A warning to folks with "only" one Valkyrie (Now Serk's rebuild log)

[Serk]

I just wanted to give a warning to folks with only one Valkyrie - it seems once you break the seal, they start breeding like rabbits (Or evidently 13 year olds, but we won't go there.)

I bought my original Valkyrie in 2000. That was my only Valkyrie for 18 years.



And then in 2018 I traded the spousal unit's never ridden ST1300 for 3FanForLife's black Interstate:





And now, as of today, it would seem that those two got busy in the garage and added Valkyie #3 to the stable:







Newborns (Even 21 year old ones) are so much work, I've gotta start farkling her, modifying her, (Registering, titling!) her, after I HOPEFULLY fix a minor problem with the clutch slave cylinder leaking... And then deciding if I need to keep 3 (I don't, says the wife) or not.....

Fun times!

[Willow]

Congrats!  I see the possibility of you and Kali both on Istates.  Perhaps one of those 'States needs to be super valked.   

[Farside]

  Congrats I think, right A surprise like that means they are fond of each other 

[Serk]

I knew we'd strapped her down VERY well, but still I was a nervous wreck the whole 120ish miles home.... How do people regularly trailer their bikes long distances without totally losing their schnizzles?!?!?!

[Willow]

...

That's an interesting pillion configuration.  It looks like an OEM saddle with an Ultimate passenger backrest.

It's also an interesting tie down.  I hope you never have to get good at trailering a Valkyrie. 

[_Sheffjs_]

You most certainly have Valkvid-19, it went through the Florida folk like wild fire, some never recovered. I now have one from three. Polished her up today, all is well.  Serk Serk. What have you done!   

[Serk]

That's an interesting pillion configuration.  It looks like an OEM saddle with an Ultimate passenger backrest.

It's also an interesting tie down.  I hope you never have to get good at trailering a Valkyrie. 

Because of a few issues I hope to take care of, the seller dropped the price to an embarrassingly low level, but one of his requests was the Ultimate seat setup was transferred to his new to him blue and ivory tourer (You and I know there was no such thing, but he has one, it's beautiful!) bike. Because the Ultimate Interstate passenger backrest had no place in his not a tourer tourer configuration, it stayed.....

Once I'm convinced this is "my" main Valk, my HartCo custom seat configuration will be moved over to it anyway.....

The tie down job, what you see was mostly the "Just in case" configuration. There were hard tie downs on the forward engine guards, rear guards and I learned my one lesson about towing a motorcycle - DO NOT have the kickstand down!!!. The other tie downs that were visible were mostly just to make me feel better.... Still I wasn't comfortable until I was in my driveway and had the new to me bike unloaded.....

[John Schmidt]

Re. tie downs, you need to attach something to a high point to keep it from tipping over. I usually run a strap over the lower tree and off to the side mount on my trailer. Remove my seat and run a strap over the frame and another one on the back end to prevent major bouncing.

As for another Valk, I've been tossing around the idea of offering $3k to a guy about a 1/2 hr. away. It's a black I/S with 47k, runs good but needs some TLC. Had a sidecar attached last time I saw it but am told he had his son remove it. The guy is in his mid-70's and can't ride anymore....so he says.

[cookiedough]

I know how you feel wife said do NOT need.  I have 6 cycles/scooters in my garage for the 2 of us riding.  Plus,  kid bought an older 1982 Honda CM450C for 600 bucks 1 month ago but that is in college area up there,  but come WI winter,  I will have to find a home for that as well.

Leaving now to go up to see the kids today and he wants me to come back, if not raining later this afternoon, with his yamaha fjr1300 to sell it for him but not best time to sell cycles with 3 months tops to go in the riding season. 

so he wants to ride an old Honda twice his age costing 600 from a yamaha fjr1300 in darn good shape asking 4500 for it?  ??? ???

[MAD6Gun]

I knew we'd strapped her down VERY well, but still I was a nervous wreck the whole 120ish miles home.... How do people regularly trailer their bikes long distances without totally losing their schnizzles?!?!?!

 I just picked up an IS from Daprez north of Chicago yesterday. I have loops that go around the lower triple tree and I strap to those. Then two more loops around the frame right above the passinger pegs and strapped down there. You could turn the trailer upside down and it wouldn't fall out.lol. I have had my Valkyrie on a trailer more times then I want to admit (my wife can't ride long distance). So I'm getting pretty good at strapping it down....

[Rams]

Caveat:   No Intent to disparage anyone with more than one Valkyrie.

I have considered buying another Valkyrie several times but then, I ask myself, how much is enough.
I'm probably way different than most because, I'm the only person in my immediate family that rides.  If, my wife would ride one, she'd have one.  She won't.

