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Engi ne diagram shows Ve ntu re -de rived DO HC V -four powerpla nt . A t 143
bhp, it' s the ho rsepo wer king of production bikes.
Cutaway eng i ne shows butterfly v alve centered to link the int ake tract s.
A t the upper rpm, t w o carbs f eed each cylinder.
By John Ulrich
Yamaha's V-Max is an example of the latest
trend in selling motorcycles in the United
States. What we 're talking about h ere is the
use of research to target a very specific group
18
of potential motorcycle bu yers
and the bu ildin g of speci fic
motorcycles in li m ited quantities to suit those p otent ia l
bu yers.
Th e sa me type of resear ch , cond uc ted through su rveys a nd intervie ws with m ot orcycl ists across th e
U ni ted Sta tes, led lO th e boom in
cruiser-styled mot or cycles in the lat e
1970s: Bu ] wh ile th e cru iser-s tyling
revo lut io n was widespread and serviced a large segment o f th e Am eri ca n market, th e la test su b-markets
found by research a re m uch sma lle r
in size a n d more specific in focu s.
The V-Max has its origins in Yamaha 's cruiser research, which ide ntified a grou p o f potential bu yer s with
a strong desire for stra ig h t-li ne pe rformance, sheer acceleration from
stop lig h t to stop lig h t. T ha t su b-group
has ga ined th e a tte nt io n o f th e co mpa ny's m arketeers a nd engineers n ow
tha t th e cr u iser has become th e "standard " mod el o f th e in d ustry - everyone h as a lin e o f cruiser-s tyled ma chi nes. a nd many look basicall y a li ke.
Th e cus to me r for this type o f motorcyc le leaned tow ard cru iser styling
a nd was m ore in terested in a Max im
or Magna tha n a sport bike. H is idea
of performance centered on dra g racing. T ha t typ e o f bu yer . Yamaha
researchers th eor ized. is the driving
force behind th e success of th e H on da
V65 Magna . BUI whi le th e Magna is a
stro ng-ru n n ing m ot orcycle, its acce lera tio n ca pa bilities are no t a p pa ren t
unt il the thrott le is o pened - u p to
that point , it's j ust anothe r big cru iser.
T he best wa y lO tap th e p erforrna nce -conscious sub-segment o f th e
cru iser market. the resea rchers decided, was 10 bu ild a motorcyc le that was
ove rt ly super-powerfu l. a m ach in e
tha t com m un ica ted ra w power before
the engine was even starte d; a nd th en
to back up aggressive, flash y. o u trageous styling with big hor sep ower .
Q uart er-m ile times a nd speeds com bined with stro ng visual im agery
would be th e key for a ge nera tion o f
motorcycle h OI rods go ing beyo nd
th e V65 Magna.
St yled with Pro S toc k drags ters a s
its visu al inspiration. th e V-Max has
a hop ped-up I I98cc Venture V-4 engine wi th an as to u n ding 143 horsepower "in producti on trim - that's
eigh t more horsepower tha n the or igi n al claimed 135 because a t first Ame rica ns work in g for Ya ma ha co u ldn ' t
bel ieve th e fig ure th e factory engin eers gave th em !
The V-Ma x has inc red ible power
a nd performance 10 m at ch its dragster styling, In dragstri p testi ng with
J ay Gl ea son riding. a V-Max turned
th e quarter-mile in 10.32 secon ds at
129.87 mph - th e fastest tim e ever for
a stoc k street bike - with the limiting factor bein g rh e availa blc traction
fro m th e h uge 150/90-1 5 rear lire.
Accordi ng 10 Gl eason. the tire sp u n
a nd smoked even wh en he left th e
sta rring lin e a t 5000 rpm a t p art
thrott le; he says that th e mach in e
wou ld easi ly run in th e nine-seco nd
br ack et with a slic k tire in sta lled o n
th e rea r wheel a nd no o ther modifica tions!
T he V-M a x loo ks lik e a two wheeled hot-rod. with non -funct ional
a lum inum air scoo ps mounted in
