Cotton wool garage queen finally gets a bloody good thrashing.

[tubehead]

My 98 valk has only done 7000 miles from new by the previous owner and all of that has been inner city cruising and barely a bug has met its maker on it's shiny headlight.My girlfriend and I decided to take a few days off and travel the great ocean road in southern victoria on the valk.We chose the valk over our other bikes as we knew the road would be full of tourist buses traveling at snails pace spoiling the magnificent stretch of twisty road.We were unfortunately not disappointed and we barely broke 50mph  for hour after hour.The bike was very comfortable and would pull from 1100rpm in 4th gear fully loaded so gear changes were minimal and this was my only thrill.Australia would be the most over policed country in the world and even in the middle of nowhere traffic police ly in wait to catch you out so even though we returned via an inland route we just trundled along at 70 mph.That was until a bunch of  mostly sports bikes blew by at around 90.Safety in numbers I figured so I tagged on the back and hoped they didn't mind.
They did and upped the pace to 110-120mph .We were in open country with fairly smooth roads and 80 mph sweepers and the valk was hanging in there until they upped the anty again and pulled away .
This had gone on for a good hour and without the screen fitted it was hard work but after they pulled away I was in the groove and kept the throttle pinned at every opportunity for the rest of the ride home.We stopped for fuel every 100 miles
as fuel consumption was horrific but I have too say the valk handled high speed corners and generally being ridden in a uncruiser like manner amazingly well.We did not  see a single cop that day but we did meet up with 2 of the riders we had been chasing and they had been booked so guess it was our lucky day.They also said I was crazy riding that monster that fast.May be a long time if ever that  I get to do that again but have to say it was a lot of fun because of the bike I was riding.
I am sure this bike runs smoother and changes gear better since this ride and was wondering if anyone else here likes to ride there valkyrie hard?

[Black Dog]

and was wondering if anyone else here likes to ride there valkyrie hard?

Ummm...  Yup 

I could name a dozen or so folks from the great state of Tennessee that would have given those sport bikes a run for their money 

All Valk riders have, at one time or another, tickled the triple digits.  Some become addicted, others enjoy the thrill less often.

I once was riding with a group, on the way home from IZII, and hit reserve at 88 miles  .  The right hand action that day made the fuel consumption sorta like flushing a toilet 

Black Dog

[Crackerborn]

Seriously? Except for a few classic rebuilds, I have never owned a bike that I don't expect to get on down the road. 80 mph is only staying with traffic on the tollways in the Land of Lincoln just to the south of me. The back roads with the curves to the west? As fast as I feel comfortable and the Big Girl handles that as well and better than many other large CI (or CC) rides I have owned. If absolute top end speed is what you want though, sorry, you need a sport bike. The new ones boast up to 200 mph but for some reason, all day on one of those just makes my back (and other body parts) hurt. And the local invitations to the Policeman's Ball get pricey at those speeds.  

[Jess from VA]

Tubehead, thanks for your report.  Glad you had fun.  

We assume Southern Victoria makes you an Aussie?  And that just one big speeding ticket can put you afoot for a year or so?

You know, there may be safety in crowds, but being the last guy in the crowd is about as safe as being alone.  (of course, if everybody is suddenly on the brakes, you may get some warning)

None of us bought our Valks for the gas mileage. 

[~ Timbrwolf]

....Excellent story my friend, reminds me of when I first got my Valk, Interstate.
I wanted to race everything and anything that pulled up next to me at a red light.
I got a good thrashing one day on the highway, by a couple of crotch rockets
also. I was doing around 125 mph, when they just quietly zoomed away from me.
They did give me the thumbs up sign though....before they blew my doors off. 
Ive calmed down ...a bit...since then, and only get "crazy" once in a while.
Lucky for me I live up in the North Woods and there arent many cops around.
My wife also loves speed and every once in a while she will nudge me in the
back and I immediately know what that means.. .


 . ....she has the need. . . ...the need for speed ! ..  

