I thought my Valk was the ultimate for me

[ledany]

but today, I rode this one, sooo funny 



I thought I would keep my Valk until 200 000 km (now 16 000). I confess that after the ride, the thought occurred : "Still 184 000 km to go !  "

 

[mrtappan]

As a former BMW owner, my one complaint was "underpowered."

I had an R1200C though so not really a fair comparison with the S series.

[Robert]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing 

[GA VALK]

Looks like a Multistrada want-to be

[irhawk]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing 

I have to say, my K1600 doesn't feel under powered :-)

[Robert]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing  

I have to say, my K1600 doesn't feel under powered :-)

I can agree with that, its probably one of a few in there line up that is decent, but the repair is ridiculous and usual BMW bs tech. There is no do it yourself stuff on the bike its dealer only service if anything goes wrong. Scanner is 15k, programing and software updates make the bike not a real option. Not to mention dealers have not been fond of repairing these either. If you wreck the bike you can forget a easy repair either.

A personal opinion and observation,
    While BMW went into the tech side of things they gave up on reasonable cost of ownership and cost of repair. Even to owner serviceable options that this bike and most times their cars do not have. The electronics failure rate on their cars is not good down to a back order for electric water pumps since they have such a high failure rate at around 60k. Overall not impressed. While some Harley owners and snobby BMW owners have their own terms for a Japanese made bike I can say with confidence that the Goldwing line up will cost less, be on the road more, with just as much comfort and faster pickup for more miles than just about any of the two aforementioned bikes. That in my mind gives me confidence that I own a bike that will serve me for years and not eat me out of house and home, for many more miles than any of these other bikes. Both my son and son in law had Harleys and made comments about my 01 Valk. But I said to them, I say to you now, this bike will be with me long after your bikes are nothing but a memory. Neither of them has their bikes anymore but I still use and have mine.  I use my bike everyday so its not a garage queen, part of joy of ownership is all of what I have mentioned in one package. Would I like to have a BMW if I had plenty of money and had my Valk sure would, but I made my choice and I am very happy with it because these other bikes were part of the options when I bought my 14 Valk. So these reasons along with purchase cost are not sour grapes but considerations or deliberations about what bike to buy.

[irhawk]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing 

I have to say, my K1600 doesn't feel under powered :-)

I can agree with that, its probably one of a few in there line up that is decent, but the repair is ridiculous and usual BMW bs tech. There is no do it yourself stuff on the bike its dealer only service if anything goes wrong. Scanner is 15k, programing and software updates make the bike not a real option. Not to mention dealers have not been fond of repairing these either. If you wreck the bike you can forget a easy repair either.

A personal opinion and observation,
    While BMW went into the tech side of things they gave up on reasonable cost of ownership and cost of repair. Even to owner serviceable options that this bike and most times their cars do not have. The electronics failure rate on their cars is not good down to a back order for electric water pumps since they have such a high failure rate at around 60k. Overall not impressed. While some Harley owners and snobby BMW owners have their own terms for a Japanese made bike I can say with confidence that the Goldwing line up will cost less, be on the road more, with just as much comfort and faster pickup for more miles than just about any of the two aforementioned bikes. That in my mind gives me confidence that I own a bike that will serve me for years and not eat me out of house and home, for many more miles than any of these other bikes. Both my son and son in law had Harleys and made comments about my 01 Valk. But I said to them, I say to you now, this bike will be with me long after your bikes are nothing but a memory. Neither of them has their bikes anymore but I still use and have mine.  I use my bike everyday so its not a garage queen, part of joy of ownership is all of what I have mentioned in one package. Would I like to have a BMW if I had plenty of money and had my Valk sure would, but I made my choice and I am very happy with it because these other bikes were part of the options when I bought my 14 Valk. So these reasons along with purchase cost are not sour grapes but considerations or deliberations about what bike to buy.

No doubt you're right about the higher maintenance costs of the Beemers. The gold wing is legendary for not needing a lot of attention, whereas the BMW, not so much.  Having said that, I have had 3 BMW bikes and never had any issues other than routine maintenance. Others haven't been so fortunate.  BMW is constantly pushing the tech envelope, and for that they have suffered some growing pains.  I think the best strategy when buying a BMW is to wait for the 3rd year of a new model, so that all the kinks have been worked out of the system.

