The reason they stop making the Original Valkyrie is...

[westsidevalk]

That was the plan all along!

This seems to be one of the topics that over the years remain open to a wide variety of speculation with no supporting evidence for a definitive reason.

Some say it was because Joe Boyd ( The Father of the Valkyrie) died, and had he lived it would have continued on in production.

Others say it was because sales were slow, and if sales were better  it would have remained in production.

Another school of thought contends that the Valkyrie  cut into  GL1800 sales, so Honda discontinued it.

All of these sound plausible, but there is no definitive evidence.  Over the years people seem to resign themselves to the fact that we may never know, and Honda is not telling,  and it will forever remain a mystery.

I was in this camp, and  it just didn't seem to make sense why they stopped making this magnificent motorcycle.

In one of the other Valkyrie forums the topic of " Made in USA" came up, and I wanted to learn more about where our bikes were actually made.

Here's what I learned.  The Engines were made, along with all the other Gl1500 Goldwing engines at the Anna, Ohio  Engine plant. They were then shipped to the Marysville, Ohio Motorcycle plant  and  our Valkyries were assembled there.

 Late in 1999, Honda's U.S. engineers  begin pulling motorcycle engine production tooling out of its  Anna Engine Plant in Anna, Ohio, and installing the equipment next to the motorcycle assembly line in Marysville.

I learned that Marysville was being extensively redesigned specifically to focus on the GL1800, the first one rolling of the assembly line in October of 2000.  

Since all of these production moves was made in the name of efficiency it seemed to me that to move the 1500 casting process, tool, and assembly line to Marysville would be a large investment for a Motorcycle  in which it already seemed they were pulling back on, with less variants each year and less colors, etc.

It is a  definite fact however that motorcycle engine production ceased at Anna in late 1999.

The 1500 casting process, tooling and  assembly was almost certainly  not  moved to Marysville, the redesign was totally focused on the 1800.

I thought, how can this be?  Where did the engines come from for the 2001,2002,and 2003 model years?  Where were future engines for the Valkyrie going to come from?

Then it occurred to me maybe this was part of the plan from the start.   I knew that part of the reason the Valkyrie concept made it into production initially was because  the Anna Plant's capacity to make GL1500 engines significantly exceeded the number they could use in Goldwings.  

Once I considered the possibility that the Valkyries production was never designed to go more than 7 years,  it seemed more and more plausible.

After all,  all they would have needed is about 6,000 more engines for the 01-03 model year.   The capacity was there, which was absolutely no problem for them to produce and  stamp ahead of time, with the actual  last  5 digits of the engine  serial numbers being  completed in Marysville.

It seems to me like the evidence is very strong that the Original  Valkyrie was never going to be produced past 2003.

The real reason they stopped making the Valkyrie is  also the  reason they started making it.  They started making it to take advantage of The Anna plants ability to produce a large surplus of Engines. They stopped making it once that advantage no longer existed with the end of Motorcycle Engine Production at Anna in late 1999.

This is what I learned this week during summer vacation.

[Jack B]

Sales were never great for the Valkyrie I bought my 98 Tourer as a leftover and it was  heavily discounted.
A year later they still had leftovers, even cheaper.
As far as cutting into the Goldwing sales, a sale is a sale, right? Did it matter if it was a Valkyrie or a Wing?
In 2014 and 15 Honda came one with the 1800 Valkyrie same story.
Will they make another one I doubt it but you never know, and don't forget about the Rune.

[_Sheffjs_]

When we say the motor was made in USA, is that assembly or the entire motor and all parts were made in Ohio?   

[cookiedough]

speaking of not selling,  where do all the carryover models of cycles go if not sold in 2-4 years after the fact?   Same for cars/trucks?  They all do not sell right when new? 

[F6Dave]

Actually, Honda ended motorcycle production in Ohio in 2009.  They built a bunch of 2010 Goldwings so the showrooms wouldn't be empty, skipped the 2011 model year, then began building 2012 models in Japan.

After Honda introduced the VTX in 2002, and with the new GL1800 already in production, it became obvious that the Valkyrie's days were numbered.  It was likely a combination of factors, and most of those mentioned seem plausible.  I do have a problem with the theory that Honda had thousands of engine cases laying around to use up, since the Japanese were such fans of 'just in time' manufacturing.  But with the low volume Valkyrie who knows.

Another factor not mentioned is Honda's tendency to dump good designs after a short run.  They did it with both Valkyries and the F6B.  The Rune too, though it was different as they apparently lost lots of money on each one.  Other manufacturers are able to build low volume 'niche' bikes for years.  Kawasaki did with the Concours and Yamaha with the Royal Star and V-Max.

