Yamaha VMax

The Yamaha VMax is a power cruiser motorcycle built by the Japanese manufacturer Yamaha, introduced in 1985 with a large V4 engine adapted from Yamaha's watercraft engineering, delivering acceleration far beyond what a typical cruiser motorcycle of the era offered and establishing the power cruiser as a distinct motorcycle category built around straight-line performance rather than cornering agility. Distinguished by its intake-scoop bodywork over the engine and deliberately muscular styling, the VMax remained in production with only modest updates for more than two decades before Yamaha introduced a substantially redesigned second generation in the late 2000s with a larger engine and modern electronics. It remains one of the most recognized names credited with defining the power cruiser segment.