A peek into John Abraham's superbike 'VMAX'

New Delhi, Feb 6: Bollywood's cool dude John Abraham's love for superbikes is well known. John, a proclaimed dyed-in-the-wool biker and Yamaha India's brand ambassador, treats his bikes as his babies and can be easily seen speeding with his V-MAX 1700 cc on the streets of Bandra in Mumbai. Such is the passion of this Bollywood hunk that he has an in-depth knowledge about the engines, and perhaps some of the mechanics as well. “My passion for bikes began at a quite young age. Although I don't have the time to ride a motorcycle now, I still need these monsters around me to keep me going. Super bikes are a rare breed in India and you would need to zero in on a good machine worth its tools,” Abraham had said.According to Yamaha Motor, John is a youth icon and fits the brand Yamaha. “The target audience identifies with him because he signifies the sense of style, speed and ruggedness. Yamaha endeavors to inculcate the rider's spirit with a sense of freedom as well as promote safe biking culture in the country, and who would be a better promoter than the rider himself (John Abraham),” the company had said in a statement. A passionate biker himself, John's love for superbikes began when he started doing well in modeling. According to him he didn't get the time to ride a motorcycle now due to his busy schedule, but he still need these monsters around me to keep him going. He is also very fond of the VMAX. The V-Max is a legendary cruiser bike from Yamaha that is famous for its looks, muscular styling and powerful performance. Let's take a look at what makes the new V-MAX a great combination of innovation and acceleration. From its launch in 1985 to its rebirth in 2008, the Yamaha VMAX has become renowned for its unique styling, great power and smooth handling. Yamaha launched the VMAX in India on September 20, 2009. The bike sports a naked front look that featured oval shaped headlight just below the chrome finished meter dial. The bike gives a macho feel due to its wide front tyre and front disc plates along with tyres. The VMAX has twin mufflers carrying the company logo on each side that gives the bike both an impressive sound, and a brand new look. The bike is quite large and looks bulky because of the large fuel tank. The rider seat has been placed a bit low and gets narrow at the back. The rear LED tail light is one of its kinds and the bike looks pretty cool when seen from the back.The VMAX comes with an extremely powerful V-type 4-stroke DOHC 1679cc engine that delivers power of 194 bhp at 9000 rpm along with peak torque of 170 Nm at 6500 rpm. Unlike other 4 cylinder engines, Yamaha has mated this engine with a five speed manual gearbox having one gear down and four gears up-shift pattern. With such a powerful engine, the VMAX can take most of the sports bikes and nakes bikes in terms of performance.In order to cut down its weight Yamaha has used an aluminium cast frame which gives the bike necessary power and acceleration. From the stand still the bike can reach to a speed of 100 km/hr in just three seconds. Yamaha has used its gear ratios pretty well as you never sense the need of a sixth gear. The bike is brilliant for long runs as it can easily pass the speed of 200 km/hr and even at low speed, the bike feels light and responsive. For a five speed gearbox this is one of the fastest and finest speed bikes in the market. Yamaha V-Max will give fuel efficiency of not more than 10km/ltr.The cruiser bike takes the comfort level to a new height and the driven will not feel the strain even when they are going on a long drive. The placement of foot-pegs helps you to get a sporty yet relaxed riding posture. You don't have to keep your back straight while holding its handle bar and its quite relieving on long drives.Keeping in view the weight and performance of the bike, the VMAX comes with great braking and suspension system. The VMAX's braking system features dual disc brakes of 320mm at its front and single disc brake of 298mm at its back. The bike is equipped with ABS for precise and accurate braking.The bike weighs 310 kgs and has a ground clearance of 140mm.With an extended wheelbase of 1700mm and bulky tyres, the bike remains under control even at high speeds. The bike has 18 inch alloy wheels with tyre sizes of 120/70(front) and 200/50(rear) respectively.The bike comes with a prive tag of Rs 20 lakh and is available in a single design variation. The VMAX is one of the costliest and prestigious bikes ever launched in India.If you're looking for an insanely powerful cruiser that gives you wild nature of a sportsbikes, then the VMAX might be one of the best choices around.