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Here it is, one of the hottest motorcycles ever made - the groundbreakingly versatile Honda Valkyrie. This behemoth takes classic long 'n' low cruiser/tourer looks and infuses them with a drag strip mentality. With 1520 cc's of screaming power crammed into a deadly-smooth flat six cylinder engine nestled underneath six carbs and belching into a 6-into-6 exhaust system, this demon generates a whiplash-inducing 94.6 HP at 5800 RPM and 91.9 foot-pounds of torque at 4700 RPM. And brother, get out the sunglasses 'cuz it looks like there done been an explosion at the chrome factory!
So, how did I wind up with a Valk? Well, my first bike was a beat up 1974 Honda 125 that my dad bought when I was in high school. I think he had some crazy ideas about using it for running errands and stuff, but after laying it down the first time out he passed it along to me. I was a little overly ambitious with the thing and after one of several long journeys it finally just fried out on me. It's probably still rusting in a ditch somewhere up in the north woods of Minnesota. When I hit college (student loans, booyah!) I picked up an old 1971 CB450 that had also seen it's better days. And it too fell victim to my touring (and lack of maintenance) habits. That one died when I tried taking it on a 400 mile trip, this time with little or no oil in the crankcase (and no money or mechanical know-how to fix the leaks). By 1985 I finally had a decent job and could afford what, to me anyway, was the best bike in the world - a brand spanking new V45 Magna. I still remember the television commercials for the Magna, touting it as the muscle cruiser that ate every other bike for lunch in the quarter mile. Hell, I knew right away that I just had to have one. And that bike was amazing. I had it for 17 years, put around 40,000 miles on it and never had to do anything beyond the regularly scheduled maintenance.
By 2002 the old Magna. was beginning to show its age, and I started thinking it might be time to sell it and get something newer and bigger. While killing time at the local Honda dealer (I think I was getting a new tire put on the Magna or something), I got my first look at the mighty Valkyrie. When I saw that gotterdamerung power plant spilling out from the frame, I was sold. I liked the look, just plain assumed that the "Honda" badge meant quality, and decided to go for it. I picked up a black '98 Standard off of eBay shortly thereafter and was in business. Well, in business for about 3 months, anyway. I wound up totalling that bike on an icy Minnesota road in October of 2002. Not to be deterred, I shopped around town and quickly located this red and black beauty (in November of that same year) at Minneapolis Hondatown. MSRP was $13,099, but I picked up this one brand new for $10,900 (hey Harley, match that). I was never much into working on bikes before, but there's just something about the seductive simplicity of the Valkyrie that simply compels you to pick up the wrenches and get busy. Now it's my ongoing project to take this beast to even greater heights of snarling performance and eye-popping good looks. In the coming weeks, months, and years, watch as I give a clinic on obsessively pouring increasingly ridiculous amounts of cash into a motorcycle.
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Next, go out and drop a few bucks on an array of fine Valkyrie wear (IE, cheap T-shirts). Let everyone know what an obsessed, oil-soaked, bugs-in-the-teeth Valk fanatic you really are.
The first job of any new Valkyrie owner should be to replace those ridiculous low wattage bulbs that come in the instrument cannisters. Stock, your speedometer and tachometer are virtually unreadable at dusk or under streetlights. For $2.99 I picked up a pair of Sylvania 194LL (long life) bulbs and now I can see just how many laws I'm breaking at night.
Next step is to swap out the stock timing wheel for an Air-Lake trigger wheel ($20). This little piece of voodoo advances the engine's timing six degrees and supposedly adds up to 6 horsepower, 8 foot-pounds of torque and increases gas mileage by 5 MPG. The only downside is that it will slice a little bit off your top end (too much advance if your RPMs are putting you up over 100 MPH). It's a noticeable kick in the pants, though. It looks complicated, but it's actually a pretty simple install. It took me less than 30 minutes, but it helps when you have Sgt. Joe's expert assistance. Check out his website, it's a hoot.
Ah yes, a pair of "F6" air valve dust caps. Truly a vital performance accessory.... not! Oh well, at least they were "only" $10 (eBay).
