done in the performance motorcycle world?
again...who are you and what have you done?
i changed my mind...ain't going anywhere little dog...i'm just sorry if i have f ed up the OP's thread.
for that i apologize to him.

 

[Jedz123]

Lolz, Blower no need to apologize. BUt it is getting way off topic guys... I'm not sure how the thread turned into an GS1150E vs Gen1 Vmax thread but all the bikes I want to discuss in detail are about the newer injected models or machines that would fit the bill that I'm looking for....
Please lets keep it on that.

Thanks!
-Jedz

 

[Guest]

Well, I consider myself an "expert" on muscle bikes, I've restored half a hundred V65's, VMAX's, Eliminators, GS1150Es, etc........if it went fast in the 80's, I've probably had one, or three. A few years ago, I found a B-King, almost by accident! It was at a guys house who was selling me a ZL900, he was going through a divorce and after I saw it, and heard it, I told him if he ever decided to let it go, to let me have first dibbs. Well, about a month later, he reluctantly sold it to me! I LOVED this bike! It was the fastest thing I have ever ridden, never lost a race to ANYONE, including a new VMAX! It would wheelie at will in 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear! The stock exhaust was the worst part of it, but mine was already upgraded when I got it, makes it look better with the tail tidy conversion also. I sold mine this summer, simply because I had a few shoulder surgeries this year, and I hated to see it sit there unused, I took it to the dragon last fall, and it's surprisingly nimble for such a big bike, it ate up the curves without complaining a bit! I got $7800 for mine, which is about what I paid for it in 2011. A new VMAX will set you back at least 5K more, although I have seen used one getting closer to 10K recently. You can't go wrong with a B-King, and since they were only made in 2008 in the states (3000 produced), it's going to be collectible someday. They were made in 2009 and 2010 in Europe and have a cult following over there, guys have gotten close to 350 HP out of them without getting too deep into the motors, they were originally supposed to be boosted anyway, so the bottom ends were built to take the added HP. You can find nice used examples around 6K, especially this time of year. I sold mine to somebody from the forum, but they are few and far between also, you may have to do a fly-in and ride, but trust me, it would be well worth it! Oh, and the aftermarket is HUGE for these bikes, all kinds of good stuff out there for them, and a good forum, although 90% of the membership is overseas! Here's a picture of mine from earlier this year!

 

[Jedz123]

Thanks so much for the input Tornado! I've been doing my research and there is nothing like it on the market... Boosted huh? Wow can only imagine, I can't say I'd never do it... But it seems a bit suicidal / awesome. Between the information produced on this thread and the research I've compiled I'm 95% sure I will be laying my cash down on a tank of a B-king.

I didn't know there were only 3000 made... Adds allot to the uniqueness of the machine which only entices me more to purchase one .

I have a buddy on call for I plan on doing my purchase around February. All the bikes that I plan on nabbing are pretty far out but not too far 250-500 miles. I would have to drive with a truck, load and go. Unless we are blessed with a mild winter. I figure if I maintain my patience and keep storing my cash I'll have more then enough to nab one and fly/drive out to get it in 3-4 months.

Great picture... So awesome. It's the one thing Suzuki could do well... Take a bada$$ Engine and stuff it into a standard frame.

 

[lurch12_2000]

I see your budget is $7-10k so here ya go....private sale, low low miles and probably could be had for $8k?

http://worcester.craigslist.org/mcy/4719776370.html


....and here's another for same asking price at Nault's dealer. I can check it out for you since I go right through Manchester on my commute to work.

http://nh.craigslist.org/mcd/4650485088.html

 

[Jedz123]

Lurch
Thanks for the links but I'm not jumping in on this till I have all the funds together which wont be till mid to late winter. I've been saving like a motha and if I went into a dealership I might be able to finance it out (credit sucks right now from the wake of my divorce) but I think I'll get the best deal if I gather my cash and pay it in full any way... But if you want to go look at the one in Manchester I say go for it. That one has been for sale for quite sometime and I'm guessing it will still be available in a few months.
Thanks!

 

[Guest]

I've decided to go the new VMAX route, had the B-King and loved it, now I'm going to see if the 2nd Generation VMAX is all it's cracked up to be. Getting rid of my first gen to make room!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261829937383?forcerRptr=true&item=261829937383&viewitem=

 

[Jedz123]

Hahah. Awesome! Tornado Plan for sure is that I will be in your neck of the woods mid June... On the B-King. We should meet up and ride for at least 1 day. I'll let you ride the BK if you let me try the Max .