The 1985 model year released the bike that turned motorcycle enthusiasts on their collective ass:1200cc of V4 powered muscle that unleashed 145hp of “V-boosted” madness at the turn of your right wrist. All this in a package that was designed to do one thing very well: Go as fast as you could in a straight line. There were no excuses from Yamaha about this. Mr. Araki (now GM of Yamaha motorcycle operations in Japan) was the project leader of the V Max design team in 1984. He was inspired to build an American Hot Rod in the form of a motorcycle. He made a trip to the USA to research his target market, falling in love with American drag racing, both on the strip and on the street. When the bike ran a sub 11-second quarter mile out of the box, their goal was accomplished.