Has anyone ever brought an abused, rusty Valk Back from neglect?

[Jabba]

I went and looked at a 97 tourer today.  6:6 pipes, lightbar, cobra floor boards, Corbin seats etc.  65K miles and the guy's asking $3800.  But it's pretty rusty.

Anyone ever brought one back?

How much does it cost to have chrome re chromed?

Oh.. it has 2 calipers dragging too.  One in the front, and the back one.

Jabba

[hubcapsc]

My 97 was rusty and neglected when I got it. I threw out all this and more:

 

Off the top of my head I also got new carb tops, saddlebag hinges, front fender chrome
cable holders, peg bottoms, and certainly some other stuff. It'll nickle and dime you to
death, make you learn a lot about Valkyries and not save you 1 red cent unless you
practically get it free to start with, and maybe not even then. I don't know if a neglected Valkyrie is
more or less likely to have a worn out rear-end, but mine had that too. And OEM pogostick fork springs.
And...

At least my tins were still good.

I think is it good to save Valkyries... they aren't making any more  but it isn't a
money saving proposition.



I'm not sure what you'd rechrome... I pitched my rusty carb tops, for example, and got some
nice ones from eBay for $20 (or something like that)... chromers won't touch exhaust pipes...
Pinwall has valve covers for $70...

-Mike

[Steve K (IA)]

Jabba,
I think you would be way ahead if you picked up one that was in great shape.  In the long run it would mean less money and aggravation.  But then again, there is a lot of satisfaction and pride in bringing a bike back from the brink of ruin.  If you are looking for something to keep you occupied, then I think you know the answer.  Good luck

[Big IV]

Paint it black!
My wife gave me the okay to buy a rough looking Valk rat bike a few weeks ago. The price isn't bad. If it had had decent exhaust I probably would have. But the slash cut headers aren't my style anymore. Painting a rusty set of pipes is easier and cheaper than buying more so I walked away. Nice to have the wife's support.
Depending on how other projects go I may go back for that rat Valk if its still there.

Several members on this board have revived wrecked and abused bikes. It all depends on what you want to invest (like anything bike related).

Keep us posted (with lots of pictures).

[Willow]

Jabba, make a detailed list of everything you suspect you might need to replace.  Go to HDL and go through the motions as if you were buying the parts to get a total cost.  Reduce the cost by one third assuming you can acquire used in many cases and repair and clean in others.

Add it to the price of the bike and ask yourself if you'd pay that price were it in great condition.  Understand that your time and labor is only for the sense of accomplishment.

(I guess I should tell you that my experience was not from restoring a neglected bike, but repairing one that had been lightly wrecked.)

[Jack]

Anyone who would abuse a Valk should be strung up by the "boys". 

[Jabba]

I have a Valk.  It looks like Willow's except it's not all worn out...

This is just one I ran across and thought I might be able to get cheap... steal the hard bags off of, and sell in the spring for a tidy profit.  It runs good, but has 2 brake calipers sticking too.

Jabba

[RTaz]

I picked up this one for $3500 put $1100 into it...great bike my youngest son B-Taz rides it...

Picked up this one for $5400 put about $1000 into it...my oldest boy Monkeyboy claimed it right away...but thats okay he does most of the wrenching nowdays anyway....

[Rowdy]

 ??? I looked at one like that last year - him and his brothers did some tinkering    trying to get it to run  and it looked sad, parts hanging off from the tinkering, aparently it sat outside 
He droped the price even lower but all I could see was $$ to fixe it back to a running condition - sad sad    Needles to say I passed

Like was said above, they don't make them anymore and if we can salvage one that's great if you got the spare $$ to put into a project like that 

[Bladedog]

Actually my Valk brought my abused, rusty body back from neglect!   

[Jabba]

This one fired right up and ran ok.  It needs a choke cable for sure.  And two calipers either rebuilt or replaced.  It ran and shifted fine.  It's just got quite a bit of rust.  It obviously sat outside.

Has avyone ever sent parts to be rechromed?

Jabba

[Black Pearl's Captain]

I went and looked at a 97 tourer today.  6:6 pipes, lightbar, cobra floor boards, Corbin seats etc.  65K miles and the guy's asking $3800.  But it's pretty rusty.

Anyone ever brought one back?

How much does it cost to have chrome re chromed?

Oh.. it has 2 calipers dragging too.  One in the front, and the back one.

Jabba

Seems like losing deal to me when you can get a nice looker for under $5,000 regularly anymore.

Raymond

[Disco]

I don't have much experience with re-chroming, but my Dad is an antique car restorer - both he and the cars  - and chrome work can be very expensive.  There are many variables but much depends on the current condition of the part.  Light pitting would obviously be cheaper than serious rust.  It can be labor intensive and the good ones are arti$t$.  In the long run, it would probably be cheaper to replace the offending parts with new old stock or clean used parts than to re-chrome.  I would only consider re-chroming something that can not be replaced.  YMMV

[Big IV]

try cleaning the brake caliper good before thinking about replacing them. It is amazing what a little cleaning will do.

[Varmintmist]

[Spirited-6]

Several years ago I passed on a 2000 I.S. because of rust, ect.. Bike had seen it`s share of outside... I could not put the numbers tograther and come up with a reasonable dollar amount to invest in a 30,000 mile Valk. Why ? Because I was not very smart in the market of Valkyries. I would like a "re-do" at a price of $3,800 and I think I would have two Valk.`s now. I might have one less WIFE, I don`t know.   I think you have to figure in how much enjoyment you will get in doing what you love. Hell, I love building out door decks and I don`t need one.  

