I forgot how nice the Valk really is....

[Serk]

Sadly my Valk has mostly sat since I got my Gold Wing.

I tried to ride it a few months ago, but the clutch was gone.

Previously, I thought the old girl handled like an overloaded dump truck, so I'd kinda just not been riding her...

Chatting with Daniel Meyer at Inzane he mentioned my ~25 year old Progressive 440's with ~130,000 miles on them were probably due for a rebuild.

Contacted Progressive. They no longer make 440's. They no longer service 440's. They can't rebuild them. So sorry.

I kept bugging them and eventually they reluctantly agreed to send me a new set of 412HD's in lieu of actually honoring the "lifetime" warranty on the 440's.

I wasn't thrilled, but meh, not much else can be done.

Tonight I took Serk Jr. and let him help (Learn) as I bled the clutch and replace the shocks.
(Kinda made me mad, I'd forgotten I put a speed bleeder on the clutch and did it the hard way, only realized it was a speed bleeder when I was updating my maint notes after it was all done. Oh well.)

Wow. What a difference a functional suspension makes! Nimble, joyful to ride again!

Put in maybe 50 miles just riding around, had some fun with a kid on a LOUD zip-splat, I think the old girl surprised him a bit (No, he coulda easily walked away from me, but I gave him more than I think he was expecting!)

There's a problem with the right bank backfiring on deceleration, assuming that means the hoses have holes somewhere, but meh, it's very rideable again.

Now I'll hafta make sure to keep her in the rotation and not just sit!

[Avanti]

Suspension is probably one of the least maintained parts.  I use Pro-Action shocks made specifically for my Interstate.

[Jess from VA]

I like the beer warmer.   

[hubcapsc]

Glad you got your logtruck rolling again  ...



-Mike

[John Schmidt]

Just looking at the pics of those bikes pulls on my riding strings...I miss my old '98 Tourer. I bought it early 2003 as I recall, was a '98 leftover and still had factory warranty. Rode it home 130 miles with a big stupid grin on my face. I did a lot to it to fit me and my style, as does everyone else to their ride, but time and years march on. Now, I'm still in the wind with the trike which I plan to give to my daughter when "that time" comes. 

[carolinarider09]

Good news and good ending.

My 2003 standard has not been used much in the last year.  I do feel guilty about that and plan to correct it.  Actually, except for the acceleration, and the gas mileage (tank size) I like the Valkyrie and would rather ride it most times instead of the Wing. But the Wing is now our "travel" bike (gas mileage, luggage space and Hannigan trailer). 

So, I try to take the Valkyrie out for local rides when I can and my wife likes it as well. 

But, with the exception of luggage space, my favorite ride is still my 2007 ST1300A.  My wife is not that thrilled with it for long rides (she did like the BMWRT1100P we had for a few years before I got the ST). 

But age is a thing that we all face and, bering in my late seventies, I will probably have to be careful as I continue to ride.  I am very seriously considering "Triking" the Goldiwng this year or next.  Hannigan is my current choice.  We shall see.

 Just for the documentation of a previous Valkyrie "exceptional" adventure.