The V-Max was designed by Atsushi Ichijo in a team led by Akira Araki with input from Ed Burke and John Reed.

[3][4][5] Upon its release in 1985, the V-Max garnered instant critical acclaim and earned the title "Bike of the Year" from Cycle Guide.

The engine was a tuned version of the double overhead camshaft, four valve per cylinder, liquid-cooled V-4 from the Yamaha Venture.

A small black box sends a computed signal to a servo motor that pulls a wire to open the butterfly valves.

The features of the VMAX include an all-aluminium frame with its 1,679 cc (102 cu in) liquid-cooled 65° V4 DOHC engine used as a stressed member of the chassis, an electroluminescent instrument readout, Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake (YCC-I), fully adjustable suspension, anti-lock brakes, slipper clutch, a fuel tank beneath the seat, and a distinctive key.

The YCC-T computes all the input of the sensors and calculates the best throttle position, ignition advance, EXUP valve and injection time in milliseconds.