Riding Yamaha's 1985 Hot-Rods
Riding Yamaha's 1985 Hot-Rods
You can’t hear about or see Yamaha’s 1985 streetbikes without asking one question: Are they as fast as Yamaha claims they are?
That question will have to wait for an answer until we do complete tests on these new models. But after a brief sampling of Yamaha’s '85 line during a riding preview at Willow Springs Raceway, we can tell you this: The three all-new bikes in the lineup—the V-Max, the FZ750 and the Maxim X—seem to be very fast, impressive motorcycles.
Not surprisingly, the bike just about everyone seems most interested in is the Mad Max. Yamaha’s latest horsepower claim for the big V-Four is 145 bhp, which is more power than made by the vast majority of current automobiles. And that astonishing power claim— as well as the accounts of the few people, both on and off of Yamaha’s payroll, who have ridden the bikehad some people believing that the V-Max would be an uncontrollable beast, a bike that would get away from anyone indiscrete enough to see what a full twist of the throttle would do.
Not to worry. The V-Max certainly is awesomely powerful and alarmingly quick, but it is not lifethreatening in any way—unless, of course, someone is so foolish as to yank the throttle wide-open at 5000 rpm in first gear and hold it there. In that case, the 145 horsepower will simply rotate the bike about its fat rear tire and transform the V-Max into a I200cc rider-swatter.
But failing that sort of indiscretion, the V-Max is merely a complete all-around motorcycle, although it’s undoubtedly the quickest-accelerating one ever built on a production line. Power is available in more than significant quantities right off of idle, with a slight increase in forward thrust beginning near 5000 rpm as the V-Boost system (the V-Max’s exclusive arrangement that allows each cylinder to breathe through two carbs at high rpm) kicks in. And from 5000 on up, you had better be pointed where you want to go, because you’re going to be there in an instant. But the power, despite its quantity, is as fiat and linear as the horizon in Kansas, and very controllable.
Amazingly, the Max didn’t seem ridiculous or completely out of its element on the Willow Springs road course. The riding position is a variation on the sit-up-and-beg style of a Sixties British bike rather than the laid-back cruiser norm. The long and heavy Max will never be mistaken for a nimble, responsive RZ350 or FJ600, but it handles well—considerably better, it would seem, than the ponderous and clumsy feeling V65 Magna. Ground clearance limits cornering speeds, but not by that much, in fact, a contest between the V-Max and an FJ l 100 on a twisty backroad wouldn't be a joke; a good rider on the Max would be able to keep up with someone a little less sharp on the FJ l 100, but he would have to work harder doing it.
Just as impressive as the V-Max, but in its own way, is the all-new FZ750 sportbike, Yamaha’s liquidcooled. inline-Four answer to the Honda Interceptor. No matter if its five valves per cylinder are the cause, or if it's the downdraft carburetion and straight-shot intake ports, the FZ makes more power than is typical for a 750-class bike (the FZ is a full 750, not an ITCskirting 700), and feels not the least bit peaky while doing it. Below 6000 rpm the FZ750 is slightly soft, but from 6000 on up it pulls to its l l,000-rpm redline as if the motor displaced a few hundred more cc than it actually does. Performancewise, the FZ should be close to Kawasaki's 900 Ninja, but only time will tell if that subjective impression is accurate.
However well the engine performs, the chassis is more than up to the job of dealing with the power.
The FZ is light-steering and stable, and extremely confidence-inspiring on the racetrack. The suspension is compliant but firm, definitely biased toward racetrack and backroad performance rather than freeway ride. So is the seating position, which is more of a racing crouch than allowed by the FJ l 100 or any Honda Interceptor. The seat feels stiff, so perhaps the “pure performance" sticker on the back of the bike speaks the truth, verifying that performance has been purchased by neglecting comfort. Once again, more time on the bike will be required to be sure.
Yamaha has another motorcycle to offer if you want comfort, style and speed all at the same time: the 700cc Maxim X. It shares the fivevalve-per-cylinder head design with the FZ750, but without the 45-degree cylinder inclination and the downdraft carburetion. Styling is definitely in the American custom mode, much more so than with its competitors, the Honda Nighthawks. The riding position, however, isn't laid-back cruiser; as with the Nighthawks, the riding position is more like that on the Japanese standard models of the mid-Seventies.
Performance with style is what the Maxim X is all about, and it is fast, although the engine, curiously enough, is peakier than its sporting, five-valve cousin. The shaft-driveinduced rise-and-fall of the chassis is rather pronounced, but ground clearance doesn't seem to be an impediment to high cornering speeds. All things considered, the Maxim X looks like formidable competition for all the other sport-custom motorcycles.
Actually, all three of these new Yamaha models appear to have the potential to blow away the competition. So what remains to be seen is if they truly are the best in their class—and if there in fact is anything in the same class with the V-Max.
