2009 Star VMax - Prince Of Darkness

It was just a freeway entrance; a smooth, easy downhill right, with an abrupt merge. Naturally enough, anyone would want to get on the gas hard for that. You know-bang through a few gears, short-shifting with a handful of throttle. Except on the '09 VMAX, you don't do that unless you want to be going an indicated 115 mph by the time you finish blinking. It was sneaky about it. Southern California traffic moves fast (around mid-80s), so the scale was warped to begin with. But the acceleration and the ride was so smooth, I could have been going 65 for all I knew. It was this moment that I knew the VMAX for what it truly is.

I mean, just look at it. Everything about it is diabolical. It's painted and anodized three shades of black, a hulking machine that looks like it came out of a Giger painting. It oozes menace. It's pretty up front about its intentions, but swing a leg over it and it all changes. It's a hefty machine, but once going over parking lot speeds it's very neutral handling. It's a powerful machine but in the lower revs it's quite civilized. It's broad across the middle but has a very neutral cruiser-ish riding position. Hopping aboard for a little get-to-know-you ride around the block, fear and intimidation swiftly turn to comfort and ease. Let not the devil tempt you. These are not emotions to be ruled by on a 200 horsepower beast.

Details
The project to re-design the venerable 'Max started way back in the 90's. There were running prototypes being tested by Yamaha as early as 2001... so if you thought you heard rumors of a new VMAX years ago, they were probably right. The problem was that the first version was too tame, too big, too different, and the power delivery too smooth. Basically, it didn't fill its "evil" quota, so it was sent back to the drawing board, scrapped for a clean sheet design. Focus groups were engaged along with tracking surveys from current owners (demonic horde that they are!), and what they found all boiled down to: better handling, more power (but only a little), better ergonomics, and above all to keep the V-Boost!

An important decision made by the Star execs early in the process that really helped to make this bike the demon lord that it is, was to position it as a premium model. It is the pinnacle of performance for their brand and was conceived as such, without any shortcuts to meet an unrealistic (or insufficient) price-point.

The end result kept the basic lines of the original, gained some bulk, and added a little panache. A remarkable thing about the new VMAX is that unlike just about all other cruiser bikes, it doesn't make broad references to bikes of yore. If anything, it's the first Japanese cruiser to only refer to its immediate predecessor. It's got more rake and a more abbreviated rear fender, but stays true to the concept laid out by the old VMAX, only now with its designation as a premium ($17k) bike, the details are far more thorough than anything Star has ever put out. The 'Max is a truly elemental machine, with very few parts that aren't exactly what they look like (the faux rear fender struts are a notable exception). But almost all of those parts have obviously been lovingly designed and styled to look their wicked best, adding style while keeping the bulk of a 1680cc bike down to a manageable level.

The drag-race style speedo/tach, complete with a shift light, almost looks like an aftermarket add-on, with the bioluminescent information panel on the tank complimenting it in a very stylish manner. The large hand-brushed aluminum air scoops are actually functional this time around, leading to an airbox that's doubled in capacity since the last model. Tapered MX-style fatty handlebars probably don't do anything functional, but serve as a reminder that pretty much every piece of this bike was looked at during the long design process. Even some basically throw-away stuff like the exhaust pipes and engine side covers were made from titanium and magnesium respectively. There are still some subjective warts. Though I'll probably catch hell from old VMAX fiends, that rear fender (and the one that came before it) was dated when it came out in the 1980's. Also, some might complain that the radially-actuated Brembo brake master cylinder doesn't even remotely match the Nissin clutch master cylinder, but the asymmetry fits the bike's post-modern looks very well.

With a 200-ish (claimed, crankshaft) horsepower motor the focus of the design team was on the chassis. The centerpiece is a cast aluminum frame that utilizes the massive engine as a stressed member. A complimentary cast aluminum swingarm makes for one of the nicest-looking shaft-driven rear ends ever, as well as adding needed rigidity. A lay-down linkage-style mono-shock replaces the dual rear dampers of the old VMAX. The shock is remotely adjustable (without tools) for preload, as well as rebound and compression damping via knobs placed on either side of the swingarm. The fork is a beefy 52mm Soqi conventional unit, fully adjustable, with titanium oxide-coated tubes to reduce stiction (and to look evil).

To this 685-lb road rocket, Star threw the whole book of superbike magic at it. Up front a pair of radially-mounted six-piston Sumitomo calipers grab at 320mm floating rotors that look something akin to sawblades. If that wasn't enough, the VMAX is also equipped with ABS as a standard feature. Gone are the squishy-handling bias-ply tires of the VMAX of yore, replaced by sticky 18-inch radials at both ends, the rear rockin' a wicked 200mm cross-section-big enough to look substantial, but not so big as to hamper steering.

For the engine there is the usual mix of exotica from high-performance powerplants with a few unique little touches. The battle against bulk continued in the big V-four lump, with a 5-degree tighter 65-degree Vee and all-around space saving measures resulting in a mill that at the heads was actually a few millimeters smaller than the old one, despite gaining almost 500cc.

In order to feed such a huge high-performance motor, as well as re-create the V-Boost of the original VMAX, much thought went into the airbox. For one thing, it's huge. 13 liters is the "happy place" that the designers found; the minimum volume that the bike wouldn't be starved for air at WOT. The modern-day V-Boost comes from variable-length intake horns within the box, complimented by Yamaha's legendary EXUP valve in the exhaust. A whole article could be dedicated to how the system works, but in short: at 6650 rpm the intakes effectively shorten (and the EXUP engages) which provides a wicked kick in the shorts. So wicked, in fact, that the Yamaha technicians on hand reported having trouble keeping the rear wheel from spinning while recording chassis dyno runs.

All that air is mixed with fuel in a quartet of 48mm Mikuni throttle bodies equipped with 12-hole Denso injectors. Four narrow-angled valves let the mixture shoot right into a 11.3:1 combustion chamber, where forged aluminum short-skirted pistons riding in ceramic cylinder liners jackhammer away at single-piece forged connecting rods. You know, the usual cutting-edge motor stuff. A unique hybrid chain and gear-driven cam system reduces the physical dimensions of the huge motor some, while a single counter balancer keeps the vibes from getting too intrusive.

The living heart of this demon is controlled via the magic of electronics: an electronic throttle control system directly actuates the throttle bodies which keeps the bike from bogging at low rpm from too much butterfly opening, as well as helping reduce engine braking. Custom nuts will appreciate fewer lines to hide on the handlebars.

Designing the transmission was a balancing act for the engineers. Smoothness in the transmission and clutch was paramount, but the thing also had to harness almost 200 hp. The result is a moderate clutch pull, and a very smooth shifting gearbox. A slipper clutch was fitted to control engine braking from the high-compression mill.

Shaft final drive has a double-jointed design mostly to fit the packaging the design team dealt to the engineers, but has the happy side benefits of reducing shaft effect on handling, as well as making it exceedingly simple for a customizer to build his own swingarm and slap some really fat meat on the back of the bike.