Long distance with no issues..

[falconbrother]

In the Harley world, where I have been for some time, it's an accepted rule that if you want to ride your Harley a long way and for a long time you leave it as stock as possible.  I intend to ride this Interstate till I'm too old to ride anymore and/or need a trike.  How many technical issues/breakdowns you would say are due to someone sticking their fingers in places they don't need to be to "upgrade" or fix things that aren't broken?  I see this old guy around that has way over 200,000 on his Valkyrie and it's still going.  It looks stock except for Cobra drag pipes.  I'd like to see my bike go a quarter million miles.  In the goldwing world 250,000 miles is as common as cornbread.  I personally know a few people with more than a quarter million miles on their stock wings.  One 1800 and the rest 1500s.   

[Fazer]

Lots of high mileage Valks.  I think Willow keeps a running total somewhere that a search will easily find.  There are lots of mods guys do for various reasons, many that I do not understand such as different jetting, trigger wheels to name a couple that are internal engine mods.  Pipes are another.  Other upgrades are more comfort or bling related such as Ultimate seat, upgrade windshield, shocks, car tires, etc that really don't effect the longevity of the bike much, as I see it.  Keeping the rear end maintenance up and other normal wear and tear items should be all you need for many many miles. 

This forum can help with any real repair issues you encounter along the way. 

Mind you, I am a veteran owner of almost ONE YEAR and about 7,000 miles of Valk riding.  I am sure others with REAL experience will respond.  My comments are almost totally the result of spending way too much time on this board.

[Gryphon Rider]

Most of the things done to improve power add perhaps up to 15 or so HP at the extreme, and don't affect reliability.  The exception to this is supercharging, nitrous, and more recently turbocharging, which add more power; I haven't heard how much these mods affect reliability.

Usually Valkyrie breakdowns are because owners (or their mechanics) haven't put their fingers where they should be putting them, not doing inspections and maintenance as required.

[BradValk48237]

Just do the regular maintenance and fix only what needs fixing' and she will go for a long time...

Be prepared to "eventually" have to replace some things (mostly rolling gear),.... but for the most part the engine and trans will pretty much last forever..LOL.  There is a gentleman on here that has over half a million miles on his Valk and still going.... many other with 100k plus...

I have 65K on mine and its just broke in.... The only thing I have had to replace is a clutch just this year (due mainly to my own fault), tires, brake pads..... the usual thing

In general.. don't mess with it mechanically, just add chrome and comforts..

B

[MarkT]

I have about a quarter million miles between Deerslayer (98 black standard) and BluByU (1800 wing).  Neither have mods that affect longevity, just safety & comfort (lights, stereo, seats, highway pegs, throttle lock), bling (chrome) and a little more power - pipes.  Just normal maintenance - rubber, shoes, fluids, light bulbs, grease rear end.  Once I had to replace a U-joint.  Some things are preventative - like add a Dan-Marc elect fuel solenoid valve to prevent hydrolock.  Add BonS's Smart Switch (or do my headlight relay mod, same thing) to preserve the switches.  I added a belly tank to my '97 Tourer Jade to increase range, and a Hitchdoc so I can tow a popup camper, and a Russell DayLong seat setup so I can ride huge miles w/o butt trouble. I added a Compufire alternator to Deerslayer so I could go crazy with electrical toys and super-lights.  And a compressor system so I could add an insane horn, air shocks with adjust-on-the-fly, and fill tires. I have a blown bobber I bought which a friend built - it's supposed to be pretty reliable as the boost is minimal.  It doesn't get ridden much; it's really a boulevard / show bike - wins trophies whenever it's put in a show.

Just do normal maintenance, some comfort and safety mods, and good idea to do the ones Honda should have done,  I mentioned above. You are riding a 500,000 mile bike w/o overhaul.  Just ask Bruce (DDT).

[gordonv]

Read this one.

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/Known%20Valkyrie%20Problems.htm

I always cringe when someone posts that they took their bike to a shop 1st, because it was "add your phrase here", and then get it back worse off and needing more work. Lean to read this forum and come here 1st to ask questions.

If you read long enough, you read about all the possible problems. But since this is the bitching pit, you think it happens to everyone, but it doesn't, it is actually rare. Things like bearings/u-joints fail, but in no set time (from 20K-150K miles). Petcocks fail, but more are on their OEM with no problems and 100K miles.

Read up on hydro lock. It can happen, and is very costly if you don't know about it when it happens.

Use the search feature. Sometimes try single words. Other times phrases.

[mark81]

Does anybody have any info on longevity of engines with attic rats mods?

[John Schmidt]

Does anybody have any info on longevity of engines with attic rats mods?

I know his mods improve performance, but they're done in a manner that allows the engine to perform more efficiently. Keeping that in mind, I feel the motor would be unaffected by his work re. longevity. If I had the $$, I'd have him do mine and maybe even my 1200 Wing.

[BobB]

A few years back, on one of my many trips out to the Black Hills, I stopped at a rest area to find a Harley rider sitting on the ground on the left side of his bike with a neat pile of black dust on the ground beside him.  A closer look revealed that his primary cover was off and the primary belt (the belt that drives the transmission) was in his lap.  I went over to chat and insure he had help, and learned that he was riding out of Chicago and had applied some of the staging modifications to the engine.  Someone failed to understand that that extra power has to be transmitted all the way to the road surface.  That is what insures reliability.  The pile of black dust was the teeth off the primary belt...