Remember when Jay Gleason rode that 1986 Vmax into the nines for Cycle World? (Yes, some of us do.) Once he did that, lots of guys hustled over to their Yamaha dealers with their checkbooks wide open. Fast forward to 2009 and Tim Nash, over at VmaxGuru.com, went to work on his new Vmax. After everything was ready, he asked Jay if he might like to run it down the strip. Jay thought it sounded like a good idea so the run was arranged.
Tim didn’t do any engine rebuilding but opened it up a bit so the engine could breathe by adding a “UFO Performance Products CatSass exhaust system, a UFO Max Tuner, modified air box (top and YCC-I removed) and a drag slick.” He installed the parts then spent some quality time on the dyno. Final tweaks yielded 189.9 hp at the rear wheel. Not bad.
Tim headed over to the Bradenton drag strip and met up with Jay. Jay told him how he likes the suspension set up and he hops on the Vmax and almost before Tim knows it, Jay’s lining up for a pass. Tim turns on his camera, Jay flies down the strip and 9.513 seconds later at 143.70 mph, the clock stops. Nothing to it, well, if you’re Jay Gleason, that is.
Knowing there are guys like Jay still riding and still riding fast is very cool. Tim did a great job getting the bike prepped, so, when you put the two together what do you get? You get 9.5 second quarter miles! Owners and aftermarket companies are just getting started with the new Vmax, Tim’s work and Jay’s riding just gave them something to shoot for.
Tim says he’s already planning on more work, he wants low nines. Jay says he’s ready when the bike is. This should be fun to watch. Thanks, Tim for the heads up.
Link: VmaxGuru
Tin Man 2 says
Holy Cow, When I was young that was a good time for a full house race machine, Not a mild tweak with a slick!!
Chris says
Tin Man 2: When you were young, a full-on factory dragbike probably cost about $20K, too, which is about the same that this bike costs with the mild mods 😉 (Not diminishing this accomplishment at all; it’s pretty incredible how much performance has advanced in the last 25 years.)
cl
RON LIICCIARDI says
TIM NASH HAS THE DICIPLINE AND RESPECT TO WARRANT HAVING A VETERAN LIKE JAY GLEASON SHOW EVERYONE WHAT THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY CAN CREATE IN A MOTORCYCLE LIKE THE 2009 V MAX
ROCKET LAUNCHER
Rob says
What really is amazing is the Vmax is a dang heavy bike (650+ lbs) that can do mid 9s.
Bruce says
Now if I remember right…
I seem to recall that ’86 VMax was pretty much bone stock.
Right off the showroom floor with nothing but suspension and tire pressures fiddled, I believe.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that was the case.
I agree with Rob that a 650lb machine is in the 9’s, and 189 rwhp is astounding.
But keeping things in perspective, I think the earlier machine’s feat was more impressive, especially considering the times and relative performance of other bikes of the era.
The first VMax was earth-shattering.
I also think the early VMax’s were better looking than the new version, IMHO.
Jon Cornell says
Tim , thanks for installing our products with the BEST of application. Technology has come a long way. “In the day” it was a good result to get 8-10 hp out of a jet kit and pipe. Jump forward into the millenium and add a UFO MaxTuner fuel injection module module along with the UFO CatSass exhaust (not even our full race BattleStar pipe ) and you take a heavy production cruiser (not a sportbike) into the mid-nines. The all stock Max actually weighs 674# and produces a real world SAE corrected 170 rwhp. With the mods listed above the bike makes 189.9 SAE corrected. Almost 20 hp Star left on the table. And folks we have found alot more than that , still without going internal. As for Jay, what can I say, from one drag racer to another….”Life is something we do while waiting for the next race” . Take care and “Stay Tuned” Jon.
kneeslider says
Bruce,
The ’86 Vmax in the original Jay Gleason ride for Cycle World was actually modified, again, no internal engine work, but a fair bit of work, nonetheless.
The original Kerker 4-2-1 pipe for the Vmax was created by Kerker for that project. Kosman created wire wheels for both ends with racing slicks, the rear an 18 inch wheel with an 8.5 inch Goodyear pro-stock slick. A K&N jet kit, airbox removed and rear shocks removed with wheelie bar installed. It went 9.69 at 135.74. Interesting, too, is the old Max after mods weighed 540 pounds vs. 599 stock. (numbers from March 87 Cycle World magazine)
So, the new Vmax, over 100 pounds heavier and no wheelie bar went close to 2 tenths quicker. And these guys are just getting started, as Jon Cornell of UFO Cycles notes above, more is coming.
petep says
Remember when everybody called him “PeeWee” Gleason?