Preparing for a LaMonster supercharger, I dropped $18 on a pair of "SuperCharged" emblems for my valve covers. The fact that they're OEM parts for a Nissan Xterra will be our little secret, eh?
Now, the Trigger Wheel is nice, but if you really want complete control over ignition parameters you've just gotta get yourself a Dynatek "Dyna 3000" ignition control module ($360). It replaces the factory ICM (with it's single timing curve) and comes with 10 different pre-programmed timing curves (selectable by a switch on the outside of the module). The curves range from stock to super-advanced. You can also select up to 10 degrees of retard for nitrous and blower applications (a ground wire is provided so you can hook this feature up to a switch). And if all that weren't enough, you can even change the factory RPM rev limit from 7250 to whatever ridiculously high level you want (depending on how psychotic you're feeling that day). If you're planning on running a blower, fuggedaboutit, you gots ta have one of these or you're going to fry your pistons. This is a dead-simple plug'n'play install, taking about 5 minutes. The trigger wheel can be left in for an overall timing advance increase, but it doesn't really seem necessary. Some of these Dyna curves are totally radical and with the trigger wheel your timing would probably be over-advanced, eating top end.
There have been various reports of these modules failing prematurely, mine included. Everything was fine throughout the winter as I worked on my bike, but the very first time I got out on the road the thing started cutting out on me - ignition would cease until I hit the kill switch and started over (kill resets the processor in the module). The good news is that I returned it to Dynatek and received a brand new replacement within a couple of weeks, no questions asked. I have had no problems with the replacement. I've been told that the plugs on some D3K units are a little smaller than the stock ICM plugs, sometimes making for iffy connectivity. It's possible to make a faulty unit work by simply taking a pliers and ever so slightly tightening the sockets on the ICM harness. Something to try if your unit flakes out after the warranty has expired.
On a side note, if you have a Tourer or Standard and don't have a blower in your future, you might consider replacing your ICM with an OEM Interstate ICM. It has a nice timing bulge in the midrange (to compensate for the heavier I/S) that will give your Standard or Tourer a very nice kick in the pants. Curve #2 on the D3K is the I/S timing curve.
Picked up a set of Custom World hard saddlebags ($475 on eBay). I like the looks of the stock Valkyrie Tourer hard bags. Unfortunately, Honda (in their finite wisdom) has decided not to sell Tourer bags as an accessory. They do sell them piecemeal and I suppose if you've just gotta have stock, you could purchase all 100+ parts seperately and put the things together yourself, but at a cost in excess of $3000 even I'm not that bloody stupid. These bags are decent enough, and certainly look like the stock bags. They're nice and sturdy (except for the somewhat wobbly plastic hinge) and plenty big. I would prefer nice big latches like the stock bags have (as opposed to the pop-machine style locks that open and close the lids on these bags) but oh well.
Installation is a bit of a bitch, mainly because of the crappy installation instructions. Seriously, the French-Canadian nitwit who put together "le instructions" needs a date with the guillotine. I kid you not, we're talking about someone's scribbled notes and handmade "drawings" on a couple of sheets of paper, complete with stuff crossed out and the occasional foray into French. Easily the worst mechanical instructions I've ever seen. Fortunately, the guy I bought them from was able to sort it all out for me via email.
I believe these bags have been discontinued (expect to see a lot more discontinuations now that Honda has foolishly dropped the Valkyrie). I got mine from Cajun Cycle and they might still have a few more sets laying around.
If you're looking for decent after-market bags and have some money to spend, check out Champion's "Patriot" bags. They're dead-ringers for stock, and from what I've been told, are high quality.
Pro-One dipstick ($16.95 on eBay) and Pro-One upper gas tank mount cover ($15.95 on eBay).
If you're going to be doing any real work on your V, then you need a serious lift (Sears Craftsmen ATV/Motorcycle lift, $100). And if you don't want to mess around with ungainly straps or accidentally dropping 750 lbs worth of bike on your head, then you need a Spoonland adapter to secure your bike to your lift ($69.95). For the most part, you can get along without one of these things. But if you plan to swap shocks, change tires, or play around with the fork, you're going to want one of these. Finally, get a good shop manual. I got the Clymer ($18 from eBay) and the Honda Valkyrie service manual ($40, also from eBay).
