Going from BMW to Valkyrie....what am i doing ???

[Maxviking]

Hi all,
Long time BMW rider has decided to do a radical change ...
I'm getting rid of my BMW K1200RS and are getting a Valkyrie. After 3000 miles on the beemer, this season i have realized that i is outright boring. Yes it works perfectly, and will take me a 1000 miles in 24 hrs without any issues, but it's sort of lacking a soul....

So in search of something new, i came across the Valkyrie, and immidiately fell madly in love with it.
I have ridden large bikes before (Harleys etc) and are familiar with heavy bikes, and having to stop for fuel a bit more often doesn't bother me. I just want to be a bit more alive when i ride.

So, living in Norway, bikes are a bit more expensive ... try 2 times US prices..then some.
I have two bikes on hand, black standard both: 
10.000 miles /1998 model/$11714   (https://www.finn.no/mc/all/ad.html?finnkode=100310699&fks=100310699)
 
20.000 miles/2001 model/$14.118  (https://www.finn.no/mc/all/ad.html?finnkode=100499938&fks=100499938)

Biggest difference is that one is missing the hardbags & the crome guardrail(?) around the bags.
So here is my questions....
- Is it possible to get these new/original..and at what cost?  (guess that would be a Tourer version?)
- Second hand in good condition...estimate price..and is it possible to get them ?
- Any other alternate brand you would recommend ?

Trying to attach a picture of the bags on the 2001 model ... I can offcourse buy this bike, but it's 1500 miles away, and the seller is unable send me anything but low res pictures...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7slv66nkww21l45/_1928218751.jpg?dl=0

Appreciate any advise  (moving to US and buy the Valk there is not an option  though        )

Thanks
Werner

[Oss]

you need to reach out to Dag from Norway

He has an online shop manual and is a great guy as well

Seach members for Dag and PM him


I have an 04 RTP1150 california police bike and 01 Valk Interstate
They could not be more different.
Will not take anything but the Valk for a ride over an hour its just so comfortable and with 3 foot positions that matters when you are 6'3" (I think that is 45 meters lol)

Seriously Dag is the man to speak with. And as with him if you find yourself flying out of NYC and need a place to bunk send me a PM or better yet put your itinerary on this board and many members will probably offer either a room or share a beverage or meal to a new member

[Gryphon Rider]

If I could afford it, I would buy the second one over the first one.  It has many of the extras that I would want, and it will be your time and effort on top of cost to get the Honda hard bags and windshield missing from the first one.  Also, I would be surprised of you could get that light bar new anymore, and the air horns are a nice bonus.  You also get the Cobra (I think?) pipes and the solo seat that you could sell to get some of your cash back.

I don't like the front fender rail and chrome fender extensions on the first one, and the headers are badly discoloured as well.

[Jess from VA]

Yes, you need to contact Dag from Norway (that's his handle here).  I think he imported his own (from the US) and I believe helped others to do the same in the past.  I don't think he visits too often, so you will probably do better with email than a VRCC forum message.

Here is his website.  http://www.valkyrienorway.com/

An Email for him.  dag.vrcc@gmail.com  

Here's his VRCC profile:   http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?action=profile;u=47

PS, we understand the occasional Valk can be found for sale in the UK (they have the same high prices though).

Used Valk prices in the US are lower than ever before right now.  (Do not balk at a well maintained bike with 50-70K on it; our long riders have now passed 450K miles.)

Used hardbags and mounts can be found in the US.  The chrome saddle bag rails are now made knock off (not Honda) but very decent quality, for much cheaper than OE used, if they can be found.

https://www.ebay.com/i/122572978789?chn=ps&dispItem=1

This is the best outfit in the US to find used valk parts.  

http://pinwallcycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=592656

http://stores.ebay.com/PinWall-Cycle-Parts-Inc/Valkyrie-/_i.html?_fsub=3442307014

[hubcapsc]

Get the 2001 if you can. It is a "deluxe", with the stripe and
clear-coated final drive and wheels, which look real good
if in good condition.

It has a OEM windshield, hard to find now, and expen$ive.

It has OEM bags and rails and "matching" OEM front fender rail.

It has a RIVCO light bar.

Good hiway pegs.

-Mike

[RDKLL]

I have to vote for the 2001 as well. Congrats on the decision! I have been a Valkyrie guy since buy my fir '98 brand new. Went without for a year after an accident...got another '98 in 2004. I have transformed it into a bobber. And we recently got into the sport touring thing with a Super Duke GT.

This board is pretty amazing. Be sure to check out the facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/109339477726/

[Maxviking]

Thanks guys... Yes my hart says 2001 model, so i'll see if i can get some airtickets..  long drive home though :-)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xkgfxcqk8kzvcfw/longwayhome.jpg?dl=0

[JimC]

If you do decide to buy the standard, bags are available occasionally on this board in the classifieds, and on Craigslist here in the states. They run anywhere from US - $800 on up to $1400 for good used with the mounting brackets.

The chrome trim around them can be had for about $180 on ebay, slightly smaller tubing, but look the same.

Jim

[The emperor has no clothes]

The '01 most definitely. 

Someone could make a killing buying bikes here and selling them in Norway. 

[ridingron]

Someone could make a killing buying bikes here and selling them in Norway.  Shocked

Looked into that several years ago with the ST1100. They have a hellacious import fee. One of the guys at work took an old mid 60's convertible Caddy home. Can you say land yacht?  $4000 to just take it off the boat. Don't remember shipping cost.

