German design house Jens von Brauck (JvB) has created a one-off Yamaha VMAX ‘Infrared’ custom motorcycle to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the iconic powercruiser.
Painted in the livery of Yamaha’s 1985 GP team, the VMAX Infrared has been designed with cafe racer and retro bobber influences. The VMAX Infrared features several handmade bits and pieces including tank cover and the headlight casing. The aluminium subframe of the VMAX Infrared has been crafted from parts of the stock machine, and the entire machine features abundant use of aluminium and carbon fibre.
The VMAX Infrared gets redesigned air scoops which resemble the ones in the original 1980s VMAX, a carbon tail section and a secondary fuel tank under the seat. Except for a modified airbox and a Termignoni 4-into-1 exhaust, which gives out a growly exhaust note, the VMAX Infrared is mechanically similar to the stock VMAX. It is powered by the same liquid-cooled 1,697cc 65-degree V4 engine, which delivers 197bhp and 168Nm of torque, through a five-speed gearbox.
Speaking about the VMAX Infrared, Shun Miyazawa, product manager, Yamaha Motor Europe said, “To respect the culture that has grown around this icon we’ve chosen to celebrate 30 years of the VMAX by working with three highly respected custom builders to create three VMAX specials that will inspire not just Yamaha, but also owners of the VMAX and those who maybe want to own one.”
Unlike the other two special edition VMAX motorcycles which Yamaha unveiled last week, the VMAX Infrared has been created as a display project, and it is very unlikely that it will be put into series production. Yamaha said that with the 30th anniversary editions and VMAX Infrared motorcycle, they were paying tribute to Kenji Ekuan, the creator of the original 1985 VMAX, who recently passed away.
