Valkyrie newbie used Valkyrie question

[Shasta]

Hello all

I am shopping for my first Valkyrie and had a question about a promising bike I saw.

It is a 97 with 14,000 miles.

I know low miles is good but are there inherent problems with older low mileage bikes.  I am sure those miles are not spread out perfectly and that the bike sat for long periods.

I also saw a 1999 with about 60,000 miles for $800 less. 

Both look super clean.

What do you guys think?

Thanks, Matt

[RainMaker]

Recommend you post where the Valks are and have one of the members (Valkyrie owners) meet you at the bikes location.

Not enough info to decide on which one.  The 60K bike is barely broken in.  How old are the tires on these bikes?  Have they been wrecked?  When and where have them been serviced? Any extra chrome or accessories on either one?

The more you tell us, the more we can help.  Post the urls for the listings.

[cookiedough]

yes and no or should I say maybe??

I bought my 2001 I/S with ONLY 15K miles on it 6 years ago.  It stumbled and sputtered pretty badly when first bought, but worked out the kinks after several runs with it so as it runs 90% well, close enough for me.

It needed NEW tires since old Dunlop's on them sucked and hard any tire much over 6-7 years old is iffy at best  - check 4 digit code date on the tires.

I changed spark plugs as well and adjusted idle screw both easy to do as well as changed rear differential and antifreeze.

Take it for a spin for 10-20 miles to see if you like it and runs well,  you should be able to tell if idles smoothly and has smooth, powerful pickup or sputters some.

If the price is right, can't go wrong with either one.  go for it.   

[Moonshot_1]

Hello all

I am shopping for my first Valkyrie and had a question about a promising bike I saw.

It is a 97 with 14,000 miles.

I know low miles is good but are there inherent problems with older low mileage bikes.  I am sure those miles are not spread out perfectly and that the bike sat for long periods.

I also saw a 1999 with about 60,000 miles for $800 less. 

Both look super clean.

What do you guys think?

Thanks, Matt

Might be 114,000 miles. I got a 99 tourer (recently given to my daughter and son in law) with over 100k and been in one wreck. Folks can't believe it has over 100k. The speedo was destroyed in the wreck at 34k so it shows 67k now and the bike looks better than that too.

Point is check out the history of the bike.

[gordonv]

Read this in Shoptalk.

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/Known%20Valkyrie%20Problems.htm

How capable of a mechanic are you? The low mile bike will most likely need new tires, price them out. Then compare with the high mile bike. If you expect to be doing a lot of miles, then it might be better to get the low mile one, but if you're only going to do about 5K/year, the other will do fine.

I just got my new to me IS, and expect to do all the maintenance, because I can't get any history on when it was last done. All oils (engine, drive, clutch, brakes), rear wheel spines.. anything else I can think off. Have been making a long list so I can keep track of what needs doing next.

Both year bikes are fairly the same, only difference is if you want bags/windshield, plain, or fairing/storage/radio.

[hubcapsc]

Are both bikes Tourers or Standards or Interstates? Which one of those
would you want the most? What are the colors? The extras? A clean
60k Valkyrie could have most of its life left in it, they're pretty good
bikes  Can you ride the low mileage one? If it runs good
and idles good, its probably not all clogged up from sitting around...

-Mike