New to Me 03 Valk Standard

[dave011182]

A week ago today I picked up an 03 Standard in showroom condition, I aboslutely love it. Berfore I came accross this sweet beast of a bike I hadn't seen one in person in over 10 years. I was quite unfortunate that my father inlaw had to sell his 97 due to back problems. As soon as I saw mine listed on craigs list I had to have it. Only a week earlier the wife and I were interested in and looking at HD ultra glides, but seriously did not want that kind of payment. Seeing all the different customized bikes and options for the Valk shown here made it the perfect choice for me to get us exactly what we wanted in a bike.

I seem to be coming to a stand in deciding o a fairing though, there seem to multiple options with pros and cons to each. I really would prefer to not have to relocate the gauges, I have contacted woody to see if he thinks I could do a custome setup with only 2 speakers and mount the guages into the fairing. I thought this would be a nice setup but I'd probably want to upgrade the speakers to make up for only having 2. Has anyone else tried this? Any opinions on fairings and luggage would be greatly appreciated, as I plan on fully dressing this beast so we can go for rides much longer and more comfortably than we ever could on my old 92 shadow.

[old2soon]

Being as i have an I/S can't really help on tme mods. I will say though-welcome to the insanity. Lotsa knowledge available here on these dragons we ride. Might try the search feature maybe on the tech board. Enjoy the new to you scoot. Again welcome from the ozarks and RIDE SAFE.

[BF]

First off.......welcome to the addiction.  

Fairings.......Highly recommend a Woody's.  Don't know if he'll do a custom or not.  He's a one-man shop and if he'll do a custom, you might have to wait on it for a while before getting it.  A couple of guys have posted up in the past before about putting a Harley fairing on their Valks with the gauges mounted in the HD fairing.  They looked very nice....but look like alot of work too.  

Here's a bunch of threads talking about farings and fairing options....

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,26182.0.html

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,8667.msg67676.html#msg67676

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,16679.0.html

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,24751.msg221857.html#msg221857

By "luggage" I assume you mean saddlebags and/or trunk options.  

Here's some discussions on saddlebag options.....

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,30113.msg275119.html#msg275119

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,28848.msg262696.html#msg262696

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,27486.msg250123.html#msg250123

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,25339.msg227827.html#msg227827

[BF]

The short version on bag options is this......

OEM's....good luck finding them.  If you do, used ones routinely go for well over a grand.  Even road-rashed and wrecked bags can go for big bucks.  

Aftermarket bag options.....

Champions.  Very nice bags.  Look just like OEMs (just slightly different and mount with their own mounts).  Very expensive.  A set of those new can set you back around 1200 to 1500 bucks.

Mustang.  They offer a very nice hard bag.  They're actually Tsukayu Quick Release Strong bags that have been covered with Mustang's material to look like leather.  They come in plain or studded.  About half the cost of used OEM's or new Champions.  

Tsukayu.  Very nice bags, are close to resembling OEMs, much cheaper in cost (about half of used OEMs or Champions), look good, good value, lots of options....can get them in a Jumbo size too.  

LeatherLyke.  A hard bag that looks kinda like a soft bag. Some have expreienced cracking around the mounting holes.

BossBags.  A hard bag that looks very much like a soft bag.  Very, very nice bag....but expensive.  

There are other options of course (such as National Cycle)......you just have to spend some time surfing the www.  

[BF]

btw.......Woody's fairings are specifically made for the Valk and fit a Valk like a glove. 

Here's a pic of a Valk (not mine) with a Woody's fairing that's sporting Ultimate seats (looks like a King Big Boy) and a set of Champion hard bags. 

[FloridaValkRyder]

Welcome Dave. I am relatively new to the forum also. I bought my 99 I/S about a month ago and I swear it is a love affair already. I have received so much help and information on here it staggers the mind. You are about to join a group of men and women who just love their Dragons as much as you do! Good luck with your quest for bag and fairing help. Trust me, you will get it. Enjoy, ride safe and wear a helmet.

[Garry 2r's]

Dave

Glad you made the decision to buy a valk a friend of mine told me to do the same 6 years ago and glad I did. so have had this long to make it mine. almost done!! (never done) since photo have added Utimate seats and custom painted hard bags to match. my fairing is a harley and fits perfect. Nice to have different options for windshields and have freedoms wings on the side. If you want more info my e-mail is hollydogdog@frontier.com. Welcome to VRCC

[BF]

Garry.....

Two questions.....what HD fairing is that?  I've never seen a fairing with that inner part of the fairing before. 

And.....are those Road King bags you've got mounted there?  Would love to see more pics of 'em. 

[DIGGER]

If I'm not mistaken they only made the standard in 03.   I think the IS was discontinued after 1999 and the Tourer was discontinued after 2000???  Anyone know why they discontinued the Tourer and the IS?

[MacDragon]

If I'm not mistaken they only made the standard in 03.   I think the IS was discontinued after 1999 and the Tourer was discontinued after 2000???  Anyone know why they discontinued the Tourer and the IS?

Huh???  Don't understand... My Standard is a 2000...

[Willow]

If I'm not mistaken they only made the standard in 03.   I think the IS was discontinued after 1999 and the Tourer was discontinued after 2000???  Anyone know why they discontinued the Tourer and the IS?

Huh???  Don't understand... My Standard is a 2000...

I believe he meant in '03 they only made the Standard. 

[Jess Tolbirt]

my I/S is a 2000

[RainMaker]

If I'm not mistaken they only made the standard in 03.   I think the IS was discontinued after 1999 and the Tourer was discontinued after 2000???  Anyone know why they discontinued the Tourer and the IS?

They weren't selling would be my guess.

