Spirit

[big turkey]

Well the Valkyrie has done it's damage to me.

I go out and just look at the Thing and Dream About Riding her again.

That's sad, I have it bad.

So the Valkyrie Spirit will live on,

From Tucumcari to

Bardstown to

Inzane to

Hot Glues to

Ridin the Blue Ridge Parkway to

anywhere the gang will haul butt to.

Valkyrie F6C Promotion video	powered by Aeva

[big turkey]

These people here are partly responsible for my addiction to Valkyries.

Who got you started on the Valk Craze?

Open Question.

[hubcapsc]

Who got you started on the Valk Craze?

Open Question.

Frank Smoak...

-Mike

[RoadKill]

I'm pretty sure those are the people your Mother warned you about !
 I think it was a combination of the sliding Valk commercial, Gunslingers insistent claims that he would own one, and a Harley that was costing a fortune to keep repairing.

Plus seeing Gunslingers face when I rode one home befor he did...PRICELESS ! !    

[big turkey]

Sorry Gunslinger that is Priceless.

You must agree.

You two guys are a hoot.


Big AL

[elraque]

These people here are partly responsible for my addiction to Valkyries.

Who got you started on the Valk Craze?

Open Question.

I've kind of wanted one since I first started seeing them in the late 90's. I didn't ever REALLY think I would be able to afford one, nor that I would really be comfortable riding a bike that BIG... it was kind of a pipe dream.

So this year, when we got some $$$ back from withholding too much income tax last year, the wife said I could by a bike... any bike I wanted. We rode a bunch, but within a mile of getting on the "thick chick" the decision was made. ZERO buyer's remorse. And the smile is still on my face, because I rode again today!

[big turkey]

as soon as I saw the first Valk Commercial.

I thought loser.

Why would you buy a Gold Wing Stripped down and a lot of them went unsold due to market

saturation of the over production.

Honda was trying to dent the market share on cruisers.

But after a while the word gets around and as my Buddy Lucky 13 said after his first

ride on one(WITH  BIG BORE KIT I might Add) it was awesome that a big bike could

run as strong as it did.

Same here as well, at 70 to 100 mph what a a rush.

I have had some fast bikes, ZRX1200R 2004 Eddie Lawson Replica and a GT550 Suzuki Two Stroke.

But the motor is tuned for performance and a smooth ride.

With the nickel test it proves one thing, that motor has good internal balance.

you Hot Rodders know what a balanced engine will do.

Big Al

ValkyrieSlide	powered by Aeva

[Normandog]

The commercial. Never mind it took approximate 7 yrs 'til I bought one. 

[Whistler]

I wanted one as soon as I read the first article about them and the commericals. I too, thought I would never be able to afford one. I had a neighbor that had a decked out one that I slobbered over everytime I saw it. When he traded it for a Harley I thought what a fool! Within three blocks of climbing on mine I knew I was buying it. Been smiling ever since. Little did I know that it would lead me to this group and all the cool people here. I enjoy my Valk, but I enjoy the people here just as much, a win win any day. JDW

[Jabba]

Honestly I started looking for a cruiser thinking I wanted a Vulcan Nomad.  I was researching that when I stumbled onto the Valk.  I remember seeing them ocassionally, but never really knowing what they were, just thinking... "That's pretty cool".  I started looking and reading and was pretty sure I had a new target.  

I took a 60 mile test ride on a 1800 VTX.



I liked it.  I was interested, but the Honda Dealer knew I was interested in a valk.  When I got back to the dealer with my wife on the VTX... he had a brand new 03 Valk in the lot prepped for me to test ride. We got off the VTX and onto the valk, and I didn't make it out of the parking lot before I knew the Valk was the crap.  

I was doing the paperwork to buy the NEW '03 Valk, when I found my '02 blue skunk with 2765 miles on ebay with a buy it now option of $9200.  That was in June of '03, and I was gonna pay $13K for the new one.  Plus this one wasn't ho-hum black like 1/2 of them out there...  

I went to Green Bay THAT night to meet the guy at 7:00 AM on Sat morning to buy it.

Been in love since.

Jabba  

[Mountainman]

   The person partley responsible for my purchase of my Valkyrie ...... is my nephew ....... 'Misunderstood' ....for on our ride to Maine last summer and back to Pennsylvania I was impressed by that awesome bike he was riding. I was on my 'Wing' and thought that was going to be my last Bike.  ( Because of my age and back problems.)


   The other "thing", ...... was a deer in the middle of the road one early October morning, a morning with lots of fog and I was going way to fast for road conditions. ( The 'Wing ' was a total loss.)  
Then I went with a couple of friends to a cycle dealer where I sat while they jumped on bikes and looked. A salesman asked if he could help me and I "said no you probly have no "Valks' here! His anser was there is one in the back just brought in on consignment. ............ So I looked, .......  .....
went home and thought, and thought.  ( the 'Wing was costing me and arm and a leg to be put back together. ) ....... Do I need two bikes ?  SOOOoooo I went back  and looked several more times,  
I just could not get that 'Valk' out of my mind,  so it now keeps my 'Wing' company in the garage.
It proved to be one of my better decisions I have ever made.  

[big turkey]

If you rode a black one you would notice the bad boy attitude that it exudes.

I would like a White one or a Red Black one before I leave this world.

Red And Black is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

I think I might paint mine that color.