Honda also isn't the same company it was in the 1990s.  After Mr. Honda died you could see the motorcycle focus gradually fade.  Exciting cars like the S2000 are gone as well.  I guess we should be happy to own these great machines from Honda's glory days.

[msb]

I guess we should be happy to own these great machines from Honda's glory days.

My thoughts exactly. It's fun to speculate on the reasons why it was discontinued, but the fact that is was after such a short run really does add to the uniqueness of these machines for those of us that still ride them to this day. Outside of our annual Valhalla Rally each year where the few Valks from BC join up with some others from WA, ID, AB, etc I can go a whole riding season up here without seeing another one on the road. We always stand out from the crowd

[F6Dave]

It's great to have these awesome machines from Honda's glory days, but those glory days were awesome too!  I remember the 1999 VOA rally in Montrose.  There were lots of vendors with brand new stuff.  At least one showed up in an 18 wheeler.  The BBQ in Crawford was catered by Joe Cocker 's wife.  Below is a fuzzy picture of Joe handing out some door prizes, along with a street full of nearly new Valkyries.

[F6Dave]

speaking of not selling,  where do all the carryover models of cycles go if not sold in 2-4 years after the fact?   Same for cars/trucks?  They all do not sell right when new? 

From what I've seen, the manufacturers increase incentives enough to get rid of the old inventory.  Dealers don't want then sitting around either as the inventory costs them in multiple ways.  But now and then I'll see an exception.  One dealer around here had a 2002 Valkyrie that sat in their showroom for years.  Apparently they'd spent a good bit of money on it and decided not to sell at a loss.

[hubcapsc]

a street full of nearly new Valkyries.

They look like they have OEM seats on them. I wonder how they got them
there? 

-Mike

[AwesomeDad]

I bought my 03 new may of 04. I recall seeing that dealer advertising new in crate models found in a ware house I believe into late 06 early 07. Models ranged from 98-03. Occasionally a rune would be listed on cycle trader new in crate well after production.

JJ

[westsidevalk]

I do have a problem with the theory that Honda had thousands of engine cases laying around to use up, since the Japanese were such fans of 'just in time' manufacturing.  But with the low volume Valkyrie who knows.

This puzzled me too.  I considered the actual know facts to reason out another explanation.

 The first fact was that motorcycle production stopped at  the Anna plant in late 1999. No more 1500 engines were being made.   

The second fact was that the retooling of  the Marysville line was dedicated to the efficient production of the 1800, with 1800 engine production next to the 1800 assembly line.

It is inconceivable that they would have spent millions to move all the 1500 casting machines, tooling equipment, and assembly line, and sub-assembly lines  for an engine that was essentially being phased out with the last GL1500 Goldwing   bring produced for the 2000 model year.

 The only available conclusion from this evidence  is that they cast and assembled the   engines  ahead of time. Even if they had a plan to continue production at Marysville they would have need to at least produce enough for the 2001 model year during  the time the line was down.

[The emperor has no clothes]

a street full of nearly new Valkyries.

They look like they have OEM seats on them. I wonder how they got them
there? 

-Mike

no kidding ! That looks like a lot of sore butts. 

[mhallock]

Hey, I still have my OEM seat on my 2001 IS (107,000 miles). not saying I would not like an upgrade, but it still carries me around!!

Mark

[Willow]

Hey, I still have my OEM seat on my 2001 IS (107,000 miles). not saying I would not like an upgrade, but it still carries me around!! 

Post 2000 OEM Standard and Tourer seats are comfortable.  All Interstate saddles are acceptable. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Hey, I still have my OEM seat on my 2001 IS (107,000 miles). not saying I would not like an upgrade, but it still carries me around!! 

Post 2000 OEM Standard and Tourer seats are comfortable.  All Interstate saddles are acceptable. 

comfort and beauty seemed to be related.

[hubcapsc]

Hey, I still have my OEM seat on my 2001 IS (107,000 miles). not saying I would not like an upgrade, but it still carries me around!! 

Post 2000 OEM Standard and Tourer seats are comfortable.  All Interstate saddles are acceptable. 

Riding several days on my 97 seat, before I got hiway pegs, was torture...

-Mike "I have an as-yet-to-be-installed Russell seat for my 1500 now... just need a Utopia backrest..."

[3fan4life]

a street full of nearly new Valkyries.

They look like they have OEM seats on them. I wonder how they got them
there? 

-Mike

I'll bet that they have OEM valve stems as well.

Those guys were such Rebels back then.