Newbie question

[proimage1]

As a new Valkyrie owner - I find myself paranoid about the side stand and this heavy beast falling ! I'm assuming the lean is normal but geeesh ...  it worries the heck out of me !
Any suggestions, tips, tricks would be awesome !

[old2soon]

Piece of 1 X 4 or a piece of 2 X 4 under the stand. Coming up on 3 years and 41000 miles of ownership and the stand has held her up. You also will learn to WATCH where you park. And B T W-I only use the wood in the garage. When i'm out and about just the stand and no wood usually. Last year at Eureka Springs Ar. in front of the room due to the parking lot contour my brother and I both needed something under the side stand. In this case it was pieces of flag stone. Hope this is of some help. And as an aside-these beasts are a handful to push backwards uphill by your self.  RIDE SAFE.

[miscott]

Welcome to the addiction!!
Yeah, when I got my Valk last year, the lean when parked really worried me to!
I solved the problem by getting one of these Rivco "Kickstandpads" from "ValkyrieBlingandMore".
It not only lessens the lean of the bike when parked, it also gives your sidestand a wider footprint!
Now my white hair isn't coming in quite so fast!!
Check it out here....

   http://valkyrieblingandmore.com/newrikipad.html
   

[proimage1]

Piece of 1 X 4 or a piece of 2 X 4 under the stand. Coming up on 3 years and 41000 miles of ownership and the stand has held her up. You also will learn to WATCH where you park. And B T W-I only use the wood in the garage. When i'm out and about just the stand and no wood usually. Last year at Eureka Springs Ar. in front of the room due to the parking lot contour my brother and I both needed something under the side stand. In this case it was pieces of flag stone. Hope this is of some help. And as an aside-these beasts are a handful to push backwards uphill by your self.  RIDE SAFE.

Good idea with the wood !  I'll do the same and will probably toss it in the bag !

[BF]

Mike at Valkyrie Bling and More made of run of kick stand adapters a couple years ago.  It'll raise the bike up some.  

I put shorter shocks on mine and that lowers the bike so it sits more upright-ish now than it did before.  

I've got one of those adapters.....somewhere.  I don't need it with the shorter shocks anymore.  

I just went out looking in the garage and can't find it.  It's in there somewhere, but I'm gonna have to clean out the entire garage to find it.  

Contact Mike at Valkyrie bling and more to see if he might have one or two still.

However, alot of folks just use a piece of wood while it's parked in the garage.  I used to do that before I got one of those adapters. 

Just beware if the rear tire goes flat overnight, you might go into the garage to find your bike has taken a nasty spill to the right.    

  

[proimage1]

Welcome to the addiction!!
Yeah, when I got my Valk last year, the lean when parked really worried me to!
I solved the problem by getting one of these Rivco "Kickstandpads" from "ValkyrieBlingandMore".
It not only lessens the lean of the bike when parked, it also gives your sidestand a wider footprint!
Now my white hair isn't coming in quite so fast!!
Check it out here....

   http://valkyrieblingandmore.com/newrikipad.html
    

I've got a footpad for my Triumph and it's good to know there's one that fits the Valk to - considering all of my hair is already white - maybe it'll start turning back to dark !

[Earl in Pensacola]

My '97 Tourer has 268K and about 200K ago I had a piece of 1"x 2" scrap iron welded to the bottom of the kickstand foot. It made just the difference and the additional weight has never caused a problem.

[proimage1]

Thanks Earl - sounds like a good idea !

[ValkyrieRider]

I like the lean on the kickstand on my valkyrie. I have seen bikes get blown over when they don't lean far enought during a strong wind. I am never worried about this happening with my bike.

[Grandpot]

Lean is good. If it stands up too straight it may go over the other way if a tire goes flat while parked.

[Alzacs]

In the shed, I have a 2x4 I put the kickstand on.  Out and about I like the lean.  I have learned how to mount the bike without wrestling her upright.  As I prepare to get un the bike I 'plop' into the seat and use my body momentum to pull the bike upright.  I'm only 5'7 and under 200lbs but it helps.  If you opt for the 'shoe' and it helps the hair... let me know.  I'll take ANY COLOR HAIR (if it comes back)

Sean

[al v]

12 inch instead of 13 inch shocks have the added benefit of letting the bike stand up straighter on the side stand in addition to lowering the ride height If you have shorter legs.

[Farther]

The lean is not a problem for me however, the shoulder of a crowned road or street does scare me.  I am concerned of the bike going over the other way.  A kick stand puck would just increase that chance of rollover.  But, I do have several crushed tin cans around the property that I use under the kick stand to prevent it sinking into soft soil.  Works real well when I am washing the bike in the yard.

[Hook#3287]

In 14 years of riding a Valkyrie, I've never had any problem with the side stand failing me.  I'm careful  not to park in a place that will give me a problem, such as a hill where the bike will be leaning too far one way or another.  Or on soft ground or hot pavement.  My feeling is, the engineers at Honda got it right and unless damaged, the stand is designed correctly.

Your results may be different.  