Big AL

[ChromeDome]

For me it started with that comercial, the guy sliding on the dirt. Then whenever I would go into my local dealer for parts or service they had one with a sign on it that read, I think, "Size Matters!" Only problem, I just wasn't in the position to buy one. Then came May of 2001 when my 84 GoldWing started having problems in Albuquerque, NM. Went to the local dealer and while we waited to hear what the issue was I was checking out the 01 Valk I/S that they had on the floor. When they told me how much it was going to cost to repair the Wing and then I factored in air fare to/from Chicago I looked at the salesman, pointed to the I/S and asked "How much do you want for that?"

Drove the I/S off the lot around 3:30pm and had the lady over 100mph by 4:30pm. Nine years & 100k+ miles and I am still loving every minute on the bike.

[big turkey]

The latest one I bought Chrome Dome , I had to 115 mph in about 1 hour after I bought it.

They tend to make you ignore speed limits.

Big Al

[ChromeDome]

They tend to make you ignore speed limits.

Yep, kinda funny the way they do that .... nice to know that when you need the power it is there! 

[Jabba]

I had a 100 MPH head shake on Sat at the Whiskey Run, trying to catch up to Fudgie, Gig, Indiana Wizard, Roadkill and Gunslinger.  They were running 90 and I was just trying to catch back up.

100 MPH headshake WILL get your attention.

Jabba

[BF]

I knew I wanted a Valk after I sat on a Harley and it felt like a mini-bike to me. 

[RoadKill]

I had a 100 MPH head shake on Sat at the Whiskey Run, trying to catch up to Fudgie, Gig, Indiana Wizard, Roadkill and Gunslinger.  They were running 90 and I was just trying to catch back up.

100 MPH headshake WILL get your attention.

Jabba

Did you check the Air pressure in the rear tire?  My bike has ALWAYS been prone to that  but different tire/PSI combination always  made great changes to the speed it would occur at. More PSI seemed to raise the speed. With the right combo I cant get her to go fast 'nuff to shake. I know tire is low  when she does the tank slap.

[big turkey]

100 MPH tank slap.

That is a attention getter.

Big Al

It Can lead to this.

isle of man TT crash!	powered by Aeva

It's in this video as well.

crazy motorcycle vid, stunts, crashes, good music and hard riding	powered by Aeva

[Jabba]

I never heard anyone call it "tank slap" till Gunslinger and Roadkill said that when I was whining about it after we got back to the hotel.

I have had other bikes... non-valks that were very prone to head shake before... but I have never had it happen to me on a thick-chick.  I'm just glad I knew what the proper casualty procedure was...  (That was for you Al)

I have not messed with tire pressure... but I tickled the 100 mph mark several other times since then... and it showed NO sign of it again.  It might have been a weird swirly cross wind where it happened... between two highway cuts on both sides of the road that was a wind tunnel anyway.  I dunno. 

Jabba 

[Serk]

I'd been riding a 1980 Yamaha XS11 Special as my first "Do I really wanna get into this?" bike for about a year, and decided I needed a newer/nicer bike. At the time I was putting the spousal unit through college at a rather pricey private college here in Dallas (SMU), and the deal we had was that when she graduated, I got to buy any motorcycle I wanted.

She was to graduate in the spring of 2001. This was late in 2000, I was doing research. I wanted a nice big powerful standard. Hated (And still hate) the OB-GYN Stirrups riding position of most "cruisers", also hated the whole philosophy of a V-Twin engine, so those weren't even considered.

I had narrowed my choices down to a Valkyrie, or a Suzuki Bandit 1200. I was actually leaning towards the Bandit based mostly on price.

December 23rd, 2000. The spousal unit and I were at the local Honda shop just looking, no intention of buying for several more months. The local shop had just gotten a shipment of leftover '98's in, still in the crate, and it being just a few days from being 2001, they were highly motivated to move the 98's. Also, being late in December, they weren't getting a lot of sales, being winter and all.

The dealer told me he'd sell me a '98 of my choice (Had Blue/Ivory and the Maroon/Ivory's) for $8999, throw in the 7 year warranty, and hook me up with 3.9% financing (I think it was 3.9%, not specific on the exact number, but it was good), if I bought it in December.

Turned to my lovely spousal unit and told her....

"Honey... You've got 10 seconds to tell me no."

"Well, we should think about if we can really afford it right now"

"9"

"8"

"7"

"6"

...she let me count down to zero, and never said "no", so I signed on the dotted line that day.

Sad part was, I'd never ridden a Valk. I was TERRIFIED on the ride home. I was actually quite scared of my Valk for the first several months, but eventually got over it, and now, just under 10 years and just under 100,000 miles later, we're inseparable...




(Sadly, I think the Valk has aged much more gracefully than I have!)

[LandElephant]

Was a Goldwinger since 1975 when they first came out.  When 2001 was produced I wanted to trade in my 1981 Interstate purchased in Japan with 275,000 miles for a new 2001.

Went to the Honda dealer in Bakersfield and all they had was used wings.  Tried to sell me a Valk instead.  After three weeks I sat on the 2001 I/S.  Told the saleman I wanted.  No ride, no squabble, no nothing.  He told me I should take it for test ride.  I did just like in the old chevy commercial.  Lifted the Valk off the kickstand.  Pushed it forward 6" and bought it.

Still didn't have the fever.  Got that when I meet and rode with Marty Rood.  We became friends and I put 43K on the I/S the first year.  Meet alot of good people that I still stay in touch with.  Don't have the Valk.  Have another wing.  But I still have the friends.

Charlie

Land Elephant

[big turkey]

Friends, Valk is good but friends are better.

Big Al