Yamaha VMax

2010 Yamaha VMax. Still with the same 200bhp V4 and now available in red...

Yamaha are now taking orders on the 2010 VMax, which is now also being offered in red. Mr Max’s calling card is still, of course, its 1.7-litre, 200 horsepower engine that absolutely hauls ass in a straight line. We could talk about electronics and YCC-T and YCC-I but we don’t really care. What we – and you, probably – are more interested in is that Mr Max goes from zero to 100km/h in 2.66 seconds and is capable of doing the standing quarter-mile (400m) in less than 10 seconds.

The fully adjustable suspension and Brembo brakes with ABS help things in the corners, but the VMax lives for the straights. This time around, however, it’s a bit more expensive – US$19,500 instead of the 2009 model’s $18,000. But that’s all right. We’ll go by what Dirck Edge and Jeff Whitmer of Motorcycle Daily have to say about Mr Max. ‘We've ridden them all. The ZX-14. The Vulcan 2000 with its 2,053cc V-twin. The Hayabusa. And the Honda Rune with its 1,832cc flat six fed by a half dozen throttle bodies. Nothing leaves a stop light like the new VMax. The VMax is laying down more than 100 pound/feet of torque at the rear tyre before inline-fours like the ZX-14 and Hayabusa have finished clearing their throats. Like many things in life, it is something you have to experience to fully appreciate and understand,’ they say.

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