Rattlebars radiator grille and radiator top kit (purchased from VRCC member for $95).
Got a good deal on a set of studded OEM passenger and driver seats from eBay ($128). I never noticed how different the 1997-1999 driver seats are from the 2000+ seats. The later seats (like the one I already sold on eBay) are noticeably larger and just plain cooler looking. Now that I see how different they are, I think I'm going to have to reacquire a 2000+ OEM seat and have studs added to it manually (since all the stock studded seats are of the older, smaller style). Kind of a pain, but what else is there to do in Minnesota in the winter?
Added a couple of Harley-Davidson "Early-Style" driving lights ($86 for the pair from J&P Cycles). I checked out all of the various spotlight/driving light/lightbar options for the Valkyrie and these are the lights that looked the best to me (and, surprisingly, they were the cheapest option). Most of the lightbars I looked at either relocate/replace the turn signals (which I didn't want to do) or they place the spotlights in an unattractive position relative to the headlight. It only looks right to me if the spots are above the turn signals, within an inch or two of the headlight and the centers of the spots are approximately level with the center of the headlight. Installation was pretty simple, taking maybe an hour to get everything clamped on and wired up. The clamps that come with the lights are too small relative to where they need to connect to the turn signal stalks (they won't close all the way) so I replaced them with a pair of 1.25" Kuryakyn quick clamps ($40).
After running this setup for several months I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't going to work. The turn signal stalks are tapered and it's an ongoing adventure to get the lights to stay put and stay lit. Eventually the clamps start moving around on the stalks and lose connectivity or start pointing in funny directions. I'm tired of messing around with them all the time so I'm going to look into getting a Sophie's Motorcycle Works lightbar bracket on which to mount them.
I get a lot of inquiries about where to get these spots. Here you go: J&P Cycles. I don't really recommend them. The bulbs they use are terrible. I wound up having to replace mine about once a month.
Relocated the dreaded sticky-outy horn to a better location with a Sophie's Motorcycle Works horn relocater bracket ($40). This is a bigger job than you'd think, requiring the fuel tank be removed. Looks damned nice, though.
Hondaline studded backrest ($34)
I repurchased a 2000 seat ($25 from a VRCC member) and added the studs myself ($34 for the studding tool and the studs, J&P Cycles). These newer seats are much better looking and much more comfortable than the pre-2000 seats.
Gorgeous two-tone saddlebag paint job provided by Al's Body Shop of Minnetonka, MN ($450). I supplied the paint ($140), they supplied the clear-coat and the pinstriping. I made the mistake of assuming I needed OEM Honda Tourer saddlebag pinstriping for the paint job I wanted and went ahead and purchased them. Unfortunately the decals didn't fit my aftermarket saddlebags (the indented CW logo is in the way). The guys at Al's just used whatever standard aftermarket pinstriping they had sitting around the shop instead and it looks just sensational (and they didn't even charge me for it). Had I known, I wouldn't have wasted my money on the Honda pinstripes! Oh well, live and learn.
Hondaline chrome handlebar clamp ($42) with custom engraving ($50).
Big Bike Parts swing arm pivot covers ($32.33), Hondaline oil filler cap ($17.95), and Custom World tach and speedo visors ($36.99). The clamps on the visors are hideous - these things are junk and have been removed from my bike.
Aeromach "Flat 6" cam end covers ($62). I don't think these things are available anymore, sorry.
Hondaline backrest plate ($20) and Valkyrie emblem ($30), Hondaline chrome radiator filler cap ($12 from eBay), Hopnel leather tank panel/bag ($45) with $7 worth of custom studs applied by yours truly.
Hondaline engine hanger covers ($60)
Custom World studded driver's backrest ($250) and Kuryakyn ISO handgrips ($50) with throttle boss ($15).
