Instertate versus standard with hard bags

[rxvalk]

Hi Guys,

Just want some opinions from folks who have ridden the interstate and the standard with a honda oem windscreen and hard bags.

I am trying to decide which to buy. I will mainly use the bike around town with maybe 1 long trip a year. I love the look of the interstate with the trunk and the lights on the trunk along with the fact that it comes with tunes. I have heard that the radio is hard to hear at highway speeds anyway. I am not such a big fan of the fairing from the riders position. I think it looks great when your off the bike but not sure if I like the look from the riders position. The one I am looking at has around 35,000 miles on the clock.

The standard has an OEM honda windshield and national hardbags painted to match the paint on the bike. I like the look of the speedometer/tach on the standards but.... would want to add some type of radio/ipod hookup later. It has 18,000 on it.


For those of you having ridden both which would you buy? I know I have to decide but would be nice to have some opinions/testimonials. Both are the same price and year.

[Momz]

The I/S is way heavier.
The radio speakers can be upgraded and an amplifier can be added.
The I/S has better wind/rain protection and better passenger accomidations.

But remember any bike can be modified to suit your personal needs.

My first Valk is an I/S, and I now have two others (not I/Ss).

Being that it is January, prices have dropped, but as soon as the weather warms up, so will the prices.  

[old2soon]

The only reason i know about a standard is cause my brother owns one. I on the other hand have an I/S. Having ridden both-it's entirely up to you. I think had i not run up on my I/S first i would have bought a standard or the tourer. Fact of the matter is i like my I/S. Did almost 2000 miles last summer going from here to around Chicago and nary a problem. I've been as low as 50 miles after leaving the house and coming back and as high as 600+ miles. It's a Valkyrie-what do YOU WANT?? You won't go wrong either way. Miles aren't an issue on either machine. We have board members With low mile bikes and we have some at 100000 200000 300000 and 400000+ miles and still running strong. Not misprints-i'm talking hundreds of thousands. Let us know what YOU decide. And yes i'm well aware i may not have been a lot of help. RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

The IS tunes can be heard at freeway speeds with no upgrades.  The IS has a 7 (6.9) gal tank and goes 220 miles to reserve (with 1.1 gal more left).  The IS has a gas gauge, and prewired for passenger/rider intercom, and may have a CB.  Generally, the IS will cost about a grand more than a tourer or dressed standard.... and it is easy to spend much more than a grand adding things to a std/tourer that the IS already has.  The IS is better for a passenger, unless she is XL, at which point the backseat on a std/tourer has more room for her. 

If you are a new rider, or been away for a long time, the std/tourer is easier to ride/turn/maneuver (for a while).  You can get as much in a big duffel as you can get in an IS trunk, but the trunk locks.  Lots of guys take big trips on a std/tourer with no problems. 

Forget looks, choose the bike that best serves your intended riding purposes. Beware of extremely low miles bikes that have sat for years, a well maintained bike with 40-60K is likely a better bike.

Accesssories, add-ons, bag rails, upgrade seats, etc can be hard to find and/or expensive and you are well served to pay a bit more for a loaded bike, than a stock bike with plans to add stuff later.

[RainMaker]

I have both in my garage and the Tourer mostly sits while the I/S is on the road.  Long, short, in-between, I most always pick the I/S, to the point I'm having to clean out the carbs on the Tourer due to lack of use.

[Jack B]

I have both I love both I ride them about the same miles per year. But the Interstate is the better bike. Take the Trunk off and you have a Super Valk

[Pete]

If only one, then the IS with the trunk removed.
For around town only the std with shield and bags is fine in warn to moderate weather.

[Challenger]

I too have an I/S and a STD, I ride both equally, I love both for different reasons. I really don't see any difference in low speed handling as others have stated, but on the road, no comparison, If one had to go, it wouldn't be the I/S. If I had gotten the I/S first I probably would not have two Valks. It's good to have a spare 

[Hook#3287]

Buy Both

[Steve K (IA)]

I have both...I/S and Std.  I love them both, that's why I have 2, but I ride the I/S more because my Wife usually rides the Std.    As you can see, I done some upgrades to the Std to make it more comfy on long trips.  Buy the I/S.  If you can, buy both.

[john]

mark ...
you can park it my garage if its in your way ...
i'll even keep the carbs cleaned out for ya ...
tomorrow looks good ...     

[rxvalk]

Thanks for the input keep it coming. Wish I could buy two but only one is an option.

[Jess from VA]

Thanks for the input keep it coming. Wish I could buy two but only one is an option.

That's totally alright.  The beauty of the Valk is they last forever........ so you can get a second one years from now.  LOL

BTW is there any way you can get to sit on, lift off the sidestand, push around (or even ride) either the Std or IS before you choose.

I couldn't, drove 300 miles, took a four minute test ride, bought it and rode it home, in a tremendous deluge of rain, praying the wife didn't rear end me in stop and go freeway traffic in her truck.  

[Hoser]

When the financial wolf started barking at the door I sold the IS.  Would have preffered not to, but the Tourer had seniority!    Hoser

[KSDragonRider]

I only have the I/S, and have only ridden one other I/S.  I have never ridden a standard, dont know that i have even sat on one.  We love our I/S, and really, it is not so bad around town, you just have to know how to throw it, i went from a bike with 125 hp and 500 lbs to this and this is no harder to ride than the other. 

I do know after long rides, my wife is much more comfortable, and dry in the rain than the ladies getting off of any of the other bikes.
And we all know the say, if momma is uncomfortable, then everyone will be.

[rxvalk]

No option to ride them before I committ to one or the other. One is 6 hours away and the other is twelve. I have ridden a standard before but never the I/S. I will ride whichever one I choose before I buy of course. But would at least have to committ the weekend to get one or the other for the test ride.

Sounds like from the response the handling really doesn't change with the fairing which is kind of what I figured but wanted to ask.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I cant wait to officially join you all as an owner of a valkyrie.

[Strider]

Just a matter of preference.  I have had both and loved each equally well.  You can dress either one up or down depending upon preference.  The speakers on the IS are fine at speed and my iPod actually acts like a preamp and increases the volume.  There is some added shimmy in displaced wind behind 18 wheelers with the the fairing on the IS but not bad - I think the larger windshield I put on has more to do with it than the fairing.  If you do not like the displaced wind, you can always cut down the windshield like a lot of others have done.

Here is my IS - in the solo mode - which is why I got her and Hard6's Standard with bags.



Advantages of the IS is the added fuel capacity and beefier shocks, etc.  If the price was equal - I would suggest you look at both and decide which you want.  You will love either one.

[RainMaker]

mark ...
you can park it my garage if its in your way ...
i'll even keep the carbs cleaned out for ya ...
tomorrow looks good ...     

If you'll clean them out first, you can borrow it for a few days......