I don't buy and sell Valkyries (which easily justifies multiple bikes).  I have purchased one (additional) and parted it out (I wanted certain things off of a non-running, no title Valkyrie) but, I can only ride one bike at a time.   I only have so much room for toys in my garage and it's not because I can't afford another.   Valkyries are so damn reliable, I can't justify getting another due to unreliability.   Is it that Variety is the Spice of Life?   I honestly don't know or understand.

Does it come down to who ever dies with the most toys wins?   

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking others who have multiple Valkyries, just not something I can justify.   Having said that, if I ran onto a "Super Deal", I'd probably take advantage but, such a deal would need to be extremely good cause, I just don't have the desire or need for multiple Valkyries or any other motorcycle.   

Color me weird, I guess.   My one fat lady is everything I want in a motorcycle.   At some point when my knees finally give out, I'll probably be looking for a Valkyrie Trike but, one is enough for me.

Having said all that, I'm keeping an eye open and an alert ear for the right Valkyrie Trike that's a Super Deal.   Yeah, the knees aren't what they used to be.

Rams

[Beardo]

I hear you Rams.

If I were to get another bike, it’d be an adventure bike. Another one? A sport bike. Not another of the same bike. Unfortunately, with us paying $2500+ per year per bike for plates up here, that’s just not likely.

Having said that, I totally understand, with Valks getting long in the tooth and parts becoming sparse, and plenty of ridiculously good deals out there, people like Serk jumping on a 2nd or 3rd bike. Especially when he’s got 2 riders (and more to come?) in the family.. 

[Rams]

I hear you Rams.

If I were to get another bike, it’d be an adventure bike. Another one? A sport bike. Not another of the same bike. Unfortunately, with us paying $2500+ per year per bike for plates up here, that’s just not likely.

Having said that, I totally understand, with Valks getting long in the tooth and parts becoming sparse, and plenty of ridiculously good deals out there, people like Serk jumping on a 2nd or 3rd bike. Especially when he’s got 2 riders (and more to come?) in the family.. 

Yep, with multiple riders, I can see that.

Being honest, if a really great deal came my way on a Valkyrie, I might do something about it but, that would mean some other toy would have to leave.   I'm kind of attached to all my toys. 

Rams

[Serk]

Yeah, I wasn't planning on being a Valk hoarder, but I'd had the itch for an Interstate, mainly for the trunk, and the deal for 3Fan4Life's came along, so I got that...

Also with the aging of our ladies, it's nice to have, as I look at it, a functional parts bike. Not that I'd use one as a cadaver to scavenge parts from, but if there's a delay in getting a part I need, that part could be borrowed from one to the other.

And having multiple riders has a big part to do with it as well.

This one was one of those deals I couldn't walk away from. Remember my post a few weeks ago about the auction with the low mileage Valks in it that I almost bought? The Interstate I just bought belonged to the gentleman that bought the blue and ivory at that auction, and we'd made some arrangements around that event and his consideration of later selling his Interstate at a very reasonable price, and then when the clutch slave cylinder issue came up his very reasonable asking price became even more reasonable, so.....

Once I get the new one functional, I plan on riding it for a while, transferring most of my favorite addons from the black Interstate, and if I feel confident that the green one will be my long term Valk, selling the black Interstate.....

But we'll see how it goes...

[scooperhsd]

I was remarking to the Wife yesterday how it might be nice to have a smaller, 2nd MC (something in the 600-800 CC class) that's not quite as much of a handful if it goes down / just riding around.

[Hook#3287]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

[Rams]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ya know, I completely forgot about that!  

Serk, let me know if you need assistance transporting more Valkyries.   I can handle about a dozen (at a time) but, you're gonna have to provide the tie downs.  

Rams

[cookiedough]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ya know, I completely forgot about that!   

Serk, let me know if you need transporting more Valkyries.   I can handle about a dozen (at a time) but, you're gonna have to provide the tie downs. 

Rams

they can ride double and he should be fine with 3 right?    Heck,  so far pretty skinny young ones so maybe even 2 on the rear seat vs. only 1 passenger?  good to go!   

Wait till you add something else and the wife cannot park in your 2 car garage even her 1 vehicle.  Here in WI winters I have to scramble to attempt to find room to put my wife's SUV inside the standard 2 car garage.  My enclosed trailer might be FULL FULL FULL this winter for sure.   IN Texas though with pretty mild winters,  parking outside is not too bad though am assuming? 

[Rams]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ya know, I completely forgot about that!   

Serk, let me know if you need transporting more Valkyries.   I can handle about a dozen (at a time) but, you're gonna have to provide the tie downs. 

Rams

they can ride double and he should be fine with 3 right?    Heck,  so far pretty skinny young ones so maybe even 2 on the rear seat vs. only 1 passenger?  good to go!   