 I'm lucky enough to be able to afford  the K1600 and the Valkyrie.   I think this is the best of both worlds.  They're both 6 cylinder smooth and I love riding them both.  If I could only afford one bike, it would be the Valkyrie hands down  (mostly because of the cost factor). If cost was not considered, I would stick with the BMW, for the overall fun factor and greater comfort on longer trips.

My 2 cents.

[Robert]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing 

I have to say, my K1600 doesn't feel under powered :-)

I can agree with that, its probably one of a few in there line up that is decent, but the repair is ridiculous and usual BMW bs tech. There is no do it yourself stuff on the bike its dealer only service if anything goes wrong. Scanner is 15k, programing and software updates make the bike not a real option. Not to mention dealers have not been fond of repairing these either. If you wreck the bike you can forget a easy repair either.

A personal opinion and observation,
    While BMW went into the tech side of things they gave up on reasonable cost of ownership and cost of repair. Even to owner serviceable options that this bike and most times their cars do not have. The electronics failure rate on their cars is not good down to a back order for electric water pumps since they have such a high failure rate at around 60k. Overall not impressed. While some Harley owners and snobby BMW owners have their own terms for a Japanese made bike I can say with confidence that the Goldwing line up will cost less, be on the road more, with just as much comfort and faster pickup for more miles than just about any of the two aforementioned bikes. That in my mind gives me confidence that I own a bike that will serve me for years and not eat me out of house and home, for many more miles than any of these other bikes. Both my son and son in law had Harleys and made comments about my 01 Valk. But I said to them, I say to you now, this bike will be with me long after your bikes are nothing but a memory. Neither of them has their bikes anymore but I still use and have mine.  I use my bike everyday so its not a garage queen, part of joy of ownership is all of what I have mentioned in one package. Would I like to have a BMW if I had plenty of money and had my Valk sure would, but I made my choice and I am very happy with it because these other bikes were part of the options when I bought my 14 Valk. So these reasons along with purchase cost are not sour grapes but considerations or deliberations about what bike to buy.

No doubt you're right about the higher maintenance costs of the Beemers. The gold wing is legendary for not needing a lot of attention, whereas the BMW, not so much.  Having said that, I have had 3 BMW bikes and never had any issues other than routine maintenance. Others haven't been so fortunate.  BMW is constantly pushing the tech envelope, and for that they have suffered some growing pains.  I think the best strategy when buying a BMW is to wait for the 3rd year of a new model, so that all the kinks have been worked out of the system.

 I'm lucky enough to be able to afford  the K1600 and the Valkyrie.   I think this is the best of both worlds.  They're both 6 cylinder smooth and I love riding them both.  If I could only afford one bike, it would be the Valkyrie hands down  (mostly because of the cost factor). If cost was not considered, I would stick with the BMW, for the overall fun factor and greater comfort on longer trips.

My 2 cents.

I wasn't sure if you were talking about the new Valk or the old. If you do own the new valk or had
a chance to ride one I would be interested in your comparison of the BMW and the new Valk. The BMW was a consideration when I was looking into a new bike, but I didn't like the fact that if anything was wrong I could not erase the check engine light on the dash and would have to have someone do it for me.  When on the road that could  be a real problem. I have both Valkyries old and new and am considering selling the 01 since the 14 has pretty much taken its place. I enjoy the 01 but I seem to be riding the 14 more and more because of the changes in handling and pickup.

[irhawk]

I would have to say the same thing of the whole BMW line up over tech under powered. I looked into this when I was interested in buying the 6 cylinder cruiser. With BMW its not the original purchase price that will kill you its the upkeep. Jealousy such a ugly thing 

I have to say, my K1600 doesn't feel under powered :-)

I can agree with that, its probably one of a few in there line up that is decent, but the repair is ridiculous and usual BMW bs tech. There is no do it yourself stuff on the bike its dealer only service if anything goes wrong. Scanner is 15k, programing and software updates make the bike not a real option. Not to mention dealers have not been fond of repairing these either. If you wreck the bike you can forget a easy repair either.

