Quick review after 1500 miles

[Knapdog]

1998 Tourer with 14,000 miles.

Firstly, what I've done......

Over the winter I replaced all the rear shaft o-rings and moly greased the splines.
New plugs.
All fuel and vacuum lines replaced.
Petcock refurbish.
Air filter.
Tank flush.
Intake o-rings.
Carbs cleaned and digitally synchronised.
Fork service.
Coolant flush.
The later, more comfortable seat.
Rider's backrest.

Secondly, my thoughts.....

I may have only done 1500 miles since I finished working on the Valkyrie in March but I have other bikes that need riding.

I didn't take the Valkyrie on my near 4000 mile trip around Spain/Portugal as I was happier, on this occasion to use my cbf1000 with ABS ( go easy with me), and at least 60mpg and I'm more used to it.

Since I've come back from my trip you can't get me off the Valkyrie. I love it. It's my "go to" bike and I've warmed to this relaxed position of a Cruiser.
It attracts a great deal of attention. I've had cars driving alongside me and staring and giving me a thumbs up. Parked up, I invariably get a comment on its condition or how long I spend cleaning it or they can believe it's 24 yrs old.
I don't like loud pipes and the refined burble of this engine is perfect.
The fork refurbishment has made a big difference to the ride and an even bigger difference has been "deflating" my Avon Cobra Chrome's to 33psi front and 36psi rear, as in the manual, though I'm also looking for post '98 shocks (or possibly Progressive shocks) to further improve the ride.
It is more agile than it has any right to be considering its size. I've grown in to it and the weight is now hardly an issue although, if I'm honest, there would definitely have been some very tricky manoeuvring problems in some of the tight, narrow, hilltop cobbled streets I encountered in Spain.
We know that the gear shifting is a bit clunky but I accept its quirks.
I set the pilot jets to 2 and 1/4 (could have been 2 and 1/2...can't remember) and haven't altered those individually so I do wonder if I'm getting optimum performance but it's certainly smooth enough.
I've also tilted the screen back a little so that I'm looking over it rather than through it.
I always turn the petcock off when stopping and getting off.
I have accidentally dropped the bike in my garage whilst sitting on it when I dropped my glove on the floor. This was a blessing in disguise. There wasn't a mark on the bike and it gave me the opportunity to pick it up. I had no problem at all.
The Valkyrie has been a brilliant purchase and I'm delighted with it.

[Bagger John - #3785]

I've owned 5 at one time. I'm now down to 2, but will be hunting for an '03 Standard in the next several years.

First one was purchased new in 2000. Next in '01; also new. Those were eventually sold after the next three showed up, and Blondie's '03 Standard was also sent to a different home.

During that time I've put LOTS of miles on other cruisers, touring bikes, what have you. Brand X, Y and Z all represented in the mix, and I've gotten to know a number of factory reps/corporate types from each of the major manufacturers. When asked by each of them if I was contemplating a purchase of one of their products, my response has always been

"When you can build the functional equivalent of my Valkyries, I'll immediately take several."

Might be a subject for another thread or another forum altogether, but Kawi and Honda have begun to pare down their model lines due to emissions mandates. The Concours 14 is no more, and rumors abound that the Gold Wing will meet the same fate. I've been going broke laying in service parts for my Valkyries for years now and it looks like I'll continue as I can, in addition to getting stuff for my C14s.

One thing I am going to do is to head over to the HD forums and see what parts availability looks like for the Twin Cam 103 touring platforms - namely, engine and transmission. The two bikes I'm contemplating are a Road King and a Road Glide - '07-'13 model years. If one dives into the V-Twin Mfg catalog, one can almost build anything from a Knucklehead through a later-model TC from that catalog alone. I hope I don't have to go this route, but if I want to keep riding big touring bikes and be able to maintain them, that may be one of few options.

Hopefully, Honda will keep enough stuff in the pipe for our Valkyries and other GL1500 products that this isn't an issue.

[Knapdog]

Bitubo rear shocks H0088WME03 ordered from Italy.
£320 though there'll be Customs on top of that at some time.
Hopefully this will produce the ride I'm looking for.

[John Schmidt]

Re. the low pressure you carry in the tires, keep in mind when you said "per the manual"...that figure for PSI was written well over 20 yrs. ago and applied to the quatlity and design of the tires available at that time. It no longer applies, easily confirmed by talking to a current rep for any brand. When I was riding on two wheels I carried 40 in front and 42 in back prior to going with car tires. Many other Valk riders do likewise. Yes, it will soften the ride a little but the overall handling, especially in the twisties, will suffer. A soft suspension will tend to allow the bike to wallow through a curve...not safe.

[Knapdog]

Re. the low pressure you carry in the tires, keep in mind when you said "per the manual"...that figure for PSI was written well over 20 yrs. ago and applied to the quatlity and design of the tires available at that time. It no longer applies, easily confirmed by talking to a current rep for any brand. When I was riding on two wheels I carried 40 in front and 42 in back prior to going with car tires. Many other Valk riders do likewise. Yes, it will soften the ride a little but the overall handling, especially in the twisties, will suffer. A soft suspension will tend to allow the bike to wallow through a curve...not safe.

Thank you, John. I'll take that on board and increase the psi.
Most "modern" bikes I've had have had 42 in the rear and 36 on the front. Would you say that's acceptable?
They're Avon Cobra Chrome's. Do Avon themselves give
 specific pressures for the Valk that I could adopt?
I'm around 180lbs and rarely take a passenger or luggage.

[-mike-]

According to the paperwork Avon recommends 2.8bar ~ 40,6 PSI front and rear for the Cobra Chrome on a Valkyrie.
All I can tell - thats quite the sweet spot riding solo on a Standard/Tourer.

[h13man]

41 psi. rear and 38 psi. front @ 175 lbs. Did you by chance replace the 3 o'rings on the rear hub when doing the splines? If not I would address that before to long. My OEM went bad before the 2nd. tire change and splines were dry. This was a age factor on my bike. Its something I would change every other tire if using OEM style o'rings. Vitron variety are pretty much the favorite as they last longer but riding the bike often is the key more than letting it sit.

[Knapdog]

41 psi. rear and 38 psi. front @ 175 lbs. Did you by chance replace the 3 o'rings on the rear hub when doing the splines? If not I would address that before to long. My OEM went bad before the 2nd. tire change and splines were dry. This was a age factor on my bike. Its something I would change every other tire if using OEM style o'rings. Vitron variety are pretty much the favorite as they last longer but riding the bike often is the key more than letting it sit.

Yes, all o-rings renewed, thanks.