The joy of no technology on my Honda Valkyrie standard

[LTD]

Todays bikes are incredible with all the new technology, Indians new challenger has lean technology, one cylinder shutting off at a standstill, just to name a few. Some bikes have heated grips, heated seats, cruise control, radio, ipod connection, apple car play. etc... the list goes on forever. Nothing you don't already know.  And its all great as long as it all works.  My standard has no check engine light it runs or it doesn't. On the tach it has a sidestand switch light, radiator light, and oil light only the side stand switch has ever come on. No cruise control I just hold it and ride been all across America never bothered me.  love that it still has mechanical mileage now you know that's old school. No gear indicator light don't need it.  Just a Memphis shades windshield, hiway pegs, backrest and go. Less is definitely more enough said.

[John Schmidt]

+1   

[old2soon]

        We Don't need no STEENKING technology!  RIDE SAFE.

[hubcapsc]

You're right there's a lot of tech on Indians... I rode a Springfield not long
ago, I'm pretty sure from the way the throttle felt, it is "drive by wire"...

-Mike

[Hook#3287]

I definitely agree with the "Too Much Tech" feeling in the new stuff.

I love the simplicity of the Valkyrie.

Even my I/S has more than I want, with the radio & CB, neither of which I use.

The only "Tech" I like is the GPS I use.

That addition has introduced me to more excellent roads, I would have never found, w/o it.

[Daniel Meyer]

My favorite tech on the Valk is the electronic ignition...that's one of the reasons it "just goes"...

(recalls too many times sitting beside the road in the rain with my leather jacket over my head while I was trying to get the VERY finicky duel magneto/points combo to let my engine run again...yanno..."back in the day").

[hubcapsc]

My favorite tech on the Valk is the electronic ignition...that's one of the reasons it "just goes"...

(recalls too many times sitting beside the road in the rain with my leather jacket over my head while I was trying to get the VERY finicky duel magneto/points combo to let my engine run again...yanno..."back in the day").

What you needed was a 1973 Honda Civic... I used to set the points on mine with
a matchbook cover every few gas tanks so it would run "right" again...

-Mike

[Daniel Meyer]

My favorite tech on the Valk is the electronic ignition...that's one of the reasons it "just goes"...

(recalls too many times sitting beside the road in the rain with my leather jacket over my head while I was trying to get the VERY finicky duel magneto/points combo to let my engine run again...yanno..."back in the day").

What you needed was a 1973 Honda Civic... I used to set the points on mine with
a matchbook cover every few gas tanks so it would run "right" again...

-Mike

Oh yeah, had to get the points right (matchbook was about right) but you ALSO had to get the magneto clearances right...AND magneto timing correct...two sets of points, two sets of magnetos...and it's not like they were moving around much, the points would wear, but the real problem was the setting the stupid bike needed to run was dependent on weather/temp/humidity...mostly it would run more or less until night time in the rain and or cold....oh...and they couldn't even get a LITTLE wet...so when ya pulled the cover to try to set things, ya had to keep everything covered (usually with my leathers over my head, a flashlight in my mouth, and a screwdriver in one hand and some sort of feeler gauge in the other).

I do NOT miss these days.

[Alpha Dog]

Here is a question.  The new Goldwing has as much tech as any bike, including the new Indian Challenger.  What if Honda were to build a new Valkyrie that looked very similar to the 97 - 03 Valkyries.  Honda strips away the Tupperware and shows of the engine, and it can be had in standard, tourer, and interstate.  It would have the new Honda tech, including the wonderful wishbone suspension and all.  And they also hot rodded it with a hotter cam and intake.

Would anyone be interested?

[cookiedough]

Here is a question.  The new Goldwing has as much tech as any bike, including the new Indian Challenger.  What if Honda were to build a new Valkyrie that looked very similar to the 97 - 03 Valkyries.  Honda strips away the Tupperware and shows of the engine, and it can be had in standard, tourer, and interstate.  It would have the new Honda tech, including the wonderful wishbone suspension and all.  And they also hot rodded it with a hotter cam and intake.

Would anyone be interested?

If done that, Honda would once again rule the cycle market putting everyone else out of business forming a monopoly.   Nah,  competition is good right??      That was the main reason, besides cost of course,  I have not bought a newer goldwing yet, all those gizmos and plastic tupperware.