Wait till you add something else and the wife cannot park in your 2 car garage even her 1 vehicle.  Here in WI winters I have to scramble to attempt to find room to put my wife's SUV inside the standard 2 car garage.  My enclosed trailer might be FULL FULL FULL this winter for sure.   IN Texas though with pretty mild winters,  parking outside is not too bad though am assuming? 

Mild winters comparatively speaking, yes.   But, that summer sun can be a bitch to seats, paint and besides that, no one really wants to leave their passion outside unprotected from the elements if they have a choice.   

Rams

[F6Dave]

A salesman once asked me a rhetorical question:  What is the right number of motorcycles to own?

His answer:  ONE MORE!

I have four, and found both pros and cons.  The pros win IMO.

PRO

• It's nice to have a back up to ride if one has a problem and you need to wait on parts.
• Different kinds of motorcycles (sport/cruiser/touring/adventure) increase riding opportunities.
• It gives you an excuse to ride more.

CON

• It can be a challenge finding garage space.  I currently have one sitting in my cargo trailer.
• If you don't rotate your rides you'll run into the problems all vehicles experience when they sit too long, like gummed up carbs and discharged batteries.

[cookiedough]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ya know, I completely forgot about that!   

Serk, let me know if you need transporting more Valkyries.   I can handle about a dozen (at a time) but, you're gonna have to provide the tie downs. 

Rams

they can ride double and he should be fine with 3 right?    Heck,  so far pretty skinny young ones so maybe even 2 on the rear seat vs. only 1 passenger?  good to go!   

Wait till you add something else and the wife cannot park in your 2 car garage even her 1 vehicle.  Here in WI winters I have to scramble to attempt to find room to put my wife's SUV inside the standard 2 car garage.  My enclosed trailer might be FULL FULL FULL this winter for sure.   IN Texas though with pretty mild winters,  parking outside is not too bad though am assuming? 

Mild winters comparatively speaking, yes.   But, that summer sun can be a bitch to seats, paint and besides that, no one really wants to leave their passion outside unprotected from the elements if they have a choice.   

Rams

that is why I am pleading with the misses to get a 12x24 foot storage shed taking up 1/3rd of my backyard to store MORE stuff inside.   I still then would have to leave 3 vehicles sit outside though like I do now all year long on our driveway with 1 vehicle then maybe going into the 2 car attached garage.  Sucks spending 2+ days and then some trying to organize my garage with inches to spare to attempt to get 1 vehicle in there.  My neighbor down the street somehow manages to shoehorn 2 cars and full sized truck with riding mower into his extended depth on one side 2 car garage.   

[Ramie]

I had to get ride of the Standard as it kept fighting with the I/S for my attention in the garage.  They made quite the ruckus.

[Rams]

I had to get ride of the Standard as it kept fighting with the I/S for my attention in the garage.  They made quite the ruckus.

Understood, nothing as annoying as two fat ladies fighting...………  I can only imagine the noise they make. 

Rams 

[Serk]

The joys of a 21 year old bike with an unknown history (Actually, I know more than most about the history from the previous owner, who only had it a brief time.)

I still haven't even been able to ride it yet, and now it's in pieces across my garage, waiting on parts to come in.... Fun fun fun!

I'm sure in her prime this bike was stunning (I mean, I know all Valks are, but even beyond that.) The original owner evidently liked green LEDs. There were hundreds of green LED's all OVER the bike. Most had stopped working, the wiring was flakey, some were just handling by their wire so I elected to trace them all down and remove 'em. Was kind of sad, like I was snuffing out someone's dream but it needed to be done.....

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)



So far I've:
Traced down and exorcised the green LEDs (Mercifully it looks like they were directly wired to the battery with an on/off switch, as far as I've found so far ALL the factory wiring is entirely intact!)
Removed the flakey air horn that was dangling below the radiator and stuffed an OEM "Pardon me" horn inside the right pod.
Oil change.
And replaced the headlights with LED.

I thought to take a pic after changing one bulb to LED and the other regular:

[Willow]

Looks like fun progress.

If you're going to hide a horn in the pod consider the Wolo Bad Boy.  It can be had for $30 - $40.  You should use a relay with the original horn wiring as input but the horn itself powered off the battery.

[Bighead]

Looks like fun progress.

If you're going to hide a horn in the pod consider the Wolo Bad Boy.  It can be had for $30 - $40.  You should use a relay with the original horn wiring as input but the horn itself powered off the battery.

Yep I put one in my right side pod and it worked so well my buddy had to have one. I fabricated a small L shaped bracket and mounted it to the side of the radiator with an existing bolt.

[Serk]

Looks like fun progress.

