Here’s one more piece of killer Yamaha VMAX machinery in the form of the Infrared, a custom build from German creator Jens von Brauck (JvB). Unlike the previous special edition, the VMAX Carbon, the Infrared is a one-off custom creation sporting extensive use of handmade parts which add solid value to the two-wheeler. Truth be told, we like the Infrared more than we enjoyed the Carbon, possibly because is exudes a retro vibe which mixes into a short circuiting combination with the knowledge of how brutal the current model is.
Jens von Brauck has not tampered with the mechanical aspects of the VMAX, and preferred to change its character by using only aesthetic design language. If anything, some extra grunt can be had from the aftermarket exhaust, which is a 4-into-1 Termignoni sport can.
Hand-crafted parts make this VMAX unique
However, all the magic lies in the details, as von Brauck was not shy to hack, saw and tinker around the VMAX to turn it into a bike well-worth celebrating the 30th anniversary of the initial model. In fact the very paint scheme harks back to the retro racing livery Yamaha was using back in the day. The overall shapes are a mixture of radical bobber meeting roadster meeting café-racer, but the VMAX DNA is never lost among details.
Aluminium and carbon fiber shake hands in this build, as Jens von Brauck feels equally comfortable working with both. Multiple parts have been crafted in-house, such as the tank cover, headlight casing, the aluminium subframe and the carbon tail section which also incorporates a secondary fuel tank.
One of the most badass features of the Infrared are unquestionably the redesigned air scoops. Jens reworked them from stock units sourced from the original ‘80s VMAX. The bars are also changed, introducing the café vibe. Instrumentation and signals come from Motogadget and Autometer.
It would have been truly great if we could have found out the opinion of Kenji Ekuan, the designer of the original VMAX had on Jens von Brauck’s Infrared custom beast. Unfortunately, Ekuan passed away days ago, as his creation was turning 30.
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