[proimage1]

Thanks for all the input !  No doubt I'll get used to the lean !  It is a beast of a machine !  I rode my Triumph for the first since I bought the Valkyrie a week ago today !  I honestly felt like I was on a mini bike - it was sort of neat and I think I'm going to enjoy having both !  It really confirmed how much bigger the Valkyrie is - totally different ride that Valkyrie is - in a really great way !

[BF]

Pretty much everything is a mini-bike after riding a Valk.  Even a Wing feels smaller to me than my Vak does. 

[Chrisj CMA]

I like the lean on the kickstand on my valkyrie. I have seen bikes get blown over when they don't lean far enought during a strong wind. I am never worried about this happening with my bike.

Then you have never weathered a storm at Cheaha 

[Mildew]

The crash bar stops her if all else fails. 

[john]

              " the engineers at Honda got it right and unless damaged, the stand is designed correctly. "               
      side stand bracket damaged/bent will allow more lean than normal ...           

[salty1]

              " the engineers at Honda got it right and unless damaged, the stand is designed correctly. "               
      side stand bracket damaged/bent will allow more lean than normal ...           

+1 I'm in the "like the lean" camp. Welcome to the insanity!

[Mildew]

Bought my bike many years ago. Lots of confidence in the stand. Not much in myself. I forgot to put it down a few times. Always happens when pretty women are around. Then I embarrass myself trying to pick it up

[Jess from VA]

I have two '99 ISs (suspended identically), and one leans noticeably more than the other.... looked at the stands and cross members several times and can find nothing amiss.  Even with no damage it is likely there is some variance between all Valks.

[pancho]

In any particular situation, if you need a bit less lean, turn the handlebar all the way to the right,, if you need a bit more, all the way to the left.

[proimage1]

  Thanks to all that took the time to respond - no doubt, it's me and not the stand nor bike.  I'm slowing gaining more confidence in the design and like the post directly above - when I do feel it's leaning more, I turn the handle bars slightly in the other direction.  I do think I'll try and get one of the wider kickstand pads for a bit more stability !   I have one on my Triumph and it helps a lot - the Triumph is quite a bit lighter than the Valkyrie !

[The emperor has no clothes]

Bought my bike many years ago. Lots of confidence in the stand. Not much in myself. I forgot to put it down a few times. Always happens when pretty women are around. Then I embarrass myself trying to pick it up

I hate it when that happens!

[Len]

My Valk has been lowered with 11" shocks and fork work, and I had the stand cut / welded to regain the original lean angle.  I did this because of a bad experince with my ZX12, it was lowered, and the lean angle was minimal on the side stand...washing it in the level driveway I bumped it while standing up from cleaning the chain = $1000 damage from the fall.

  I get on and off my Valk standing on the foot peg with the sidestansd down before, as well as after lowering with a tail bag on the seat. Buy a plastic Cycle Foot and keep it in your pants or jacket pocket for hot parking lots and soft areas, but do not fear the stand failing.  I have a high level of confidence in the Factory side stand, and the lean angle. These stands are robust and well engineered items..

Welcome to the amazing world THE VALKYRIE!

[proimage1]

My Valk has been lowered with 11" shocks and fork work, and I had the stand cut / welded to regain the original lean angle.  I did this because of a bad experince with my ZX12, it was lowered, and the lean angle was minimal on the side stand...washing it in the level driveway I bumped it while standing up from cleaning the chain = $1000 damage from the fall.

  I get on and off my Valk standing on the foot peg with the sidestansd down before, as well as after lowering with a tail bag on the seat. Buy a plastic Cycle Foot and keep it in your pants or jacket pocket for hot parking lots and soft areas, but do not fear the stand failing.  I have a high level of confidence in the Factory side stand, and the lean angle. These stands are robust and well engineered items..

Welcome to the amazing world THE VALKYRIE!

I'm gaining a lot more confidence just by reading all the post !  No doubt it's me and it's getting better everyday !

Thanks guys and Happy Father's Day to all of you who are !

[Regis]

In a group of Valks my 97" leans over more than most ! Its pretty noticable and several riders have commented on it . Not sure why it does .

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Length of rear shocks or the sag of the shocks can change lean angle.

[cajundood]

Piece of 1 X 4 or a piece of 2 X 4 under the stand. Coming up on 3 years and 41000 miles of ownership and the stand has held her up. You also will learn to WATCH where you park. And B T W-I only use the wood in the garage. When i'm out and about just the stand and no wood usually. Last year at Eureka Springs Ar. in front of the room due to the parking lot contour my brother and I both needed something under the side stand. In this case it was pieces of flag stone. Hope this is of some help. And as an aside-these beasts are a handful to push backwards uphill by your self.  RIDE SAFE.

Hehe.....you were at Mountain Inn in Eureka Spr. we had problems with uneven parking there also during BBB rally.

[gordonv]

It has been mentioned a couple of times, if the stand or cross member isn't bent or damaged.

For your own piece of mind, you should inspect it for any damage. If there is none, then the lean is OEM, and you need to feel comfortable that it is not a problem, just something that riders accept and live with.

Search might be good for you, it's been a few years since there was a post about fixing (replacing) the crossmember, with a square tube, making it better than OEM.