No pics and I thought no ride report nobody wants to hear about a drive in a pickup truck
I had to take that to pickup parts from John Schmidt. Briefly, bugs, interstate, cows, open areas a little traffic, did I say bugs that looked like a b52 on the windshield? All went well, as I pulled up to Johns house I just stood there and laughed. This I should have had the camera for, there was a partially disassembled Valk with the rear off the carbs off parts on the floor tank off and a newly mounted car tire sitting there. His Valk all pretty was just a few feet away. Its a modern day Norman Rockwell painting. As I was welcomed into the house some serious concentration about parts on the phone was going on. Well after a few minutes talking and greeting after John got off the phone it looked like John had every thing in good order. He is working on a Valk that looked really good but needed some major work. It looked as if the owner had literally just ridden the bike without the benefit of any maintenance aside from changing the oil and a occasional cleaning. I also had a chance to look at Johns bike the one he uses as a icon for his name and what a beautiful bike. He obviously has a nack for this and it showed in how beautiful the bike looked. One thing I will comment on he has the coolest seat of any I have seen so far, my own included. It looks beautiful in the pics but I thought it was going to be hard well when I touched the seat it was like a slice of heaven. It was just soft enough to make you think you were in your living room couch but did supply that support that was needed. I am constantly amazed by the people on this board the more I talk and visit the talent across the board is amazing. John in my estimation should be credited with not only the repairing of some Valks but the general restoration to those Valks that have been worse for wear also the victim of awefull repairs. Just from what I have seen and we talked about and I also agree with John that I have seen more than a few bikes savaged from the dealer. This leads to the idea that the bikes are a piece of garbage which we all know is the farthest from the truth. With Johns painstaking work a few raised eyebrows at the radical surgery he has had to do they come from his hands a beautiful bike that performs as it should. A sense of pride can be restored to the Valk ownership that was taken away. This, let me remind all is the type of things that bolsters resale value. If you see a beautiful bike on the road and want it then we all know the laws of supply and demand. I wasn't going to comment on my visit with John, but thank you John for your time and for what you do for the general Valkyrie cause. If you didn't get the idea that John can fix your bike then let me state this outright there are very few that will take the time like John to put things right with your ride.
