2009 Yamaha V-Max Officially Announced !

2009 Yamaha V-Max Officially Announced !

Yamaha vmax Concept at Tokyo

The ’09 VMax is an entirely new motorcycle from the ground up. The bullseye of the bike remains the massive V-4 engine (a stressed member of the chassis), amusingly described by Star as “compact.” Now arrayed at a 65-degree ‘vee’ and displacing 1679cc, the liquid cooled powerplant sports 4-valves per cylinder a hybrid chain and gear cam drive and pumps out a claimed 197.4 horsepower (at the crankshaft) with 123 lb-ft of torque. Taking technology directly from the Yamaha YZF-R1 sportbike, Max has fly-by-wire throttle control (“Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle”) and variable intake tract length (“Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake”) by way of a servomotor that moves the intake funnels for better acceleration at all speeds. Max now has EFI and a hydraulic slipper clutch to make downshifting smoother. Air enters through the can’t-miss-’em aluminum intakes and exits through a four-into-one-into-two-into-four exhaust system with twinned pairs of mufflers on each side. The exhaust also has EXUP (Exhaust Ultimate Power valve), a proven Yamaha technology that helps keep the powerband smooth at all rpms. Because the EPA is always watching, there are catalytic converters stuffed up into the cans as well.

Yamaha V Max 2009

The chassis is now a twin-spar aluminum frame and swingarm for weight savings, and consists of cast, die-cast and extruded sections. The bike still has that secret underseat fuel tank, which now holds a whopping 4.0 gallons. Beefy titanium-oxide coated 52mm forks hold up the front end with a remote reservoir, single shock in the back. The suspension, front and rear, is fully adjustable for rebound and compression damping, and spring preload, with a remote preload adjuster on the shock (so adjusting for a passenger doesn’t require tools or getting dirty). The front brakes are a far cry from the primitive binders of ’85, now featuring a linear controlled three position ABS system with Brembo radial master cylinders, 320mm wave-type rotors and 6-piston calipers. The rear also sports a Brembo master cylinder, 298mm wave-type rotor and single-piston caliper. The gauges are also very trick. First, mounted in the center of the handlebars, is a digital speedometer, LED indicators and analog tach with an LED shift light, just like on a dragracer. Atop the tank lives an “Organic Electro Luminescence” display that can show a clock, fuel meter, trip meter, gear position, coolant temperature and more. It’s designed to be simpler, brighter and much easier to read than LCDs and comes with a countdown clock and a stopwatch too – presumably so you can time those stoplight to stoplight drags/sprints.

Yamaha VMAX 2009

The 2009 Yamaha VMAX worths $ 18,000, with a limited production – only 2500 units are coming to the U.S. You’ll have to preorder this bike at your dealer and leave a $1000 deposit, so better move fast.