Description
A full photo gallery for this VMAX is available here for your perusal.
Ever since its initial release in 1985, Yamaha’s mighty VMAX has been a staple in the tuning fork company’s lineup. Almost a quarter-of-a-century after the release of the very first VMAX — which was crowned Cycle Guide’s “Bike of the Year” — Yamaha introduced an all-new, updated version of the brawny “power cruiser”.
Propelling the behemoth bike was a liquid-cooled, four-stroke, 1,679cc, 16V, DOHC, 70-degree V4 engine wrapped in an aluminum chassis and paired with a five-speed transmission with shaft drive and a slipper clutch. With over 150 hp and 102 ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheel, the Herculean two-wheeler was deceptively quick.
Acting Senior Editor at Motorcyclist Magazine/former Motorcycle USA Road Test Editor/seriously fast rider Adam Waheed described piloting the VMAX, saying, “On the VMAX, you twist the throttle and from 1,000rpm, the thing just lunges forward. Acceleration on the VMAX is pretty much the gnarliest thing I’ve ever experienced. I mean a 1,000cc sportbike is pretty fast but the VMAX gearing is so high and there’s so much power down low, you gotta hold on for dear life.”
This particular 2009 Yamaha VMAX (VIN: JYAVP29E69A000356) has been transformed into a true one-off creation.
The result of a “spare-no-expense” build, the muscular moto boasts a complete set of bespoke aluminum bodywork, including a hand-shaped tank cover, airbox-cover, radiator shrouds, meshed intakes, and a custom tail section fixed to a one-off subframe.
The 200hp V4 now spits burnt fumes via a custom exhaust system culminating in quad under-seat mufflers.
Guiding the way is a custom stacked headlight arrangement with an LED projector secured in one-off brackets. The fuel-cell has also been relocated to beneath the bike in a custom rear-belly-pan piece, and gas is now added via a custom fuel-port just behind the seat on the left-hand side. The main stock display has been jettisoned in favor of a trick Motogadget Motoscope Pro speedo/tach unit. The stock digital display sunken into the tank (which provides fuel, mile, time, gear position, coolant temp, air temp, etc) remains on the build, though it’s been joined by a high-end Garmin Zumo GPS unit that’s also been mounted flush in the tank cover.
Rounding out the sinewy steed is a custom suede seat, a set of LSL bars, adjustable Rizoma rear-sets, Rizoma Veloce mirrors with built-in LED indicators, Rizoma Action micro-LED signals fore and aft, and a Bazzaz FI controller with traction control and a bi-directional quick-shifter.
In total, this heavily modified VMAX has 19,170 kilometers (11,911 miles) on it.
Currently located in Toronto, Ontario, this VMAX is offered on a clean Ontario title. The seller acquired it in 2012 from a private party in Buffalo, New York. It was originally purchased in the State of New York so getting it registered back in the US would not be an issue. Our white glove service is more than happy to help.
Built by Kreater Custom Motorcycles, this customized VMAX is far more than just a collection of bolt-on bits. The seller has shown us an invoice detailing $84,361.62 of parts and labor that we can share with serious bidders. This is a full-on custom job that, unlike most one-off big-bore power cruisers, is actually capable of adrenaline-inducing performance while still looking like something you’d see featured on a big-name custom website. Have any VMAX stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the comments!