MINE !!!

[NighthawkVTX]

Well I finally pulled the trigger and bought my 1999 IS,
I live in Oklahoma City, and found her on cycle trader, in Marshall, Tx
I took the Amtrak, Heartland Flyer, to Fort Worth, and transferred to the Texas Eagle. Unfortunately the Eagle was 3 hours late. When I arrived in Marshall, it was 10:00 at night. Just to let you guys know, there is no taxi service in Marshall at 10:00pm.  Thanks to the staff at La Quinta, who sent a staff member to pick me up in their own personal vehicle.
The next morning, at 9:00, the taxi "service" still wasn't running. I called the Bike shop, and the sales guy came and picked me up.

After spending some time kicking the tires, and signing papers I was ready to ride home by 10:30.
I hopped on my new bike and took off for home. About 15 miles down the road, I noticed the speedo and tach, both stopped working. I exiting the interstate, to turn around. I stopped at the end of the exit ramp, and the bike went dead!

I called the shop and told them that I was stuck. They apologized and sent a truck to bring me back.
When we got to the shop I was met by the manager, who apologized, sent the bike to the shop to find the problem. He then handed me a key to a Goldwing, and told me to go and ride around until they could see what the problem was.
I'm sure some of you have already guessed what the problem was. It was a bad alternator.  They replaced the bad alt with one from another  1500 Valk they had on the lot. After that she ran like a top.

Of course by the time all was said and done, it was about 4:00. The bad things about that was I had to drive through downtown Dallas  at Friday night rush hour. The GPS said it would take about 5 1/2 hours. It was more like 8 hours, At the start of the trip it was 72 degrees, at the end it was 48,
Well at least I know my seat is comfortable.. well as comfortable as an 8 hr ride can be.
Funny thing is on my first tank I got about 28 miles a gallon, on the remaining takes I was getting 35-36.

An interesting comment on my "test drive" of the 1800 Wing. I found my Valk to be much more comfortable. That huge frigging fairing on the wing came up close to my knees, I felt boxed in. (I'm 6'5" with a 36 inch in seam. ) Also that fairing is heavy. I could really feel it when moving at slow speeds. When I hopped back on my Valk, it felt like a sport bike in comparison.

Now I have still have some work to do on my new dragon.  I want to change back to stock pipes, those cobra 6/6 pipes are too loud. My ears were ringing after a few short miles. I had to stop at a Walmart to by some ear plugs, despite my helmet. I plan on upgrading the audio system using the suggestions/ideas I found on this site. LED accent lights to the engine,  hardwire a charger/mount for my phone.The bike came with a zumo gps, including mount charger, but the actual gps unit doesn't work right. I found a site that can do repairs on the zumo for about $50, which is a lot cheaper that a new one.

One advantage/disadvantage of owning a Fat lady is, after using the restroom at gas stations, I came out to see people looking at my bike. One guy was absolutely floored when I told him it was a Honda, and it really had a flat 6 engine in stead of a V twin.  I almost made some kid pee his pants when I fired her up with those Cobra 6/6 exhaust.
Let the fun times roll

[Medina]

Well I finally pulled the trigger and bought my 1999 IS,


Funny thing is on my first tank I got about 28 miles a gallon, on the remaining takes I was getting 35-36.

 I found my Valk to be much more comfortable.

 I came out to see people looking at my bike. One guy was absolutely floored when I told him it was a Honda,

in order

congrats!!

Same here, first tank 20mpg, second 30

again, same here, I was at a cross roads, I had my budget, already owned a 1200 wing and was flipping back and forth between a "known", the 1500 wing, and this "valkyrie thing"
Once you go Valk, you'll never go back!®


From my first thread here:

took it out for a ride yesterday.
cold.
check
windy.
check
fun
double check

and, my first official complement
getting gas, someone drove by and said "nice harl......wait thats a...." and as the distance increased I couldn't hear the rest of it.

not a harley.
check

[hubcapsc]

I had to drive through downtown Dallas  at Friday night rush hour. The GPS said it would take about 5 1/2 hours. It was more like 8 hours,

Let the fun times roll...

... in a northern arc straight out of Marshall, through the hills, and curving over to Oklahoma City 

-Mike

[Misfit]

Check out the Gathering of the Fools scheduled for April Fools Day. It would be a great time to meet some good folks and I gaurantee you won't regret it. Welcome to the club. 