Big Bike Parts chrome master cylinder covers ($17) and the Mark T exhaust system package (glasspacks, chrome truck stacks, "trombones" and "silencers" $939). For my money, you can't beat Mark T's Valkyrie exhaust system. Pretty much any 6-into-2 exhaust system is going to net you about 10 more ponies over a 6-into-6 system (putting me up over 110!). But Mark T wins over the others in both looks and sound. Mark T's use the stock Valkyrie headers (double walled chrome, so no bluing). And in just a few seconds you can change the sound from a nice throaty glasspack growl to near-stock (Silencers) or straight pipe roar (Trombones). I love that flexibility. For more information: HORSEAPPLE.COM
Yamma-hamma! Here it is, the LaMonster/Magnacharger supercharger ($3600, although I made back $400 by selling my OEM carbs, intakes and filter case on eBay). I haven't been on the Dyno yet, but this supposedly adds about 32 horsepower, putting me up over 130.
Now, Lamont claims that "a person of average mechanical ability should be able to install it unassisted in an afternoon", which is a bit of a chuckle. Maybe Lamont can install one of these things in an afternoon, but it took me over a month. Admittedly, I didn't work on it more than a couple of hours a day, 3-4 days a week and I absolutely was extra careful and took my time, but still... an afternoon??
If you're a newbie mechanic like me and are contemplating this install, there are a few things you should keep in mind: First of all, when you get the kit absolutely do not assume that A) it's complete, and B) the parts you did get are all correct. My kit was missing a few parts, had extra parts that I didn't need and had parts that didn't fit my bike. Nothing major, but just something to be aware of. Magnacharger assembles lots of different kits for lots of different applications so the occasional screw-up is inevitable. Next, realize that this is a custom kit and it's absolutely not like installing nice OEM parts designed and manufactured by Honda for your specific bike. About the only part of the whole install that's straight-forward is bolting on the new intake manifold. Everything else is an adventure. You have to make your choke and throttle cables work with a Harley-Davidson carbeurator, you have to chop your timing cover in two, you have to remove your old fan and put on a new one, you have to reposition the radiator, you have to... well, you get the idea. I spent almost as much time using my hacksaw and grinder as I did my wrenches on this job (only a slight exaggeration).
Next, be sure to hook yourself up with as many knowledgeable blower installers as you can find. If I didn't have ready email access to Deano and Jeff K (VRCC blower experts) there is no way I could have pulled this off. Lamont might be a brilliant engineer, but he's not much for writing instructions. And know this: the instructions that come with the kit (and found on the LaMonster website) are not complete, not entirely up-to-date and not entirely accurate. Someone like me would need a full-blown instructional video to do this on his own, and the instructions and pictures Lamont supplies simply do not cut it for someone at my skill/experience level. Plus, Lamont is not an easy guy to get ahold of. He doesn't like email for some reason and more often than not, when you call him you find yourself talking to his answering machine. Fortunately, Deano and Jeff were always there providing guidance when I needed it. I also got a lot of help from the main man at Magnacharger (Bill). The dude works strange hours (late) and always seemed to have time for my dumb questions. And my install was not a slam-dunk by any means. Once assembled I had to deal with a stuck fan (mounted it too close to the bike frame), fuel pump problems, coolant leaks (Lamont conveniently forgets to mention that you need to leave the thermostat housing bolts loose), and various fuel mixture problems. But eventually I got it done, and it just goes to show that someone of my limited experience can pull this off without too much trouble. On the other hand, I've heard horror stories from people who really f*cked up their bikes because they screwed something up during the install. So take your time, be extra careful and if you're ever in doubt, put down the tools and go get the advice of somebody who's done it before.
Having said all that, the devil is definitely in the fine-tuning. When I first installed the kit I had a really obnoxious sounding up and down surge at idle (continually cycling up and down between about 800 RPMs and as much as 1500 RPMs). I hated it, thought it sounded like crap and refused to listen to all the people that tried to tell me that it was normal, expected, and to not worry about it (hi Lamont!). At first I wasted a lot of time looking for nonexistant vacuum leaks (Jeff K thinks every problem is due to a vacuum leak), but that got me nowhere. Next, I focused on tuning the idle lower (900 RPMs seems to be the threshold), which did in fact eliminate the surging problem, but unfortunately introduced other problems (annoying things like your bike killing whenever you come to a stop, for example).
