New 97

[LIVINLO]

My brother (60cpt) and I just unloaded our new 97 off the shipping crate. Here are a few pics for now. We will post more pics after we get it cleaned up. Trying to decide whether or not to ride this machine! It has never had gas in the tank and is truly a time capsule.

By the looks of it, it is the fifth one off the line for 97. It was built in May of 1996.

If we decide not to drive it, we are considering parting it out. Let us know your needs!

[gitterdun1985]

I think you shoould ride this baby. be a shame to part her out...

[LIVINLO]

I hope that everyone knows that we are just kidding about parting it out! Would like to ride it but don't want to ruin history.

[robtan88]

Were in the heck did you find that?? is all that comes to mind at this moment. I hope I don,t insult you because that is not my intentions, but how can you even consider parting that out. I,m sure a collector would grab that up. I think its a time piece to be kept whole, and once parted its gone for good...Rob.

[LIVINLO]

LOL! Rob, we would never consider parting out this great piece of history, just making a joke! It is a long story how we got the machine, but it truly is a brand new 97 that has been kept in climate controled storage on its shipping crate. We would love to put it in the house to preserve the machine, but our problem is that it won't fit through our door.

[robtan88]

LOL. I was wondering if it was a joke. It is a wonderful piece of history, and in my mind, only to gain value as time passes. Is it possible to ever-so-gently, remove the larger pieces so that it can be moved through a door opening and re-assembled? That piece has me just in aww. I would also like to say/ask why don,t fellows have the decals re-pooped on these machines while they are so perfect and crisp. I have been working/widdling away at this for awhile as many of you know, but unforseen circumstances and $$$, has this on hold. Also finding the decals to copy is a chore...Rob

[dealermotorcycles]

Where did you find it!I`m in Grafton all the time.

[mark the shark]

That is truly an amazing find! I don't know if I'd ride it or not, either. I might have to sit on it for awhile and think about it. Thanks for posting the pictures!

Shark

[LIVINLO]

Thanks Shark! My brother and I are still in awe every time we stand in the garage and look at it. It is truly amazing, being fifteen years old the machine still has the new smell. We want to preserve it and have decided not to run it. We will take care of it and give it a good home. Thinking about pulliing the plugs and spraying foging oil in the transfer ports of the engine to keep the bottom end lubed up. Might even change the coolant and brake fluid since it is fifteen years old and I understand that they can break down over time. I really wish there was a way to get this thing in the house, even though the shop is climate controlled.

[LOVEMYVMAX]

we are considering parting it out. Let us know your needs!

Secondary, Jackshaft and chaincase still available? Lol. KIDDING! I would have the hardest time not riding this thing when conditions were good but I dont think I could bring myself to make that odo. roll any higher. BEAUTIFUL MACHINE! Shame to park it.... shame to ride it..... if you truly can't decide I will come get it and help you think about it. Lol. Someone must have shed a tear watching that sled leave on your trailer.
Chris

[luckyone]

sweet! you lucky dog!!!...congrats!!!! cant wait for the story on this great find!

[jst4fun]

NICE!! Congrats!! What a truelly unbelievable find!! Something to be very proud of!!
I think I would concentrate on cutting the door out, before I would think about dismantling the sled to get it in the house :)
I have to say 2011 has been a very good year for you and your brother VMAX wise!!
Nice looking shop you have there too!!
Bubba...
ps- What does that put the count up too??

[rustman]

ya hear that...it was my jaw hitting the floor. If I ever live long enoough for you to sell it, I want first dibs...lol

[ALLSEASONRIDER]

All I can say is WOW! Nice find!!

As the values of vintage Yammis continues to rise (early SRXs/SSRs etc), I cannot imagine the value of your "new" '97 to a collector 15 or 20 years down the road when the new Yamaha 2030 SSRx-XTX, or whatever it will be called is released at a whopping $27K!

Keep that baby just the way it is and ride one that is not virginous!!

Thanks for the pics.

[dealermotorcycles]

I cleared my inbox.

[turch]

WOW! Can you give us the story, on this great find?

[mistermax]

You are the man.. Nice And you have a hording problem:)

[luckyone]

You are the man.. Nice And you have a hording problem:)
getting as bad as bubba! LOL!!!!

[jst4fun]

Shit, I 'm in the Minor leagues compared to these boys!!

And I'm a tad bit jealous to boot :) lol.....

Bubba....

[8BU]

That is awesome. I can't even remember mine looking that good when I picked it up from the dealer. Made me smile.

If you ever decide to ride it make sure the spare plug holders are up in the hood and not pointed down or they will rub on the coils. Also check that the bushings in the knuckle on the bottom of the TSS are the right length. Not sure but mine came with ones that where to short.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[vmax4rules]

Congrats you lucky dogs, I think it's time to add french doors to the house.