[Alpha Dog]

You came out of the bathroom only to notice folks a gawking at your bike.  Better get use to this.  It is a burden us Valk owners have to deal with
chuck

[cookiedough]

great story, one you will remember for the rest of your life.

Glad the dealer took care of you since most would say as-is, too bad, no warranty.  Surprised they had 2 Valks to sell that they could swap alternators and I guess it was meant to be you owning a Valkyrie since got 'sort of' lucky to have it clunk out on you while still near the dealer still.  If already home, you'd be S.O.L. probably getting the dealer to stand behind it.

Get used to the gawks and stares while stopped, especially if all cleaned up and sparkly.  I think most of us have came out of a store or even while driving and been asked to pull over or be followed into a parking lot getting off your bike to be followed and car behind you asked you what is that thing you riding?  HINT:  best leave early since one guy once blabbered with me for almost 25 minutes about the Valk.  A 5  minute trip inside the store took 30 minutes to do.  

It still sort of surprised me that some 16 years later this bike still impresses some since NOT a V-twinky copy cat.  

I also agree with you on the newer Wings about the plastic upfront (and for me more upright seating position) is somewhat hard to get used to being so closed in and I am ONLY 5'10".  I can only image if say like you around 6 1/2' tall, how much MORE cramped your knees would be darn near touching the plastic upfront.  

I'm like most,  just wish the new Valkryie out now would be 'classic' chrome styling old school vs. all that plastic, but times change, we just have to accept cheap plastic over metal and chrome on all vehicles nowadays - hard to get used to.

[RainMaker]

Congratulations on your joining of the Valkyrie clan.  For only being produced 6 years and in limited quantities, they are a very loved motorcycle model.

Stock pipes are a blessing if you can find someone to swap out.  The Cobras sound great, but on longer rides, they are tiring.  In group rides, the loud pipes are always asked to ride in the rear.

As the alternator was changed after going out, I'd recommend a check of the battery.  Pep Boys and others have testers to check the health of a battery and it's a free test.  Never hurts to check.  When the instruments go whacky on an Interstate, it's normally an issue with the alternator not charging and you're just running on the battery. 

Good luck with the I/S and as others have said, try to come to the Gathering of the Fools on April 1st.  It's the 2nd largest gathering of Valkyries in the USA and the Bakers have the best BBQ your mouth will ever taste. 

RainMaker

[sutterhome]

check your cobras the baffles may be gone,mine is redick loud with out but ok cool with them in

[Crazy Dago]

     I PUT NEW BAFFLES IN MY 98  AND A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN SOUND. I BOUGHT THE BAFFLES FROM COBRA IN CALIFORNIA. ENJOY RIDING YOUR NEW LADY.  :crazy2:CRAZY DAGO

[old2soon]

Not KNOWING the health of the rear end Might be a gooder idea to take it down and have a look see at the splines and the cush drive-5 rubber blocks under a plate-and BEFORE you take it apart have the 3 new O-rings on hand. The new cush drive blocks are in the $40ish range I THINK!  You COULD have the cush drive on hand in case they are bad and need to be R & Rd. Ad they rarely go bad sittin on da shelf!  Welcome to he insanity that are us!  I have a 99 I/S that rolle 115000 yesterday on my P G R mission.  Have a look at the brake pads and rotors cause I BELIEVE we have a long summer of ridin comin up!  Again-Welcome and RIDE SAFE.

[Willow]

Nice find, NighthawkVTX.  Will you now have to become NighthawkVTXValkyrie?

If you put a set of baffles in those cobras they may be what you want.  Stock are a lot quieter.

...  In group rides, the loud pipes are always asked to ride in the rear.
... 

Rmaker, be careful how you use the term, always.  I run TBR 6X6 on my Standard.  My wife runs baffled Cobras.  I have been on a great number of group rides and have never been asked to ride in the rear.

[RainMaker]

Nice find, NighthawkVTX.  Will you now have to become NighthawkVTXValkyrie?

If you put a set of baffles in those cobras they may be what you want.  Stock are a lot quieter.

...  In group rides, the loud pipes are always asked to ride in the rear.
... 

Rmaker, be careful how you use the term, always.  I run TBR 6X6 on my Standard.  My wife runs baffled Cobras.  I have been on a great number of group rides and have never been asked to ride in the rear.

I will rephrase - in any group rides I lead, I request that the bikes with the loud pipes position themselves as the last riders within the group.  That also seems to be true of 99% of the rides that the DFW group holds for those in attendance at said rides.   I hope that better indicates my intent with the previous statement.  Thank you for the opportunity to respond.