A personal opinion and observation,
    While BMW went into the tech side of things they gave up on reasonable cost of ownership and cost of repair. Even to owner serviceable options that this bike and most times their cars do not have. The electronics failure rate on their cars is not good down to a back order for electric water pumps since they have such a high failure rate at around 60k. Overall not impressed. While some Harley owners and snobby BMW owners have their own terms for a Japanese made bike I can say with confidence that the Goldwing line up will cost less, be on the road more, with just as much comfort and faster pickup for more miles than just about any of the two aforementioned bikes. That in my mind gives me confidence that I own a bike that will serve me for years and not eat me out of house and home, for many more miles than any of these other bikes. Both my son and son in law had Harleys and made comments about my 01 Valk. But I said to them, I say to you now, this bike will be with me long after your bikes are nothing but a memory. Neither of them has their bikes anymore but I still use and have mine.  I use my bike everyday so its not a garage queen, part of joy of ownership is all of what I have mentioned in one package. Would I like to have a BMW if I had plenty of money and had my Valk sure would, but I made my choice and I am very happy with it because these other bikes were part of the options when I bought my 14 Valk. So these reasons along with purchase cost are not sour grapes but considerations or deliberations about what bike to buy.

No doubt you're right about the higher maintenance costs of the Beemers. The gold wing is legendary for not needing a lot of attention, whereas the BMW, not so much.  Having said that, I have had 3 BMW bikes and never had any issues other than routine maintenance. Others haven't been so fortunate.  BMW is constantly pushing the tech envelope, and for that they have suffered some growing pains.  I think the best strategy when buying a BMW is to wait for the 3rd year of a new model, so that all the kinks have been worked out of the system.

 I'm lucky enough to be able to afford  the K1600 and the Valkyrie.   I think this is the best of both worlds.  They're both 6 cylinder smooth and I love riding them both.  If I could only afford one bike, it would be the Valkyrie hands down  (mostly because of the cost factor). If cost was not considered, I would stick with the BMW, for the overall fun factor and greater comfort on longer trips.

My 2 cents.

I wasn't sure if you were talking about the new Valk or the old. If you do own the new valk or had
a chance to ride one I would be interested in your comparison of the BMW and the new Valk. The BMW was a consideration when I was looking into a new bike, but I didn't like the fact that if anything was wrong I could not erase the check engine light on the dash and would have to have someone do it for me.  When on the road that could  be a real problem. I have both Valkyries old and new and am considering selling the 01 since the 14 has pretty much taken its place. I enjoy the 01 but I seem to be riding the 14 more and more because of the changes in handling and pickup.

I was referring to the new Valk.  This winter when I saw the dramatic price drop, I decided that the new Valk would be perfect for my second bike.  I bought a blue one for $12,600 and have enjoyed it very much.  I never would have bought a gold wing, because it's just too big for my tastes.  I didn't care for the lack of windshield on the Valkyrie, so I bought the boulevard screen.  That helped but there was still too much noise at highway speeds to hear my noise canceling headphones.  So I swapped the windscreen out for a Gustafson 8 inch screen which works pretty well (although I'm kind of wishing I had gotten the 15 inch screen). 

When comparing the Valk to the BMW, I use them for different purposes.  I ride the Valk mostly around town and for trips less than 50 miles.  It just isn't set up for longer rides.  With regard to cornering and acceleration, I give the BMW the edge although the Valk does pretty well in those categories also.  The BMW is more comfortable, probably because of my Corbin seat w/ rider backrest.  I also like the high tech stuff with the BMW.  In dynamic mode, the throttle response is amazingly quick. Then there's the automatic suspension, DTC, cruise control, ABS, etc.  The beemer is also a little quieter which makes it easier to hear what I'm listening to.  I was hoping the Valk would be as quiet as a gold wing, but it doesn't seem to be.  I think I will prefer the Valk on hot summer days because of the greater air flow.  All in all I'm just very pleased to have both bikes and be able to switch back and forth.

Cheers.

[Robert]

Irhawk
 Yup I can agree with all you said but, "Quieter than the Valk"  ??? You must not be able to hear the motor running    the other thing is I do have the tall windshield have Corbin bags and seat ordered plus the cowl running lights. I also agree with you about the Wing thats why I decieded not to buy one and was never really my cup of tea, and  I never have gotten used to so many creature comforts on my bikes, I like it a little simpler. Thank you for your insights, aren't you the lucky one or not because you have to decide which one to ride and make time for both. 