Wendy W says
FYI – Jay hates being called PeeWee anymore. He’s been a grown man for some time now.
steve says
This is all well and good but sad at the same time. Gone are the days when one would learn the leasons of sound performance mechanics and going inside and creating HP with your own knowledge. Now go to the shop and buy your HP with the newest model and add an exhaust and a computer change and listen to everyone brag about how the bike runs. Boring shi- in my book. It may be the way it is but boring and does the new generation learn much. Not. I just came from the Slimy Crud ride and with thousands of bikes there so little creation. While some are impressed by the feat of this and many new bikes I am not. Dam- I am old.
Cody Griffin says
9.5 is impressive. But I’m disgusted with Yamaha. A quarter decade after the original…with quantum leaps in metallurgy and frame design and these yahoos crank out a so called “state of the art” VMax that weighs a “metric ton”.
Can you image what this beast could have turned if it weighed 50 or 100 lbs less?
OMMAG says
Yeah ….. I remember.
I’m impressed that They built an update of the Vmax..with more HP …. I’m impressed that tuners are already working it over. And I’m impressed that Jay Gleason took it for a shakedown.
I am not impressed with the mass of this machine. I’m not saying it should be or could be sportbike light. I’m just annoyed that Yamaha couldn’t be bothered to get the new machine into the same range as the original or slightly better.
Richard Gozinya says
Could be fun to see what happens if they put this engine into a bike made of CentrAl, the stuff’s lighter and stronger than carbon fiber. Then again, would be great to see any bike made of that stuff.
Bad_Max says
It was a great event to showcase the new Vmax, and show also that Jay still has what it takes. Tim & I cooked this up at his house on a Sunday morning while dyno’ing our bikes. The event was a huge success. Many thanks to Jay for ringing our bikes out. He even went 9.74 on mine with not as many mods and a street tire!
Take note factory guys, Jay is STILL the man! 🙂
kneeslider says
steve, “Gone are the days …”
What you’re remembering are the pre-computer days, no fuel injection, no computer controlled electronic ignition, … it is what it is. Today it takes a new type of knowledge and skill and many old hands are not comfortable with it, trust me, I understand. It takes new tools and equipment and often what you do will run afoul of emission laws anyway. The world is changing.
What these guys did, was work with the current bike in the current technical environment and make it go fast, not like in the old days because the old days are gone, but it’s still pretty darn quick. And so is Jay, for that matter.
todd says
What I find interesting is that everything is relative. The New Max is compared to the Old Mad. “If they could only remove 50 or 100 pounds.” Is that to get it to an ideal standard or is that just what everyone want to lose regardless of how much it starts out with. If it started out 50 pounds lighter than it is people would still ask for 50 or 100 pounds less. Where does it start, where does it end?
9.53 sec. 1/4 mile is not slow, I don’t care what anyone says. It is slower than the average speed of a satellite orbiting the earth – it’s faster than walking. Everyone wants more regardless of how much is available now but their only point of reference is what was available yesterday. There is no point at which we all say, “finally it’s perfectly fast, it weighs exactly the right amount…” If your point of reference is lower your expectations are lower. Then again, why do things need to get bigger and faster anyway? Does this mean it’s getting better?
I’m not discounting the great amount of fun it is to take something and make it faster. I think it’s impressive what Yamaha has done with the New Max to make it what it is under the constraints that there are. Same for VmaxGuru: Great job. Why do people buy 600s when there are 1300’s available? Why bother putting go-fast goodies on a 600 or 250 when you can just get the bigger bike? It’s not to achieve the Mythical Perfect, it’s for the fun; the satisfaction of the challenge of working with what you got.
-todd
-todd
Daniel Volkmann says
word–
well said todd & paul.
sidenote, It was a beautiful sunday for the Slimey Crud run. I enjoyed seeing all the bikes and riders even the painfully-stock, because of the variety in one place.
But, you know what was best about that day?
the ride.
shaun says
I thinnk the new max is the king
You wanna talk lite bikes? My friend has an 85 Suzuki RG 500 Gamma. On the street nothing touches him