[Hook#3287]

I'd look at that ride home as a plus .

I vote for the 2001.

Worth the extra $$$ and effort.

Valkyries definitely have "soul" and you're in Norway, where Valkyries were invented 

If you make the trip, we want pictures.

[Karen]

You've actually finally come to your senses! Congratulations, and welcome to the asylum!

[3fan4life]

Upgrading!

[GRR]

You didn't indicate whether you have ever ridden a Valkyrie before, so it's not clear if you are interested in comments about the differences between the beemer and the Valk. I've owned both, so I'll jump in.

I owned a 2004 K1200GT, which is the RS with more features. I swapped the higher GT bars for the lower stock RS bars, so my comparison with yours should be close.

As background, in the late 90's I fell in love with a BMW K1, which I nearly bought but passed due to impracticality, followed by a similar passion for the K1200RS sometime around 2000, but also passed for the same reasons. I replaced a Goldwing with a ST1100 at the time, but lusted after the Valks, both standard and Interstate.

About 18 months ago I fell into a great deal on the K1200GT, which was lightly used and in nearly perfect condition. Electric everything, fuel injection, ABS, Koni suspension all around ($2k!). Until I started riding it for a while.

Silly me, I didn't realize it's the same as the humongous K1200LT, which I previously rode and disliked. Both are tall, heavy, awkward; it's hard to find the kickstand and I nearly fell over numerous times trying to get it out. Climbing off and over the wide saddlebags was difficult.

The K12 has an electric windshield which is really noisy in every position. You have to buy huge ones to quiet the cockpit down, and they just look stupid. The shift mechanism is goofy and clunky. The power brakes are weird and the pedal can't be adjusted. The 'music' the engine makes is out of tune to my ears, and I didn't enjoy hearing it.

The saddlebags are flimsy, leak and are asymetrical. The seat adjustments didn't fit me in any position, and all became uncomfortable after an hour.

The bulletin boards are filled with all manner of fixes for every kind of problem you can imagine, which occur frequently. The rear clutch oil seal is probably the worst, costs $1-2K to fix, and they all will suffer from it after 50k miles.

I haven't disliked a bike as much as I did the K12, which surprised me cause I like the earlier ones so much. When I sold it, it became the only bike I've ever owned that I was glad to get rid of.

After going bikeless for a year, I gave in to my other wish, and bought a Valk Interstate, which share similar vintage and similar rarity with the K12. Bigger, heavier, better bodywork, more comfortable, infinitely more reliable. Perfect in almost every way. I really prefer a sport-tour crouch to the cruiser upright posture, but the Valk is still very comfortable. The factory seat could be improved, and I wish it had a sixth gear, but those are minor complaints.

It's a very different ride, but one that takes no time to get used to and enjoy. I don't even have to ride it to enjoy it - I just love looking at it and starting it.

Do I have any regrets about switching? Only that I should have done it earlier.

HTH, Gary

[Maxviking]

Hi Gary, thanks for posting.

No i've never even sat on a Valk, and today i bought it... Will collect it next weekend, so this will be exciting :-) Hoping the midnight sun is still shining when i collect it.. will send pictures from my return trip

I have driven a Harley Electra Glide Ultra Classic for a week in Rocky Mountains, Colorado, in 2015 so i'm thinking it can't be harder than that.. And i loved driving the HD, although it was a bit tricky at times on steep dirt roads, the cruising experience being on a huge bike is just fantastic.

My bike experience started with a thumper..650 Honda Dominator, but at some point the vibration got to me, so i got a tuned VMAX instead. Oh my God... That was one mean bike, terrible around corners, but who cared..Nothing could compete in the 0-60 race. Since it was tuned heavily, it was spitting fuel literally, and one day it caught fire. I decided then that i wanted someting more suitable for touring and got BMW R1100RT. Best touring bike i've ever had. Took me on a solo trip from Norway to Bulgaria and back without any issues, and everything on the bike was optimized for long touring. I did my unoffical Iron but on that bike easily.

I then had a R1200GS a lot more nible and a very good "general purpose" bike, but it had issues ..leaking final drive, on year, and the next year..in the middle of Germany.. the clutch failed. Clutch failure in Germany is probably the best place to get it though.. 24 hours and i was back in the saddle. But i had lost confidence in the quality, and since the 5 year warranty was about to expire, i traded it for a Honda ST1300.

My thinking was that the ST would be good for high speed transit through Germany (i go down to the Alps every year), boy was i wrong. The whole bike became unstable around 90 mph...back end was all over the place, but a very good touring machine in more normal speeds. So i switched back to a new R1200GS LC.

Fantastick bike, and no problems with it the 2 years i had it. Way better than the previous R1200GS.

The drop in oil price was tough on many people here in Norway, me included. Wife lost her her job and i had to take 2 steps down, so i sold all 3 bikes spring 2016, and got a cheap 97 model BMW R850R. Really liked that bike, but after a 2000 km trip to Hamburg, i decided that for longer trips i needed more protection, hence the K1200RS which i bougth this spring.

I probably had to high expectations tinking that the K1200RS would be a step up in comfort etc. from the R1100RT. It was not. Engine & power is good, but that was pretty much it.

So why Valk?  My point is that buying a bike is a lot about feelings and what one desire, and less logic/common sense... I have a Tesla..That satisfies the common sense thing, so the bikes i buy with my heart :-)