New member, possible problems

[olddog1946]

No choke.


You think your choke is full on, but its not.


Full choke.

Holy moley....the middle picture is as far as my choke will go..and it works as well, been riding it most everyday and always starts right up..MMMM got me wondering now

[valkyriemc]

You may want to lube that mechanism up. I know mine felt a lot better when I did.

[John U.]

If you watch what is moving while you move the choke lever, you will see that it's easy to help the movement along with your right index finger.
I've always been worried about putting too much strain on the choke cable. My index finger on the right hand slide used in conjunction with the lever reduces the needed force quite a bit, and assures that the choke is on all the way without ripping the cable out.
Though I agree that some lube now and then will keep the cable healthy.

[Walküre]

Once I figured out that I wasn't putting the choke on, either, and DID get it on, it didn't want to return all the way off, until I took it apart, cleaned, and lubed. That's about the time my header pipes picked up a little blue tinting...

[VALKIFIED]

I know you don't have enough info to check Chris, her's one more for thought. A history of short trips on the motor will cause the white goo problem. Maybe the PO was just " running out for bread " with your girl. Changing the fluids as mentioned above and some MILES where everything has a chance to get hot for awhile will probably cure your ails. Everything I've read here and discussed with other owners just reinforces that these machines are damn near bullet proof.

[lucky_1_chris]

I know you don't have enough info to check Chris, her's one more for thought. A history of short trips on the motor will cause the white goo problem. Maybe the PO was just " running out for bread " with your girl. Changing the fluids as mentioned above and some MILES where everything has a chance to get hot for awhile will probably cure your ails. Everything I've read here and discussed with other owners just reinforces that these machines are damn near bullet proof.

Haven't heard back from the shop yet. I hope that no news is good news. I doubt it's a head gasket leak but I had to know for sure.

[Airetime]

"Under my radiator cap, I'm getting some snow white slime, and there are some hard white scales on the rubber piece on the bottom of the radiator cap. No slime around the overflow tube by the cap, and no slime on, in or around the mouth of the radiator. I immediately assumed this was oil. The slime is slippery, not gritty, but the slime doesn't seem to make water bead, and I've pulled several ounces of coolant from the radiator and reservoir and I can't find any evidence of oil. There is no slime in the reservoir. The coolant is obviously old, smells nasty, and has some debris and what appears to be aluminum flecks floating in it. I'm hoping that this slime on the rad. cap is a result of the old/filthy/mixed wrong type of coolant, but I guess it could be oil and this possibility is worrying me. A lot."

Chances are that at one time the owner had a small leak. Leaks are usually caused by an ill fitting cap, broken plastic recovery tank, loose hose clamps and in some cases a water pump going south. The owner thinks it is the radiator and puts some "stop-leak" in the coolant. Thus the small floating aluminum looking stuff.    Flush the radiator, tighten the hose clamps, bend the tabs under the cap to stop any leaking, check the recovery tank (under the side cover) and take a peek at the water pump, put new (silicate free) anti-freeze in it with either pre-mix or use distilled water (50/50) If the coolant hasn't been changed chances are the brake/clutch fluid probably hasn't either. Take a peak at it and if it is brown, change it as well. You made the right decision with the Valk and there is a ton of info on this site, check the shop talk section, buy a Honda manual, read the Rattlebars Valkyrie info section and enjoy. BTW, smoke is steam, if it was blue or black, then you need to worry. 

[lucky_1_chris]

Well, as everyone here suspected I have zero perceptible head gasket leaks, so the sludge in the coolant is just...old/nasty coolant . Living in Texas, it's been a long time since I've had to go this many consecutive days without riding (in '08) so I'm really jonesin' to pick her up this weekend.

I have a few more questions if y'all don't mind...

My petcock feels a little flimsy. I can easily jiggle it one finger. Is this normal?

If a PO removed the vacuum functionality from the petcock, would I still have reserve?

Are there any sure-fire ways to prevent hydro lock from occurring?

The starter in my VTX would slip if the motor were too hard to turn over due to high compression or if fuel filled a cylinder. Are there any after market or other-model-OEM starters with this functionality that will fit the Valkyrie that you guys know of?

Thanks

Chris

[gordonv]

My petcock feels a little flimsy. I can easily jiggle it one finger. Is this normal?

If a PO removed the vacuum functionality from the petcock, would I still have reserve?

What you are feeling is the on/off switch, a plastic extension that reaches to the actual petcock. Remove it, and see what we are talking about. It needs to flex, so don't try to mount it ridgedly.

Reserve should still work, if all you have done is remove the vacuum. Some have reported that the insides of the petcock, not the diaphame, have failed, letting fuel leak out of the reserve hole into the carbs, even with the switch set at ON. So your reserve is used up on the On setting.

[R J]

Back to the hard starting.

One thing to remember, keep your firkin hand off of the throttle when you are trying to start the Phat lady, hot or cold.

She no like ya messing with the throttle.

Pop the choke on if it has set for several hours, it should start no problem and when it does, get the choke off ASAP.

Cold starting in the morning, push the choke full on, keep your damn fingers off the throttle and hit the starter button.    Should fire right off if the battery has enough juice to fire the coils.   Let it idle for a few minutes and take the choke off, now you may play with the throttle.

Now, enjoy your ride.