[old2soon]

These beasties we ride have 6 carbs for a REASON!  I have an I/S and coming home from my brothers place on I-55 in Il. I hit reserve at around 120 miles!  The make the cops happy needle was in the buck 20 buck 25 range for awhile-long enough to run to reserve LONG before it normally-using THAT term loosely-would.  These things nudge triple digits very easily and in my case anywho it is addictive!  Mine WILL pull up the front end on hard acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear now and then!  Your post is a good read-enjoy and as we say here-don't feed the bears-L E Os.  RIDE SAFE.

[eric in md]

....Excellent story my friend, reminds me of when I first got my Valk, Interstate.
I wanted to race everything and anything that pulled up next to me at a red light.
I got a good thrashing one day on the highway, by a couple of crotch rockets
also. I was doing around 125 mph, when they just quietly zoomed away from me.
They did give me the thumbs up sign though....before they blew my doors off. 
Ive calmed down ...a bit...since then, and only get "crazy" once in a while.
Lucky for me I live up in the North Woods and there arent many cops around.
My wife also loves speed and every once in a while she will nudge me in the
back and I immediately know what that means.. . 


 . ....she has the need. . . ...the need for speed ! ..  

   change gears your still in fourth gear..  love it

[czuch]

Good ride report.
The milage, well, we use gas. Its the way of things.
100+, well, its the way of things.

[..]

and was wondering if anyone else here likes to ride there valkyrie hard?


Many here have and do. 

[jimmytee]

Uh, Yeah, Ride em hard and put away wet.

[Mr Whiskey]

'Round here we call doin' the ton................"Strollin"
She sure will
Stroll on Brother!

[Daniel Meyer]

 

[Hook#3287]

Riding down a twisty highway one summer, a rider on a either souped up Sporty, or a Bueil, came up behind me.  I could tell he was getting itchy, he couldn't get the spot to pass me and the traffic ahead of us. He would ride up and back down, ride up, then back down again.

I decided to have some fun.  First chance I got, I zoomed around a couple of cars leaving him in the back of the pack.

He didn't stay there long, and joined me at the next opportunity.

We then spent the next 5 or 10 miles passing traffic, me blasting by the cars, him on my flank.

It was fun, and I don't know if he was playing or not, but he couldn't, or didn't, get around me.

I finally had enough, also realizing we would be coming into a town with the possibility of a speed trap, and I backed down.  He road by with a grin in his eyes (full face) and a thumbs up.

When we got into town and hit the first red light, I could see him a couple cars ahead of me shaking off the numbness in his arms.

I didn't have to do that.

Good thrashing

[tubehead]

 :cooldude:Thanks for the feedback.
Well that's good news because here old farts (which @57 I guess am) ride cruisers in a law abiding manner though plenty of that age still ride their sports bikes fast no cruiser has ever passed me at the speeds I was going on the valk.So really that sort of thing is frowned upon here and the masses have been brainwashed to think 5mph over the limit and you may as well be riding a cruise missile with bad intent.20 years ago we just went as fast as possible with the odd fine here and there..

The point is I have sports bikes in my garage and had I been on one it would have been a yawn to hang with those guys BUT I have never owned a cruiser before and I ended up owning the Valk by accident so thrill of riding this very very heavy bike with marginal brakes (compared to a modern sports bike) was unexpected.It just felt a whole lot more dangerous than riding a bike designed to carve up high speed corners.
Lets be honest if you screw up on these bikes at speed your in deep crap and that was my point really who would have thought a cruiser could deliver more thrills than my sports bike that has an electronic brain to keep me out of  trouble.
The Valkyrie is the most unique motorcycle I have ever owned and that motor really pushes all my buttons.

[Valkorado]

Sounds like you're another addict of this great machine!  Yeah, the Valkyrie isn't the most nimble or technologically advanced bike on the road but it's one of the most unique -- and fun -- things you can put between your legs while wearing clothes.  There's nothing like it!

BTW, if you screw up on any bike at speed you're in deep crap.