VintageVmax.com

This is my first vintage Yamaha. I have ridden and owned tss sleds in the past (exciter phazer) and noted that steering effort was high with no apparent adjustability. While Im in this 83 vmax, what can I do to ensure light easy steering? Thanks.

I have owned my '83 Vmax since 1989, and have found it to be one of the most pleasant, easy steering sleds, so it can definitely be done.
But, it is the only TSS sled I have ever ridden, so can't speak to any of the other models.
When the '83 SRV and Vmax came out, they included a new rear suspension...the "Pro Action"..which was a great improvement compared to earlier rear skids from Yamaha.
The Pro Action skid is fully adjustable, with a coil over shock at both the front and rear swing arms.
You can dial up the spring tension on the front coil spring to set the ski pressure as you desire, and adjust the spring tension on the rear coil spring to get the desired ride stiffness.
The limiter strap at the front of the rear skid is also adjustabe, and can be lengthened to reduce ski pressure.
As with any sled, checking and lubricating all the moving parts of the steering system helps.
There is a grease zerk at a pivot point on each ski strut, down just above the chrome part of the ski leg. There is a bearing in there, and it is a definite help to grease it periodically.
If you can jack the front of the sled up to get the skis off the ground, and check that the steering moves very easily, lock to lock, you should be able to play with the skids front spring pre-load and the limiter strap length and dial in the ski pressure from very heavy and aggressive, down to very light and easy steering.

Thanks! I was hoping for rear susp adjustability and have not even looked under there yet, good to know it can be dialed.

Right now I'm fighting with getting the pump gearcase off the engine, its on there real good. I got it to move about .030". lol. I'll have to make a better puller to yank it I guess. I just got this 83 and know nothing about its running condition. The clutch puller stripped out the clutch while I was pulling it so I had to resort to heat to get the clutch off.....now the clutch is junk and I need to get crank seals in it to be sure I'll have no issues. I noticed oil in the mag area and figured I better change all the seals on that side as well. I'll change out the water pump seal too. I'm also putting new rings in it. I hope the full gasket set (aftermarket) has everything I need. Any advice would be appreciated.

Glad to hear you're goin thru the old sled, particularly installing new crank seals.
Couple things I can pass on, after owning my '83 since 1989....
Yamaha was EXTREMELY conservative with the new Vmax when it was introduced for the '83 model year...understandable after having some problems with the '81 SRX....and then cancelling the release of the '82 SRX for some of the same problems...
The factory main jet in '83 Vmax's was a 330. This was very safe jetting, way too rich, actually. For the '84 models (and all subsequent years) the main jet was dropped to a 290... which ought to work well down to 0 degrees F and near sea level conditions.
The Comet clutch was a real oddball...after suffering clutch trouble with the Yamaha clutch on the '81 SRX, Yamaha contracted with Comet Industries to provide the drive clutches for both the '83 Vmax and the SRV.
But of course, they required everything be METRIC!...So, these particular clutches require a very specific puller with metric threads....unlike most Comets that use good, old 3/4 by 16 thread pullers.
The drive clutch also has a rather unique offset....most Comets (and others) have a "flush" mounting...these had the taper set to start .140 inch further out from the inner clutch face....plenty of info on this site regarding these clutches.
The twin fuel shut-offs may not still be sealed perfectly, and could suck some air....they're easy to take apart and pop a new o-ring in....worth checking out...
And the fuel filter is buried deep inside the tank...a bit different than most sleds.
Nothin' else very unusual, that I can think of...Good Luck getting the old V running!

I thought of a couple other things....unique to the '83 Vmax. The oil injection pump is very rich....Yamaha cut the oil output for the '84, and later years, nearly in half....They sure weren't taking any chances with warranty issues when they unveiled the new Vmax in 1983. and, they really didn't have any issues....they proved to be a pretty reliable sled.
Yamaha also changed the water pump seal after experiencing some troubles with the initial design on the '83's....lots of info regarding the water pump seal on this site, too.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1529

-T.S.S. Maintenance
On most every used T.S.S. sled I've bought the Knuckles and steel bushing are frozen and completely locked up and pivoting on the bolts to the point where the locked up joints won't even allow the springs to return let, alone the struts to work when hitting a bump. The T.S.S sleds have always gotten a bad rap for slop developing when the ungreased steel bushing's freeze up they grind away on the nylon washers ! I have sleds that are 20+ years old that have never had a bushing kit and are almost as tight as new. Just take the knuckles and the ski mounts apart every other year and grease !
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