[the92vmax4750saynomore]

i would cry to see that being parted out lol..good once every so often rider or a nice living room orinement if you ask me. That machine is SWEEET!!!! personally id find another 97 to ride here and there and place that one to enjoy in the house haha just me. Nice unit tho i hope to find and own one oneday

[LIVINLO]

Robtan88: I agree that it would be great to have the decals repopped for each year. We have a few machines that could use them. Hopefully, someone will reproduce them, so we can restore these machines back to their glory.

Bubba: Thanks for the compliments! The shop is an old 24X30 that my dad put up years ago out of old lumber from a barn that they tore down. We gave it a little face lift this fall, and we are really enjoying it. As far as the count, I'm not sure if we want to disclose that information in fear of membership retaliation! LOL.

Mistermax: I agree, we do have a bit of a hoarding problem! Sure is fun though! We have really developed a pasion for the almighty Vmax-4, thanks to this site and its great membership. Hope this site is here for years to come!

Thanks for all the great replies! This is the nicest Christmas present we have ever given ourselves! Happy to share this piece of history with our fellow members.

PS: Will post the story behind this beast soon. Need to get back out to the shop! Flurries in the forecast!

[luckyone]

it's beautiful!!!! does the engine number fall within the production numbers we currently have registered for the 97's?

[RX1]

Sweet sled for sure....How did you find it? If you dont mind me asking, how many arms and legs did you have to give for that? Lol

[Kahunas]

Dude, that's awesome! I'm glad you guys got it. It truly is the best looking sled made. It makes me want to clean mine up. Great buy, no matter what it costs!

[60cpt]

For all those who asked, this is the basic story of how we came into possession of this new 97.

We received a phone call several months back from a gentleman that knew we collected Vmax-4's. At that time, he was just wondering if we would be interested in a Vmax-4 that was supposedly new in the crate, but he really didn't know much about it other than it was red. He was trying to help the family that owned the machine sell it for what it was worth.

He referred us to the son of the original owner that bought the sled new in 97 and never ran it. His father was a Vmax-4 enthusiast, and originally bought the machine to ride. That obviously never happened, and the machine sat on it's original shipping pallet wrapped in plastic for years. Turns out that the son of the previous owner was the college roomate of a friend of mine from years back. I don't want to give out any personal information about the family we bought it from, but the gentleman that originally called us on it worked for the family, and was trying to help them sell it.

We got in touch with the family, and talked a bit over the phone. They really didn't know much about the machine and originally thought it was a 96 based off the manufacturing date on the tunnel. Once we got the VIN we decided to make a drive and go look at it. The owner had to cut the plastic open that the crate was wrapped in for us to get a look at the machine. All I can say is that it was pretty impressive to be standing there looking at that 97 on it's original shipping crate! My brother and I both new there was no way we could leave there that day without the sled. After a couple hours of negotiations and inspection of the sled, we came to terms and brought the machine home.

We debated on whether or not to leave it banded to the shipping pallet, but decided the best thing to do was to take it off the crate and get it inside to clean 15 years of dust off it and go over the machine to prevent any future corrsion from ever happening. (There is no corrosion on the machine now as it was always stored in a climate controlled building.) The bogey wheels still have the preservative coating on them! The dealership never prepped the machine at the request of the original owner, but included a checklist of what needed to be done to the machine in order to fire it up. We received all the original paperwork, including the SOLD tag that was placed with the machine back in August of 97. It truly was like going back in time when we brought the machine home and unpacked it.

It now sits proudly in the garage as king of the flock watching over the other Vmax-4's.

[jst4fun]

That is so cool!!
And I am so glad it fell into the hands of someone who can and will trully appreciate it for what it is,
and not into the hands of somebody that jst beat it into the ground.
You have yourself a once in a lifetime sled and story to go with it!!
I can only imagine you and your brother must have had all you could do to hold back the little kid at Christmas look from your faces when you realized it was the almighty 97 hidden in that crate!!!
I will admit I find it hard to fathom that someone could spend that kind of coin on a sled 15 years ago, and jst leave it to set in a corner for years on end without ever touching it, or having a member of the family touch it..
I bought several vmax-4's new from the dealer, each time trading one in for the next,and can't imagine jst sticking it away, one because of the initial $$ investiment, but two due to the overwhelming anticipation to ride the beast!!!

CONGRATS to both you and your brother!!!

Totally envious, and very happy for both of you,

Bubba :smilies-9

[jst4fun]

I appologive for all the posts, I'm not sure what is going on by everytime I hit edit it does another posting instead of jst editting the one i was working on.
My whole reply page looks totally different and I keep getting an error on page in lower left corner.
Not sure if it is my computer, or the site. I don't seem to be having any issues on any other sites...

anyone else having issues???

[mark the shark]

jst4fun - I took the liberty of deleting two of the duplicate posts. I didn't think you would mind.

That really is a cool story. There were a couple of sleds still in crates for sale on ebay last year. One was a Vmax-4 and I think the other was an SRX. I've always thought that there must be treasures like that hidden in warehouses and barns. Glad to see that this treasure got into the right hands!

Shark

[vmax_6]

Wow....nice
Where did u find that?