If you're going to hide a horn in the pod consider the Wolo Bad Boy.  It can be had for $30 - $40.  You should use a relay with the original horn wiring as input but the horn itself powered off the battery.

Heh, ironically the air horn that was dangling precariously under the timing belt cover:



I tinkered with trying to get it in the pod but just couldn't get it to fit and was worried I'd break the pod as I was getting madder and madder at it.

And, there was no relay.....

So I just went into my "Parts I've taken off Valks over the years" drawers and dug up an OEM horn to put in there and move on to the next project...

[Valkorado]

I'm sure in her prime this bike was stunning (I mean, I know all Valks are, but even beyond that.) The original owner evidently liked green LEDs. There were hundreds of green LED's all OVER the bike. Most had stopped working, the wiring was flakey, some were just handling by their wire so I elected to trace them all down and remove 'em. Was kind of sad, like I was snuffing out someone's dream but it needed to be done.....

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)

I had a 99 green Interstate "Big Bertha" that I bought out of California and sold in Colorado.  Probably a different bike, Bertha had nary a green LED on her when I had her.

[Willow]

Looks like fun progress.

If you're going to hide a horn in the pod consider the Wolo Bad Boy.  It can be had for $30 - $40.  You should use a relay with the original horn wiring as input but the horn itself powered off the battery.

Heh, ironically the air horn that was dangling precariously under the timing belt cover:



I tinkered with trying to get it in the pod but just couldn't get it to fit and was worried I'd break the pod as I was getting madder and madder at it.

And, there was no relay.....

So I just went into my "Parts I've taken off Valks over the years" drawers and dug up an OEM horn to put in there and move on to the next project... 

If it works make another run at it when you have a chance.  You will need to fab your own "bracket".  If I remember right for me that was an aluminum strip with two holes in it.

[f6gal]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ha!  That's what I told him!

[Serk]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ha!  That's what I told him!

...the triplets are 9, and so far, only one of the 3 shows any real interest in riding in any capacity other than as a passenger, but there's a LOT that can change between 9 and 16, so we'll see.....

[F6Dave]

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)

Was it one of these?  I took these at a Route 66 Rally/BBQ in Tucumcari in 2008.  I think half were from Colorado.  I have some shots from other angles, including license plates.

[Rams]

Umm Serk, how old are the triplets?

I'm thinking your gonna need 2 more.

Ha!  That's what I told him!

I'm curious, are you suggesting two more Valkyries or two more kids?   Or would that be two more sets of triplets?   

Rams

[F6Dave]

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)

The exhaust changed, but that second Valk has rails and a rack a lot like yours.

[Willow]

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)

The exhaust changed, but that second Valk has rails and a rack a lot like yours. 

The second from the left was out of Louisiana and I believe was wrecked after that picture.  I don't know about the second from the right.

Those racks and rails are fairly common.

[F6Dave]

(Wondering if anyone knew the bike/original owner? I'm told the guy who put the green LED's all over it was out of Colorado.....)

The exhaust changed, but that second Valk has rails and a rack a lot like yours. 

The second from the left was out of Louisiana and I believe was wrecked after that picture.  I don't know about the second from the right.

Those racks and rails are fairly common.

The second from the left appears to have a New Mexico plate, before I covered it.  The seat stitching matches too.  I have no idea if it's the same bike but there are several similarities.

[Serk]

Update -

I hate wrenching.

I hate wrenching so very very much.

I hate wrenching in 103 degrees even more.

But the replacement clutch master cylinder finally came in, as well as the slave cylinder rebuild kit, I've done the wrenching, and taken my first brief test ride around the block.

She's got a little hesitation at the lower end but I didn't give her time to really warm up, but so far the clutch is nice and crisp.

I'll let it sit for a while (I still need to get her inspected, titled, registered, etc, can't ride around TOO much without a license plate (Unless you're Steve Jobs)) and make sure the clutch slave cylinder was REALLY the problem, but considering the layers of funk if cleaned off from around the slave cylinder area, pretty sure that was it.

But after a week of ownership, I've finally ridden the new Interstate at least!

(Funny side story - I ordered the Honda parts next day air last Saturday. I ordered a Eastern Beaver PC-8 fuse box on Tuesday with their cheapest default shipping option. The Honda parts came from Ohio, the fuse box came from a city about 100 miles outside of Tokyo. They both were delivered today from the same FedEx truck.)

[larue]

Hey Serk is that new led bulb safe on the housing reflector?

[Serk]

Hey Serk is that new led bulb safe on the housing reflector?

YMMV and all that, but I ran that same bulb on my prior Interstate for over a year with no issues...

[larue]

Hey Serk is that new led bulb safe on the housing reflector?

YMMV and all that, but I ran that same bulb on my prior Interstate for over a year with no issues...

I ordered a set for my interstate. Thank you