2009 Star V-Max - Mad Max Is Back!

Children point, Mercedes-driving soccer moms sneer and wonder if the house is locked, but the 'Max is pure composure in upscale urbane traffic. Fueling is essentially perfect, the clutch is perfectly linear, shifting is easy but superfluous with an engine that pulls cleanly from 1200 rpm and accepts as much throttle as you have room for from 2000 upward. Shift at 5000 rpm and the Star still lunges through traffic like Usain Bolt at a junior high track meet. The listed 685-lb. wet weight feels about right avoiding the waddling duffer armadas common to any country club parking lot. This is a big, heavy motorcycle, but above 35 mph, you hardly notice.

Out on the I-15, top cog in the five-speed box and 3900 rpm on the enormous tach equal a smooth 70 mph, with just enough V-4 throb through the bars and pegs to let you know there's serious business under the hood. Those stubby mufflers say the same. Mr. Max never seeks to offend, but he doth not suffer fools, either. Non-existent wind protection, 4 gallons of fuel in a plastic tank under the seat and one very thirsty V-4 conspire against longer hauls anyway.

Staring down a long, straight stretch of rural pavement, it's finally time to let the big guy off his leash. Pin the throttle and the V-4's flat, tractable delivery puts 100 mph on the speedo quicker than you can say, "License and registration please," and there's a whole lot more where that came from. Objective measurements will have to wait until they square off at the drag strip, but the V-Max feels every bit as quick as Suzuki's B-King, and no less fun to ride. According to ace triggerman Jay Gleason, who made the '85 'Max the quickest production bike in captivity with a 10.42-second pass, the '09 version is sneaky fast. Given enough grip at the line, he figures it's not a question of whether it would get into the nines, but how far.

How far is sort of a recurring theme on this mission-as in how far can you go without ending up in a CHP cruiser or the emergency ward? In these Northern San Diego County twisty bits, the answer is farther than you'd think. Not far enough to sniff at a well-ridden Hayabusa's tail light, but that rock-solid chassis and admirably compliant suspension get the 'Max around corners more quickly than anything this big and heavy has a right to. With a little help from the rear brake, those six-piston front calipers and 320mm discs haul the Sumo-sized lad down to comfortably sporty-cornering speeds with a firm two-finger squeeze, and more feel than initial bite. Standard ABS never intervenes prematurely, which is as it should be.

Flick isn't a word we'd use around a motorcycle that's flirting with 700 lbs., but this one arcs in nicely, with none of its ancestor's mid-corner rodeo-bull behavior. The long wheelbase, relatively lazy steering geometry and a refreshingly flex-free chassis make the 'Max dead stable around fast sweepers. Take your pick on the exits: Surf that wave of torque, shift at 6000 rpm and save the tire, or stay in the throttle and let 'er spin. Shaft effect is minimal most of the time, but all that power starts to push the rear suspension around above 8000. Whatever you do, don't do it too far from a ready supply of super unleaded. Under admittedly enthusiastic riding, we got between 26 and 32 mpg. If you were planning to slide one past the family CFO, don't try it with those numbers.

The $17,990 sticker price probably won't help your cause either. But go back over all the work that went into it and the level of performance that comes out. No price-point V-Max could come close to this one. Chip-controlled 48mm throttle bodies do the work instead of cables and linkages and four 35mm carburetors, but once you grab a handful, all you want is another one.