Lovin' it.
has its quirks...
I'm trying to think of my bikes quirks- not sure it has any. Starts easy, runs consistently powerful (or is it powerful consistently), uses no oil, decent handling.
What quirks would you be referring to? Anything in particular?
Very high speed, and very low speed wobble. The low speed wobble is only when turning. I can take my hands off the bars at all speeds under 110 and no wobble. With the fairing and front wheel off, the trees stay where I put them. Don't think it's the stem bearings. Most likely tire wear at low speed, and air over the fairing at high speed. I'm gonna call it normal based on what I've read here. The rear avon makes noise in turns. Apparently this is a common issue, and it has a name..."dragon growl"...I'll try a different rear at my next tire change, and if it comes back I'm going DS. Trunk and fairing rattles (mostly fixed). Front end dive when braking fixed with progressive springs and new fork oil, but it's a bit on the stiff side now. My fork legs have a bunch (a lot. many. maybe hundreds) of little scratches on them from where the fork seal rests to where the lowest point on the leg the seal can reach. Looks like the previous 2 owners neglected the maintenance on the forks. They don't leak anything to worry about, but I'll replace them when the stem bearings go. 3 sets of shock bushings in 8k. One that were on the bike when I bought it, 2nd were polyurethane, 3rd were stock. I'm 270 lbs., but still... VTX used the same bushings and didn't go through 3 sets in 30k. Valkyrie is heavier, but damn... I've got 440's on now, so we'll see. Might just be my fat ass...
U-joint was causing some vibration. It had VERY little play, but play it had... Vibes went away when I swapped it out. My wife's car gets better gas mileage...
. It will NOT start without a little throttle. It'll start down to the low 40's without the choke, but it HAS to have a little throttle to start at any temp. By little I mean just enough throttle to feel tension. Not much. I could crank it 'til the battery dies unless I give it a very little bit. Front calipers would rattle going over the slightest little bump, but new pad springs solved this problem. I should say the pads were rattling, not the calipers, but whatever.
When I say quirks, those are what I'm talking about. Minor for sure.
It runs flawlessly, and hasn't used/burned/leaked a drop of any fluid except the tiniest little bit of fork oil since I've had it. It handles exceptionally well at slow slow speeds for a bike of its size. I can go lock to lock in a parking lot with ease. Once I'm in 5th, I can stay in 5th from 30 mph on up and barely feel any vibration unless I'm climbing a hill. In the mountains/twisties I can leave it in 3rd from almost barely rolling up to 80ish and still push myself back in the seat when twisting the throttle. I'm NEVER in the wrong gear. I thought it was a little piggish when I first got it, but now I can make this bike do anything I want it to do at pretty much any speed I please. It is SMOOTH... After being on loud, vibey bikes for nearly the last decade, and even though I'm thoroughly used to the Valk, I still find myself twisting the throttle a little bit sometimes at stoplights to make sure it's still running. I ride with guys that ride a V2k, Vmax, RS Warrior, and VTX's of both the 13 and 18 variety, and I'll pull on all but the V2k and the Vmax. I can't say that it does any one thing exceptionally well, but it does VERY well at EVERYTHING I ask it to do. This bike is my main source of transportation, and I couldn't ask for a better bike for that purpose. I love this bike.
