New valk, slow pickup

[Youngsmoke]

Hey all.
  I am a noob to this board and my valk. just bought a 98 tourer on 5/22 and I love it.  it is a great step up from my shadow, which was a lot of fun, but I needed something bigger for my wife and I to tour on. 
   first i want to appologize if what I have to ask has been discussed before on this board.  It probably has, but I am having trouble finding it, so part of my question involves tips for searching the board.
   The meat of my question is this, I bought the bike with 49k on it, and it looks beautiful.  I was thinking that I would give it a tune up, oil and filter, air filter, coolant and final drive oil change.  anything else I should look to change or replace?  This is the only valk I have ever ridden, and I don't know anyone personally who owns one, but from what I have read, and what I am feeling, it seems like i am having a problem with pickup.  The throttle response is slower than it was on my shadow, and i understand that there is more weight to move, but there is also more engine to move it.  I am worried that i may have a clogged carb, any clues that would confirm or refute that?  I filled the bike and added some fuel system treatment, it seems to be helping, but we are not quite where I think it should be.
thanks for any advice.
 

[Thunderbolt]

Maybe someone near you can come by and check it out.  I found out about Seafoam from the folks here on the board and use it to help clear up clogged jets etc.  I feel like the new ethanol fuel is a contributing factor, I had one that clogged on my 99 Interstate.  I eventually took off the tank,airbox and forced some carb cleaner and a mixture of 1/2 Seafoam, 1/2 gasoline and let it sit for a couple of days.  Cured my problem.  Some have needed to take the carbs off or at least the bowls to get to the jets to clean them up. 
If you have never felt it when it runs correctly, it would be hard to judge.  Should be quicker than the shadow.

[Kingbee]

Going from a V-twin to a 6 is a learning experience.  The additional exhaust pulses make it sound like it's revving faster than it is. Don't be deceived because it doesn't accelerate at the same rate as the Shadow with the same amount of twist of the throttle. You may need to give it more twist. Have you tried "getting on it" when you accelerate?

[PatrickDoss]

Another thing to consider is that just because it's smooth, doesn't mean it's in the right gear.  If you're cruising around town in 5th at, say, 1600RPM and twist the throttle hard, it's not going to accelerate as quickly as it would if you dropped it down to 3rd.  With six cylinders, it'll still accelerate nice and smooth in top gear, unlike a smaller twin, which would be bucking at that kind of abuse.

[Spirited-6]

Congrats Youngsmoke on your Tourer.   I also went from a 1100 Spirit to a 98 Tourer. Boy, what a new ball game!!!! I went thru the bike front to back, changed all fuilds, air filter,tires, ect. I wanted to know where I stood on service so I started fresh with everything. The very first thing I learned about my Valk. was I did`nt need to keep RPM`s up like the Spirit. And of course, smooooth.   Good luck with your new Valkyrie. You will find all the help you need here on VRCC.