What year Interstate?

[Str8shooter]

Noob here,
        Will be Interstate shopping hopefully this weekend. What year would be the best? As far as mileage goes I've seen them with 1300 miles up to 47,000 and they still look great. At what point do the miles become an issue? I know it probably depends on the owner and his/her taking care of the maintenance at the proper time. As far as the petcock and the drive line issues, is their any rhyme or reason to when they may fail? (mileage,age). Thanks for your help and recommendations.
 

[NiteRiderF6]

Just find a nice one with some documented maintenance on it and ride the heck out of it. Any year, model of Valkyrie will perform well and do a great job of carrying you and your stuff many many miles. If it runs well.... go for it. My IS is a 99 model.... and they only made them for three years, so find a nice one and bite it off. Ride Safely!

[NCGhostrider]

Best wishes on the hunt!

These things are pretty much trouble free.  I have seen a few with the saddle bags cracked on bottom, in fact, mine did a couple of years ago.  Look everything over, check maintenance records if possible, and buy one.  If you read the board a bit, you will find that the Valkyrie in general is capable of very high mileage and is dependable.  However, like all machines, some have failures in one area earlier than others.  You will hear/read lots of discussion about drive splines, wheel bearings, the occasional coolant drip, and poor gas mileage.  Don't let it scare you, they are great bikes, I have had one since 2000 and have had a few mechanical issues, but all were easily repaired and not major.  Most problems, like the rear end spline problem are preventable with maintenance, the rest I chalk up to variances in production tolerances and now, age of the bike. 

If I could buy a new one today, I would do it all over again, in fact, I have had two, the first one didn't make it through the divorce, and the second one was the first major purchase I made afterward.  I still don't think there is anything on the road to replace it.

If you buy an extremely low mileage bike, it hasn't been ridden, and if it hasn't been serviced recently, I would gamble you will need to do some carb cleaning and definately change fluids throughout.  Look at tire age, and consider new tires immediately if they are several years old, even if it is low mileage.  The original dunlops that shipped with the bikes were very poorly made and in some cases dangerous... I doubt there are many left on the bikes out there now (usually a 3000 mile life span).   

If the bike is above 50k or so, consider it just broken in.  Hopefully it has had the fluids changed regularly and its early life has been easy on it..  I would find out if it has been parked the last 3 years or ???  It has been my experience that cars/bikes that set up without running are sometimes worse than high mileage cars/bikes that are driven daily...

Some of these guys on the board have a lot of miles their bikes, they can add to things, but the best bet is to read the tech board and look for similar posts of common problems.  There really aren't a lot compared to other bikes.

see ya,

Craig
 
NCGhostrider
99 I/S 

[Jess from VA]

There is little to distinguish '99-'01 Interstates(IS).  Either in '00 or '01, all Valks got clearcoated wheels, which I don't have on my two '99 IS's, and seriously wish I did.  Course, newer is always better, but the particular condition (and number of preexisting, and often hard to find/expensive, accessories like bag rails) of the few you will find available to you should be the deciding factor.  You should go to Shop Talk on this forum and do some reading.  There's also some info on common problems on the Rattlebars site.

Also here are the build numbers for IS; odds are you will find a '99 because a lot more were made than in '00 and '01.

Interstates
 US-49 State
 California
 Canadian
 All Others
 Totals
 
1999
 5,000
 400
 80 
 5,480
 
2000
 2300
 200
 150
 40
 2,690
 
2001
 1020
 100
 300
 20
 1,440
 

 9,610
 

[TheValk]

Can't tell you the answer but for what it's worth mine has a '99 build date, registered here in Australia in 2000- had her since new, now with 110,000kms up- not so much as a squeak caused any trouble (although I see a headlight globe has now gone out!)- serviced by same Honda dealer since new- have even just changed the original battery!!- I have a few Ironbutt rides up on the great machine, and would only let her go to buy a Goldwing, but at A$43,000 that's not likely soon. Cheers from Downunder

[Momz]

Just a note of clarification.
None of any Interstates had "clearcoated" wheels.

[cutter]

Have a 99' I/S bought new right out of the crate in 2001. I have over 165000 miles and I ride her almost everyday. The only problems I have had has been with the alternator. It has been rebuilt 3 times and was nothing more than a small inconvenience. These machines are easy to work on. Go out and get ya one and wear the road out. 

