A Powerful Low-Mileage Yamaha VMAX From Its First Year of Production

The Yamaha VMAX is 600 pounds of steel and brute horsepower. The 1985 VMAX, like the one for sale on eBay, comes from the model’s inaugural year. Yamaha engineers designed the VMAX to explore how far they could push the envelope on power. Upon its release, the bike was among the most powerful motorcycles on the planet.

Moreover, the Yamaha VMAX balanced fierce on-demand acceleration and everyday ease of use, enabling the motorcycle to achieve commercial success.

The Birth of the V-Boost

In 1984, Akira Araki, head of VMAX development, said that Yamaha had a single goal with the bike: max speed in a straight line.

He was inspired during a visit to the US when he witnessed a motorcycle drag race.

Araki explained:

Two bikes lined up and set off. They simply competed for acceleration speed for 400 meters. They were using a bridge over the Mississippi River. They started from one end of the bridge, and the finish line was the opposite side.

Yamaha started with the Yamaha Venture Royal powerplant, under development at the time. But the Venture Royal engine lacked the desired output. So, taking inspiration from American hot rods, the company produced the VMAX’s 1,198cc liquid-cooled 4-cylinder engine.

Yamaha’s engine guru, Yasushi Ashihara, wanted to increase the engine’s rpm from 7,000 to 8,500. But he couldn’t figure out how to boost that performance without a turbocharger, which didn’t fit in the motorcycle’s frame.

So Ashihara and team came up with the V-Boost—a design using four carburetors laid out in a box shape. Each carb feeds one cylinder until the bike hits 5,700 rpm, and then the passages open, allowing two carbs to supply two cylinders at the same time. This configuration doubled the amount of fuel, thus generating 145 horsepower in a 600-pound package. As a result, the Yamaha VMAX could reach a top speed of 146 miles per hour, hitting the quarter-mile in 10.89 seconds.

Challenges With Straight-Ahead Speed

To handle that level of grunt, Yamaha engineers beefed up the engine’s internals, modifying the intake and exhaust valves and improving the 5-speed wet clutch transmission by utilizing a novel shaft drive instead of a standard chain.

The boost in power presented other challenges. The VMAX tended to dip in the front during hard braking, causing the rear wheel to go squirrely. The bike doesn’t like to be leaned into curves. Also, the seat—designed for fast travel in straight lines—can feel stiff when riding at conventional speeds. And the gas tank’s location under that seat makes fill-ups a chore.

Ultimately, Americans didn’t care about these shortcomings.

Give ‘Em What They Want

The bike was a massive hit, and its design remained primarily unchanged for 22 years, until the arrival of the 2007 Yamaha VMAX. It’s big, fast, and thrilling when the throttle is fully open.

The 2007 updates included a revised chassis, chip-controlled fuel intakes, anti-lock brakes, and electroluminescent readouts. But for enthusiasts, those improvements don’t upstage the original 1985 Yamaha VMAX—especially one with low miles and in pristine condition like the one for sale on eBay. More than three decades later, the once fastest, most muscular V-4 of its time still commands respect for its engineering innovations.