[DIGGER]

my I/S is a 2000

yeah, you are right about the dates.  I would have thought that the Tourer at least, would have sold better than the Standard.  You know, I don't think I've ever seen such a great, trouble free, beautifull, powerfull, cheap high speed cruiser have such a short life.  about a 7 yr run.  I just don't understand why they didn't sell better than they did.  I don't think anyone has ever made such a dependable , trouble free cruiser motorcycle...........ESPECIALLY BEING MADE HERE IN THE USA.  You know, being made here in the USA didn't seem to boost the sales of the Valkyrie much at all.  I would have thought it would have.  I'ts the main reason I bought my 99 Tourer in 1999

[Jess Tolbirt]

I don't understand it either, back in 96 i bought a new wing and in 97 a friend bought a new Valkyrie Tourer, red and white,,,after 7 years he finally convinced me to ride a Valkyrie and i bought it,, after a while i wanted a real cruiser,, so i bought a Harley Electra glide,,after about a year i was bored with it, and jack was selling his red and white,,i bought it,,,painted it blue and put a Harley fairing on it,, loved that bike,,,well i wanted a dresser so i sold my 97 ,,and took the money and bought what? YEP my 2000 interstate,,,
we may stray but we will return,,,and those that never owned one will never know the feelings we have for ours,,,

[dave011182]

Been busy this last week here in Virginia Beach, Now that Irene has passed things are somewhat normal again. I managed to get the major issues with my roof patched, and we got to start our vacation in Duck (outer banks of North Carolina) only 2 days later than planned.

Last week I picked up some K-Drive rigid mounted quick detach leather bags and a Memphis Shades Fats windshield with handlebar speakers mounted in the brackets, a local steal from craigslist. These will hold me for a little while until I figure out exactly what I want in a fairing and hard bags. The guy I got them from has an 03 Standard, he recently upgraded to the hoppe quadzilla fairing and police bags from a Harley. His bags look nice with the push button latch upgrades and paint to match the bike. I may try to find some myself later. I'd attach pictures but have yet to figure out how, not seeing an attachment option. Edit, photo attached thanks to Jabba's instructions to use photobucket

I have been doing allot of reading about the fairings and come down to 3 options that appeal to me.

Woody's fairings are great looking and you can tell it was made for the valk, and would require no painting to match my bike, and seems that hd shields will fit for more options later. But I am hung on the gauges being mounted on the handle bars. The gauges on the bars just doesn't appeal to me, I'm glad I got to see the setup in person when I picked up the leather bags. Glen of woody's is a great guy, I can tell from the email info I got from him and his replies/posts I've come across in multiple forums while doing research

Wide Open Customs look nice, install would be extremely easy since it uses Memphis shades brackets, it would leave me the option of removal and switching the the fats shield I have on hotter days. Painting the ABS plastic could be tough for me to do or expensive to have done, and I cant tell if its going to require custom shields or not. Any input or experience with these fairings would be appreciated.

Last is a HD fairing, there a just allot of options here alone. I would really like to know more about the one that Garry has, and I read that EOD MOE used the Memphis brackets to mount his. Very interesting to me, I would like to see pictures of how that was done.

The only other thing I've done is look at stuff on eBay, I kind of like the look of a trunk shown there listed as an RK tour pack, since apparently the first one the guy sold was installed on a road king. They also appeal to the price point. I can get the trunk with a wrap around backrest for the wife and matching hard bags already painted.  seller autopart2000. any input or experiences here would also be greatly appreciated.

[Willow]

any input or experiences here would also be greatly appreciated.

If you really like your 2003 and the most important upgrades for you are hard bags and a fairing, why not sell the Standard and buy an Interstate.  The very most you would spend in difference should be $2000 which is less than it will cost to put hard bags and a fairing on the Standard.

[dave011182]

If you really like your 2003 and the most important upgrades for you are hard bags and a fairing, why not sell the Standard and buy an Interstate.  The very most you would spend in difference should be $2000 which is less than it will cost to put hard bags and a fairing on the Standard.

I did look at a couple of I/S models online, nearest one to me was several hours. Having the 03 also appeals to me for the fact it is the last year the bike was made, this I/S was discontinued earlier. I really like this bike and just got it 2 weeks ago, haven't even made my first payment yet. With the I/S being older and having 2 to 3 time the mileage on average financing might have been allot more difficult. I am younger so I don't have enough set aside for larger purchases without compromising the financial security my wife and I have built up in our savings. Now that I have this bike and have sold the 1100 Shadow I had for 12 years(got it my senior year of highs school) I have the extra funds for some upgrades/customization. I like the look of the add on fairings better, and the IS seems to have allot of extra stuff going on with the handlebars. I like the clean simple look I have now, that's why I prefer to not to relocate the gauges to the bars. I do understand you point though.

[BF]

Here's a discussion on trunks.......

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,25339.msg227827.html#msg227827

http://www.valkyrieguy.com/tsutrunk.htm

[dave011182]

I decided to go with the hd fairing, inspired by EOD Moe here http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,16679.0.html
and Full_Throttle here http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=26182.0.html

This is how my fairing came out




I may end adjusting ans setting it lower, I mounted it to the forks using memphis hardware and brackets i made based off actual harley brackets(a set of them probably would have worked just the same, just cost more). The light bar came off a road king, the gauges I used are VDO viewline marine gauges(they actually fit better than stock hd gauges when compared to the police bikes I looked at and used to base my brackets from). I'm a mechanic for the City of Virginia Beach.

Next is deciding on some hard bags, been looking at Mutazu RS and LN series, and their DMY trunk with a wrap around backrest. Does anyone have any experience with Mutazu products, they only have a few pics of Valks with their products and not from the angles(direct side view) that show how well they really look on the bike.

[Chiefy]

Can't help with the fairing.  But welcome to the board with that sweet looking ride    You're gonna love it.