2009 Star VMAX: Rebirth of a Legend MotorCycle Daily angle
If the redesign of the VMAX isn’t the most highly anticipated new product in the motorcycle industry over the past five years, I am not sure what is. After a long line of false rumors, the real thing emerged yesterday evening on the flight deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, California. An irreverent, politically incorrect burnout that seemed to last a couple of minutes bathed the throng of gathered journalists in smoke as the VMAX slithered from behind a raised curtain atop the legendary war ship.
With product like Kawasaki’s ZX-14 and the redesigned Suzuki Hayabusa on the mind of speed freaks, Star seemed to pull out all the stops with the new VMAX power plant. A 1679cc 65° V4 has 16 valves and a relatively high 11.3:1 compression ratio fed through a five-speed transmission and shaft final drive to the rear wheel. Not content with the horsepower and torque this basic engine configuration would deliver, Yamaha added its latest tricks from the sport bike category, including throttle-by-wire. Yamaha got to a claimed 197 horsepower and 122 pound feet of torque by adding YCC-I, the Yamaha chip-controlled intake that allows intake funnel lengths to vary from 150mm down to 54mm (the change occurs at 6,650 rpm).
The new VMAX features an aluminum frame with the engine acting as a stressed member. Stout 52mm forks and single rear shock are fully adjustable, and the brakes are top shelf, including 6 piston calipers up front mounted radially
Star claims that, in addition to phenomenal straight-line acceleration, the new VMAX actually corners and handles quite well. The new VMAX will be available on a limited basis (only 2,500 units will be produced for the 2009 model year) at a U.S. MSRP of $17,990. The bike can be ordered from June 4 through October 31, 2008 at your local dealer, and retail delivery will begin in late October/early November of this year. For additional details and specifications, visit Star’s web site here.
ENGINE
ALL NEW DESIGN
- 1679cc LIQUID COOLED
- 65° V4 CONFIGURATION
- 4 VALVES PER CYLINDER
- DOHC
- FUEL INJECTED
- YCC-T
- YCC-I
- 11.3:1 COMPRESSION RATIO
- EXUP
- SHAFT DRIVE
- LIGHTWEIGHT FORGED ALUMINUM PISTONS
– 90mm x 66mm (BORE x STROKE) - FRACTURE SPLIT CONNECTING RODS
- CHAIN AND GEAR DRIVEN CAMSHAFT SYSTEM
– INTAKE CAMSHAFT IS DRIVEN BY CHAIN
– EXHAUST CAMSHAFT IS DRIVEN BY GEAR MECHANISM - 5 SPEED TRANSMISSION
- RAMP TYPE SLIPPER CLUTCH
- 4-1-2-4 EXHAUST SYSTEM
- 3 WAY CATALYTIC CONVERTER WITH OXYGEN SENSOR
- EXUP EXHAUST VALVE
- TITANIUM MUFFLER CANISTERS
INTELLIGENCE
- MULTIFUNCTION METER INCLUDES:
– SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER W/SHIFT LIGHT, & INDICATOR LIGHTS - ORGANIC ELECTRO LUMINESCENSE MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY INCLUDES:
– ODOMETER, CLOCK, DUAL TRIP & RESERVE TRIP, FUEL GAUGE, GEAR POSITION INDICATOR, COOLANT TEMP., MPG, INTAKE AIR TEMP., THROTTLE VAVLE OPENING ANGLE, STOPWATCH, & COUNTDOWN INDICATOR - YAMAHA CHIP CONTROLLED THROTTLE
- 48mm THROTTLE BODY
- YCC-1 (YAMAHA CHIP CONTROLLED INTAKE)
– SWITCHABLE FUNNEL LENGTHS FROM TALL (150mm) TO SHORT (54 mm) AT 6,650 RPM
CHASSIS
ALL NEW DESIGN
- ALUMINUM FRAME
- FULLY ADJUSTABLE SINGLE REAR SHOCK
- ABS WITH WAVE TYPE BRAKE ROTORS
- MULTIFUNCTION DASH WITH SHIFT LIGHT EQUIPPED TACHOMETER
- NEWLY DESIGNED CAST ALUMINUM MAIN FRAME
- CF DIE CAST AND EXTRUDED ALUMINUM SUB FRAME
- 52mm TITANIUM OXIDE COATED FORK
- ADJUSTABLE PRELOAD, COMPRESSION, & REBOUND
- 4.7″ OF TRAVEL
- CAST ALUMINUM TOP TRIPLE CLAMP
- FORGED ALUMINUM BOTTOM TRIPLE CLAMP
- LINKED TYPE MONOCROSS REAR SUSPENSION
- SINGLE SHOCK WITH ADJUSTABLE PRELOAD, COMPRESSION, & REBOUND
- 4.3″ OF TRAVEL
- NEWLY DESIGNED CAST ALUMINUM SWINGARM
- BREMBO RADIAL PUMP MASTER CYLINDER & RADIAL MOUNT SUMITOMO 6 PISTON FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS
- BREMBO MASTER CYLINDER & AKEBONO REAR BRAKE CALIPER
- 320mm WAVE-TYPE FRONT DISCS
- 298mm WAVE-TYPE REAR DISC
- ABS
VMAX SPECS
| Angle of Engine V bank | 65° |
| YCC-1 Funnel shift timing | 6,650 RPM |
| Length of Funnel (Long) | 150mm |
| Length of Funnel (Short) | 54mm |
| Inner tube diameter of front fork | 52mm |
| Exhaust layout | 4-1-2-4 |
| Valve Angles | Intake side:14 + exhaust side:15 =29 |
| Front-rear length of engine | 506mm; 27mm shorter than existing model |
| Height of engine | 606mm; 6.5mm higher than existing model |
| YCC-T calculating capacity | 1/1000 of a second |
| YCC-T control signals | 1/100 of a second |
| Number of rear gear teeth | 29 |
| Diameter of rear gear | 188mm |
| Wall thickness of main frame | 3mm-6mm |
| Length of rear arm | 662.5mm |
| Fork pitch of under bracket | 225mm |
| Fork offset of under bracket | 30mm |
| Diameter of front brake | 320mm |
| Thickness of front brake | 5.5mm |
| Diameter of rear brake | 298mm |
| Thickness of rear brake | 6mm |
| Number of pixels of display | 256x64dot |