Most people nowadays want all that extra crap on their vehicles.  My neighbor got the go ahead from the pants wearing wife in the family to buy a new truck since their SUV is not in good shape.  He wants ONE special techy feature that is a MUST have for him on a Ford truck but in order to get that he has to get leather seats which they dislike vs. cloth seats/near top trim level,  that will cost him 3-4K more just for that one thing he wants.

I say can live without.  When my 2014 tundra double cab got rid of on the SR5 trim level the power sliding rear window vs. manual slide on my exact same trim level from 2010 tundra,  I decided is NOT needed since did not want the TRD off road pkg costing over 1 grand more just to get a power push button sliding rear window. 

[tonybluegoat]

The only tech I miss from a BMW 1200 I had a time ago is ABS. But no bike I've owned has been as comfortable and easy to ride as my standard. It's like sitting on a magic carpet. I do have a throttle lock, which I like. I rode 350 miles yesterday and could have done more. That put's over 1,700 miles on it and I've had it less than a month.  That's how comfortable it is.

Yesterday I said "hi" to a guy on a big harley cruiser, his wife was riding one of those 3 wheel things with the wheels on the front. I was calculating "at least $50,000" as I rode off on my $3,300 standard that is more comfortable than both of them, I'm sure.... and better looking.

[MarkT]

I appreciate the reliability of simpler vs. complex.  I did add a number of convenience and safety mods to Jade - since I added them, I can also fix them.  And they are mods designed so they won't break the bike if they do fail on the road, or they can circumvent known possible failures.  eg., Belly tank plumbed as a super-reserve:  fuel system is still gravity feed; if it fails all I lose is the extra fuel, not broke on the side of the road if say the fuel pump fails - and that has happened to several I know personally.  The bung line solenoid valve did fail on the Roanoke Inzane trip - because we were working on it and that valve's ground got inadvertently disconnected during that work.  Which meant I had to complete the return using only the OEM tank, or stop and take the time to find the solenoid problem.  Other mods - GPS with satellite radar and traffic, Rostra electronic cruise control (also have Brakeaway throttle lock),  radar detector with built-in voltmeter, fwd LED lights with controls to shut them off (saved me from a dead battery on that same ride when the voltmeter indicated the alternator failed, so I shut the halogen lights and music off to ride the last 200mi. on the battery.  Replaced the halogens with LEDs after this trip.)  9" Harley pullback risers.  Tipped and adjustable height and angle Clearview screen with vent. Baker wings.  12v sockets, one is high-power for air compressor; USB port. Sound system, phone mount with USB power and wired to the audio mixer as bluetooth is unreliable ( I don't talk on the phone - it holds a lot of music and MyRadar is great near cell towers), heated clothing power (also used in reverse to easily charge battery), fuel system setup to easily share fuel or drain entire system as well as visually see main tank fuel level.  Electric fuel security controls to prevent theft, tampering, hijacking and provide fuel shutoff with tipover.  Dan-Marc and Pingel for reliable fuel delivery.  Dbl-row rear bearing mod.  Fwd controls with highway pegs.  Shifter anchor mod. Interstate tank.  Swivel trailer hitch.  Trailer brake control.  Run-brake-turn rear marker lights, which circuit also provides correct trailer lights, and has easily replacable automotive std 5-pin relays.  All lights converted to LED.  Instrument lights dial dimmer and bright white LED instrument lights.  Flasher indicator LED mod with bright red LED's in indicator.  Double darkside, (Austone for hi-speed cruise with lowered RPM; Batkas BT-45 120/90-17 for responsive steering) balanced with Ride-On.  About to install 4° triple trees for fabulous handling.  Evans permanent waterless coolant.  Permanent lift adapter.  Russell Day-long seats.  "Bigfoot" kickstand extender foot.  Two drinkholders, Butler and small cups.

[Beardo]

I do agree with the original sentiment of this thread, even as an owner of a new Goldwing. I bought it in spite of all the gadgets, not because of it. Honda reliability and the 6 cyl engine is what made me buy it. If they’d have had a model without the Nav/CarPlay, etc, I’d have bought it. A classically styled one like the original Valk, absolutely.

Having said that...now that I have it. Cruise control is sure nice in those long cross continent trips. And the CarPlay/Nav is nice for navigating places you’ve never been. The music keeps you alert. The grip warmers are nice for those below-freezing rides to work in the spring/fall.

I’ve ridden across the continent on sport bikes and harleys with not even a phone on my bars, just paper maps. Neither is more enjoyable than the other. Having Nav on screen is just a bit less stressful and you don’t need the memory to be quite as good for remember hiway numbers and turn offs.

