Valkyrie Makeover - The Plan

[Alien]

Hi All,

The Mothership will be getting a makeover soon.  The goal is to slightly update the look while focusing on what makes this bike unique.  I love this bike but theres some things about it that have always bothered me.  Most notably, I want to emphasize the unique nature of the Valk by doing away with the "parts bin" stuff that Honda used on all their cruisers (controls, mirrors, rear lights, fork finish, etc.  This will also serve to "de-90's" the bike a little.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Here's the plan:

1. Paint - My paint is in great shape but I have never liked the blue and cream.  There, I said it. In fact, I dislike it so much that I almost didn't buy the bike in the first place. I'm going with 2019 Harley Davidson Billiard Blue.

2. Front end - Rebuilding the forks with Progressive springs and new seals.  The forks will be gloss black, the triple trees will be polished.  Headlight bucket will be gloss black, trim ring will remain chrome.  Some kind of aftermarked turn signals will be used.  Gauge pods will be gloss black, bezels will be replaced with the visor type and will be chrome.

3. Bars -  Aftermarket risers will be chrome, bars will be gloss black and very similar in dimension to stock Valk bars but in a larger OD to facilitate internal wiring and HD controls.  Brake and clutch lines will be braided stainless.

4. Engine - Engine will be stripped down and case painted black (I've had good luck in the past with HD textured black engine paint.)  All engine chrome will remain chrome.

5. Wheels - Ugh.  I have a lathe, a mill and determination, so it may end up with something unique in this department.  If that plan falls through, I'll paint the centers of the wheels a hammertone anthracite gray and polish the outer rims.  If I somehow AM successful, I'll do a full writeup.

6. Tysakyu hard bags.

7. Some sort of custom tail light, turn signals and license plate holder.

8. Keeping the Cobra ehaust.

9. Polished final drive.

10.  VTX front fender.


So, what do you think?

Ride Safe,

Alien

[Foozle]

06-21

Sounds like an ambitious plan. 

Since you're going for a major makeover, consider replacing the stock headlight with a VTX version.  I've not done this myself, but sure like the looks on those bikes that have.  Plus, it lends itself nicely to your black/chrome paint scheme for the bucket.  There's also a mounting extension that moves the entire unit slightly forward.  Any combination of these really changes the Valk's OEM look and profile.

Just a suggestion.  Please keep us updated.

Terry

[f6john]

Sounds good to me. Especially interested in the wheel mods. What’s the timetable for completion in your estimation?

[AwesomeDad]

Can’t wait to see it, I emailed you.

JJ

[_Sheffjs_]

I always wondered what the forks would look like if painted the same as the tins???  Being some color other than black. 

[Crackerborn]

I HATE the Cobra exhaust on the local girl. I am waiting for a few extra sheckles to appear so I can get Mark T to preform some exhaust magic on her. If that is your cup of tea, you are losing performance that I would prefer over sound.

[gordonv]

In the end, it's what you like. We'll all gladly come along for the ride.

As for the VTX head light, when I read that I though LED, so I would change the bike over to LED and it might give you some more options on the turn signals and lighting.

I always thought of polishing and then painting multiple colour the rims.

If you're adding bags, then why the polished rear, I would either paint it grey/aluminum, black or bike colour. Something that will make the bags stand out more, rather then just a dark colour behind it.

Coloured master cylinders too.

I never noticed a difference with Progressive shocks in the front forks, so I would be unsure of those (2 up on an IS, over weight limit).

A custom seat?

Would love to see the process posted and written up.

[larue]

Sounds like a great plan . Can’t wait to see it complete