[irhawk]

Irhawk
 Yup I can agree with all you said but, "Quieter than the Valk"  ??? You must not be able to hear the motor running    the other thing is I do have the tall windshield have Corbin bags and seat ordered plus the cowl running lights. I also agree with you about the Wing thats why I decieded not to buy one and was never really my cup of tea, and  I never have gotten used to so many creature comforts on my bikes, I like it a little simpler. Thank you for your insights, aren't you the lucky one or not because you have to decide which one to ride and make time for both. 

Robert,

 I think the taller windshield would help and I may eventually go that route, but I really hate to look through the screen, which is why I'm sticking with the 8" gustafson for now. I'm only 5'9" so I assume I'd be looking through the 18" Honda screen. That's why I went for the Boulevard screen in the first place.  I don't know why Honda doesn't offer an intermediate sized screen.  Seems shortsighted.  It would seem to me that for most people the boulevard screen is too short, and the tall Honda screen is too tall.  I might be able to see over the 15" Gustafson screen so I might look into that. 

I'm sure the increased noise in the Valk is partly due to increased wind noise from the shorter windscreen, but the Valk exhaust note is clearly louder than my K1600.  I have to crank up the volume a couple of notches higher on the Valk, to hear the same. 

Having to decide which of these two awesome bikes to ride is a nice problem to have.   

[Robert]

Irhawk
 Yup I can agree with all you said but, "Quieter than the Valk"  ??? You must not be able to hear the motor running    the other thing is I do have the tall windshield have Corbin bags and seat ordered plus the cowl running lights. I also agree with you about the Wing thats why I decieded not to buy one and was never really my cup of tea, and  I never have gotten used to so many creature comforts on my bikes, I like it a little simpler. Thank you for your insights, aren't you the lucky one or not because you have to decide which one to ride and make time for both. 

Robert,

 I think the taller windshield would help and I may eventually go that route, but I really hate to look through the screen, which is why I'm sticking with the 8" gustafson for now. I'm only 5'9" so I assume I'd be looking through the 18" Honda screen. That's why I went for the Boulevard screen in the first place.  I don't know why Honda doesn't offer an intermediate sized screen.  Seems shortsighted.  It would seem to me that for most people the boulevard screen is too short, and the tall Honda screen is too tall.  I might be able to see over the 15" Gustafson screen so I might look into that. 

I'm sure the increased noise in the Valk is partly due to increased wind noise from the shorter windscreen, but the Valk exhaust note is clearly louder than my K1600.  I have to crank up the volume a couple of notches higher on the Valk, to hear the same. 

Having to decide which of these two awesome bikes to ride is a nice problem to have.   

If you purchased the taller screen and did not like looking through it, there have been some that have cut it down a inch or two with great results. I am a bit taller and do look through the windshield most of the time but I can look over it if I sit up straight. I really like it being that tall which I didn't think I would but it keeps a lot of wind off you and makes the ride really enjoyable. Yes the choice is a tuff one but someones got to make it  all the best to you.

[AdrianR]

Irhawk
 Yup I can agree with all you said but, "Quieter than the Valk"  ??? You must not be able to hear the motor running    the other thing is I do have the tall windshield have Corbin bags and seat ordered plus the cowl running lights. I also agree with you about the Wing thats why I decieded not to buy one and was never really my cup of tea, and  I never have gotten used to so many creature comforts on my bikes, I like it a little simpler. Thank you for your insights, aren't you the lucky one or not because you have to decide which one to ride and make time for both.  

Robert,

 I think the taller windshield would help and I may eventually go that route, but I really hate to look through the screen, which is why I'm sticking with the 8" gustafson for now. I'm only 5'9" so I assume I'd be looking through the 18" Honda screen. That's why I went for the Boulevard screen in the first place.  I don't know why Honda doesn't offer an intermediate sized screen.  Seems shortsighted.  It would seem to me that for most people the boulevard screen is too short, and the tall Honda screen is too tall.  I might be able to see over the 15" Gustafson screen so I might look into that.  

I'm sure the increased noise in the Valk is partly due to increased wind noise from the shorter windscreen, but the Valk exhaust note is clearly louder than my K1600.  I have to crank up the volume a couple of notches higher on the Valk, to hear the same.  

Having to decide which of these two awesome bikes to ride is a nice problem to have.  

I purchased a universal windscreen that another forum member purchased and installed with great results.  It's 12.5" tall...I am only 67" tall so this should be perfect for me.  Will post pics after I get it this week. I absolutely do not want to look through a windshield...I just want a deflector to move most of the bugs and gravel over the top of my head....