Yamaha’s Current V-Max
Motorcycle News of England has reported that Yamaha is working on a successor to its venerable V-Max. According to MCN, Yamaha may replace the V-Max with a big bore (1600cc) V-twin that is nearly eighty pounds lighter than the current bike and much better handling.
Yamaha’s V-Max is currently a 1200cc V-four that has been around unchanged, and unchallenged by any competition in this small nitch for many, many years. It is a relatively successful, “cult” bike with unique styling and relatively poor handling (at least by current sport bike standards). This is a picture of the current model.
MD feels that the “power cruiser” segment will grow very quickly over the next few years. A power cruiser, in our way of thinking, is a much higher performance, cruiser-styled motorcycle — along the lines of Moto Guzzi’s EV, for example. MD has discussed this concept in previous articles, including an article on Victory Motorcycle’s new SportCruiser. The new V-Max may be taking this concept to the max. V-twins can certainly be powerful and relatively light (Ducati 996 and Honda RC51, for example), so why not put high output V-twins in a cruiser-style bike that is lighter and much better handling than the currently available cruisers? Apparently, manufacturers are now doing this and we think this segment will prove to be a big sales success.