[stormrider]

check oodle.com for a large list of Valks for sale.

I would buy the one with the color I wanted and the most bling. Trust me on this one. I went for the lowest milage one three years ago and was going to add the bling myself. Jeez, at $750 for bag guards, CB radio, etc. I would've come out better going for the one with lots of extras and only 20k more miles.

[humshark]

Mines a '99 and it did sit a bit before my purchasing it.

I DID have to run carb cleaner through numerous times to get 'er purring but now at 40+k miles she is just starting to break in!

I would say the best advice here so far is -
1) YEAR doeasn't matter - 99, 00, 01
2) BEWARE extremely low miles for these bikes - 6 carbs and mostly ethanol gas available make for performance issues on the ones that sit.
3) Get as much "BLING" as you can with your original purchase.  Trade miles for "BLING" if possible and sell / trade what you don't want for the stuff you do want!

Buy it, and ride it, like you stole it!

[ChromeDome]

Got mine in 01 brand new .... only problem was with the rear wheel bearings (went through 3), ended up getting a replacement rear wheel and no problems ever since.

Like others have said, get the one with as much of the bling that you would add, it has become very expensive.

I would also check with your local dealer and see what they would charge to go over the bike, no matter what paperwork the owner has it is never a bad idea to get a second opinion.

And plan on miles of smiles. 

[f6john]

Just a note of clarification.
None of any Interstates had "clearcoated" wheels.

Not sure the term clearcoat is correct but 01's had a polished and protected finish, as did the 02 and 03 standards. I bought a set of new take-offs but never used them as I didn't like the unmachined portion of the wheel behind the rotors. Decided to keep my present wheels and polish them out myself.

[DIGGER]

There is little to distinguish '99-'01 Interstates(IS).  Either in '00 or '01, all Valks got clearcoated wheels, which I don't have on my two '99 IS's, and seriously wish I did.  Course, newer is always better, but the particular condition (and number of preexisting, and often hard to find/expensive, accessories like bag rails) of the few you will find available to you should be the deciding factor.  You should go to Shop Talk on this forum and do some reading.  There's also some info on common problems on the Rattlebars site.

Also here are the build numbers for IS; odds are you will find a '99 because a lot more were made than in '00 and '01.

Interstates
 US-49 State



 California
 Canadian
 All Others
 Totals
 
1999
 5,000
 400
 80 
 5,480
 
2000
 2300
 200
 150
 40
 2,690
 
2001
 1020
 100
 300
 20
 1,440
 

 9,610
 

How many total Valks were sold during their reign of 96-03 ?     Since there was not a whole lot of them sold what are the chances of a Valk being valuable some day?

[Oss]

got my 01 a few years later with around 3000miles on it

Had 1 alternator go out around 26,000 miles and changed the battery at the same time

Now I am at 52000+ and no other problem mechanically

CB would have been nice if it came with the bike but I did have the pod lites.



Mo miles is better than a bike with few miles that is just settin around and gettin its gas all gummy in the carbs

You will be happy.   Just remember its a big bike. When you come to a stop make sure the front wheel is pointin straight ahead of you and lay off the front brake in low speed parking lot situations and you wont have to pick her up

Dont ask how I know..it wasnt me, just someone who looks just like me

Oss

[Jess from VA]

How many total Valks were sold during their reign of 96-03 ?     Since there was not a whole lot of them sold what are the chances of a Valk being valuable some day?



See here:   http://www.valkyrienorway.com/HOW%20MANY%20BUILT.html

Total (all Standards, Tourers & Interstates ): 48,420

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I picked up my 2000 I/S for a song from a guy in need of some quick cash.  It had 59k miles on it and had been rode hard and put up wet alot of times. I serviced all the fluids, changed all wheel bearings, greased the splines and drive shaft ends. Ran some new rubber under her. Gave her a well deserved waxing and with a new baseline to schedule maintance I've put 50K on her since then. I did lose an alternator at about 90k but that is it. I agree if you find one with a lot of aftermarket chrome and say bag guards let that figure in to the deal as those parts are getting hard to find and pricey.