[RoadKill]

I guess it's all about the money   , but the truth is  OLD VALKS NEVER DIE ! She has "Character" and the rest is just cosmetics, a lil rust and some bumps and bruises can not hide the beauty that makes her a Valkyrie !

[FLAVALK]

This one fired right up and ran ok.  It needs a choke cable for sure.  And two calipers either rebuilt or replaced.  It ran and shifted fine.  It's just got quite a bit of rust.  It obviously sat outside.

Has avyone ever sent parts to be rechromed?

Jabba

I've had enough parts rechromed to know that you're probably money and time ahead by buying new or used. Chrome ain't cheap

[Pete]

Yes, and it is a lot of work, some rewarding and some not.

All the suggestion above are excellent.

If always takes more time and money that you expect, at least all of mine have.

Once you price all the repair/replace parts ADD $500+ for unknowns. Ever project I ever did like this needed the $500 unknown factor figured in to break even. If you expect to make money and turn the bike make the unknown factor $1,000+.

Good luck with decision/project.

At the end it will be easier to decide if it was worth it.................. Pete.

[Tx Bohemian]

To me if you could talk them down a bit.  In comprarison I just bought a '99 Standard w/17K miles for $5000 that needs some cosmetic work mainly due to sitting up for 3 yrs in a shop with a cover over it.  The previous owner did a bunch of chrome plating and after-market chrome pieces (that are never as good as the factory chrome).  With the moisture/humidity down here in S/Texas it did a number on all the "custom" chrome, pitting/peeling real bad.

This thing has the forks, triple trees, brake rotors (front and rear),  wheels (front and rear) and rear drive housing chrome plated and every piece is peeling or pitted.  Kinda looks like it has a skin disease!!

But for the price and the low miles I figured I could spend a couple Ks and still have a bike that's around/under KBB price.  But this thing is in great mechanical shape so I'm saving there.  Been riding it every chance I get.

I've been hitting ebay and the classified here for parts and there is a lot out there for good prices.


I haven't seen the "good bikes around $5K" like one member stated. (I keep looking to see if I didn't screw myself on this deal, so far I think I did good) the ones comparable to what I got (yr, miles) are around $6500 and up.

[Serk]

Anyone who would abuse a Valk should be strung up by the "boys". 

Just remember, the definition of "abuse a valk" is variable... To me, I'd rather see a rusted out dirty Valk with 150,000 miles on it, then a shiny one that looks brand new with 1,500 miles on it... to me parking it and polishing it more than riding it IS abuse...

(I know, not relevant to the discussion of buying one, but I had to get that off my chest...)

[Buster]

I agree, havn't seen much in good one's for less than $6500 +.
Wow, $1100 + to fix one up, I didn't think that would cover the
add-on's for one already in mint condition, it didn't for me.

[Colin]

I am doing one now. I have found that s/h parts are cheaper than re-chroming. Although I am going to have a couple of parts done that are too expensive s/h. Alloy polishing is something that you can do yourself it is just time consuming. It is also a great way to learn about a Valk. I would have like to have boght a perfect one but in Europe they are very expensive. Even with getting parts from Pinwall and paying the shipping to Spain I should still be able to turn a profit should I ever want to sell the Valk. Have a look at the site in my signature if you are interested in progress to date.

[RoadKill]

JUST RIDE IT  ! !   Valks dont ask for pampering! My ole girl likes it "rough" !   

[X Ring]

If the rust is NOT pitted real deep, you and a can of Mothers Mag polish, and or Flitz, and or 0000 steel wool and a right arm that will look like you have a left handed mouse can bring it back 95%, I would try that long before I worried about re-chroming.

Several months ago one of the motorcycle mags, either Roadbike or Cruiser, had an article on rust.  In it they stated a motorcycle restorer said to use brillo or sos pads instead of 0000 steel wool due to the wire cross section.  Apparently 0000 uses square wire that scratches the metal and the brillo/sos pads use non scratching round wire.

[Bob E.]

If the rust is NOT pitted real deep, you and a can of Mothers Mag polish, and or Flitz, and or 0000 steel wool and a right arm that will look like you have a left handed mouse can bring it back 95%, I would try that long before I worried about re-chroming.

Several months ago one of the motorcycle mags, either Roadbike or Cruiser, had an article on rust.  In it they stated a motorcycle restorer said to use brillo or sos pads instead of 0000 steel wool due to the wire cross section.  Apparently 0000 uses square wire that scratches the metal and the brillo/sos pads use non scratching round wire.

If your chrome is show quality, I wouldn't use SOS pads.  It can leave some very fine scratches that will show up in certain lighting.  Of course, if your chrome is in a shape that you are considering SOS pads, then it's not likely show quality, so have at it.  I've been using SOS pads on my bikes for years.  Do not use it on aluminum or polished stainless steel, though.  It will scratch the hell out of it.  I found out that the straps on my windshield are SS and not chrome by using a SOS pad on them. 

[Jabba]

OK.  Let me change the topic...

what do you think I could sell a '97 tourer (minus the hard bags and hardware) with a cloudy windshield, 6:6 pipes, corbin seat, lightbar, and lotsa rust for?

Think I could get my $3500 back outta it, and thus net myself the bags for free?

Jabba

[Willow]

Yes.

[Colin]

Ship it to Europe and you will get at least 6000$ for it You don't see any over here at less than 7000$   Even in the US breaking it for spares would net you more than that looking at Pinwall's prices.

[czuch]

You're doing God's work. (Thor's ?)