Reverse...have only used it once or twice and could have gotten by without it. But it was nice to have at the time.  Traction control and automatic suspension adjustment...didn’t want it, so opted for the base Wing and added the tour pack and centre stand.

Long story short...I could live without any of the gadgets...but now that I’ve had them, they are kinda nice. Will I want to own the bike in 20 years when they all start to go haywire?  Probably not.  

[_Sheffjs_]

I bought a new base wing as well and I have spent quite a bit of time reading and learning all the gizmos as I should but I will not use much in this fancy stuff and I don’t want a phone call when I am riding. DCT is awesome along with the rest of the bike but the 98 gets ridden and still is an amazing bike, and looks sweet. 

[Jess from VA]

Here's my situation with most technology.

Just like Oddball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5cL-h3Pj1o

For instance, I only recently found out you need to clean the dust and crud out of your desktop computer once in a while.  After 10 years, the fans were really working overtime.  I started in the house, but quickly moved it outdoors.  There was enough fuzzy crud in it to fill a small comforter with insulation.   

[Robert]

While agree with the opening statement here about electronics, but I wanted a new ride, my considerations were. I wanted something that had a few updates in regard to suspension and fuel injection and maybe some other upgrades. But did not want the full bore problems that come with a bike like the BMW GTL1600, nope, no way.

 All the electronics do not add to the joy of driving and if you are on the road somewhere you are more than likely stuck with a problem if something electronic goes out. This is why I love my 14 Valkyrie, with the same reliability with a few other comfort features added on, its a great bike. I did trade off the looks of all the chrome but in reality I have come to enjoy the less care it takes to keep this bike.

One things I really liked about my 01 Valk was it had an alternator, a real bondafide alternator. Not a stator and rotor added on as a second thought but a real alternator that would remove the concern about charging the battery and the electrical system.

Because I loved my 01 Valk so much and was not ready to give up the good points on the bike I went with my 14 Valk, and for many of the same reasons I liked my 01. 

I am not one to carve a road to much but this can dance on the road enough for me and has plenty of get up and go.

I think of my 68 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible and loved that car but in comparison to my new car it pales in almost every respect. That is how I think of my old Valk and new Valk. I miss my Firebird and my 01 Valk, no doubt but the few updated features that I got without the electronics on my bike at least make me very happy.

 Its kind of funny that the only ones that seem to have a combination of reliability, and electronics in anything that moves seems to be the Japs. It carries over from cars to trucks to motorcycles and as a general rule while other brands seem to somewhat struggle the Japs build a reliable vehicle. I was so happy that the moon and stars aligned and they came out with the original Valkyrie. When I saw it in a pic it was an instant, "I have to have that", moment.

[Skinhead]

I'll equate this to the technology in our automobiles.  Now some of you may think I'm a cheap bastard, (I prefer to think of myself as frugal), but in my yute, I always drove used cars, never got one bought for or given to me.  Paid my own insurance, did my own maintenance, and back in the 70's everything I owned had manual everything.  It got me where I needed to go.  

In '83 I graduated from college and moved to MI to work for GM, I could now buy new vehicles and save money with my employee discount.  So I had the '76 Chevette that got me through college and to MI, and with student loans, a wife and a one year old, I still couldn't afford a new car.  So I bought a used '77 Pontiac Grand Prix.  It was loaded!  Power moonroof, windows, and remote trunk release.  Now I never in my wildest dreams thought I would need a remote trunk release, and viewed most of these "features" as just another thing to break.  But I'll be darned if that trunk release didn't grow on me, it was really convenient.

In my 36 years of working at GM, I've driven just about everything we make and usually they are loaded.  I can now afford a new vehicle, loaded one at that, but I just can't see shelling out $75,000 for a new Tahoe or Silverado.  They are nice for sure, but they are just priced too high.  

I may pick me up a used Goldwing when I get old enough for one, my 3 valks will do me for now.  Ride safe.

[Fazer]

I too love the simplicity of the Valk, even though I have put lots of gew gaws (upgrades) on it. 

One of the posts above made me think about the pick up I bought last summer from a freind.  2010 F-150 with 8' bed, needed in my business, but this thing has nothing on it.  Standard cab, roll up windows, manual locks, no cruise, no exterior mirror control.  It does have auto trans,  AC and aftermarket radio.  It's a great truck, but man, I miss the power door locks and windows.

[hubcapsc]

I may pick me up a used Goldwing when I get old enough for one

Your son has one  ...

-Mike "My Back Pages"