The next trick I tried (that I got from Terry Klatt-Cycle Tek) was to drill a small hole (#51 bit) dead-center in the lower half of the carb butterfly. If you've installed the kit, you've probably noticed that the idle mixture screw on the carb does absolutely nothing. This hole provides the added air flow you need to bring the idle mixture screw into play and give you another tool in your search for a smooth idle. I'd love to explain to you the nuts of bolts of why this works, but to tell you truth, it's a little bit beyond me. It has something to do with the position of the butterfly and the tiny feed holes underneath it when its in the idle position. Contact Terry if you want the expert explaination.
Along with getting the idle mixture screw into the mix, I also went with Magna Bill's suggestion to try different jets, and spent a lot of time experimenting with different pilot jets, main jets and idle settings to get good performance and a decent sounding idle. I've found that swapping the supplied size 45 pilot jet for a size 40 allows you to set your idle low enough (between 700 and 800 RPMs) to get a nice smooth idle, and yet not stall out when stopping. Unfortunately, this results in a noticeable loss of oomph when blasting off, and hell, if you can't pull the front end up off the ground, what's the point? I eventually went back to the stock jets (45/195), which wasn't quite optimal, but pretty close. Had full power, was nice and warm blooded (no need to baby it once it was up and running for a few minutes), and with Terry's carb mod, the idle was dead smooth at around 950 RPMs. Unfortunately, it would still occasionally kill in RPM-drop situations and it definitely ran too rich. I addressed the richness issue by moving the needle clip on the carb to the leanest position (top-most) and got it to run almost perfectly. However, it would still stall when RPM's dropped precipitously and it definitely felt too lean when running in first gear at low RPM's (kind of balky).
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when I installed a set of Viking performance pipes. Man, I can't believe how many weeks, months and years I wasted trying to tune this bike using those skinny, stock header pipes. There's just no point in it! You simply cannot push enough exhaust through them to keep up with the supercharger. On the other hand, the Viking pipes have these monstrously huge header pipes that can take anything the blower is going to dish out.
After installing the pipes the only other adjustment I needed to make was to move the needle clip down to the middle (two notches down from the top). Now it starts, idles and runs absolutely perfectly - no balkiness, no hesitation, no stalls, and instant response at all throttle levels. Better still, it feels like I'm making at least another 20 horsepower (definitely up in the 140 range now). So, I guess the lesson here is that if you're going to supercharge your bike, upgrade your exhaust (and at this point, it looks like Viking is about the only option). Otherwise, you're just wasting your time.
If you'd like to supercharge your own bike but aren't into the idea of doing the work yourself, here are a few options:
Magnacharger - $350 - 530-865-7010 (California)
Jeff Kozloski - $500 - jeff@jkozloski.com (Wisconsin)
Cycle Tek (Terry Klatt) - $700 (or so) - 763-792-2331 (Minnesota)
And if you have installed a La Monster and, well, blew it, bite the bullet and get in touch with Terry. He is a bone fide genius with these things and has fixed a number of really messed up installs - creating some very happy Valk riders in the process.
Highway Hawk taillight cover ($38), and an American Eagle Leatherworks fork bag ($100). The bag was real handy for carrying goggles and whatnot, but unfortunately those damned buckles kept bottoming out on the fender every time I hit a good sized bump, leaving me with a couple of nice big gouges in my paint. I finally had to get rid of it, and I have to admit, I kind of prefer the cleaner, less cluttered look.
Personalized license plate ($107) with chrome Honda license plate bolts ($10 from eBay), Hondaline luggage rack ($95), and Hondaline saddlebag mats ($35). The mats required a little trimming to fit inside the Custom World bags.
Added a Tulsa Enterprises auxiliary fuse panel to power my spotlights and the blower fuel pump ($21). In order to power it off the accessory terminals I added a generic relay ($10 from CarQuest). Also added a Hobbs pressure switch ($45 from Napa, part #701-1591) to send the Dyna 3000 ignition module into 6 degrees of retard when the boost hits 4 PSI (I also have to burn premium gas). I don't know what I'd do without this feature. Without the appropriate amount of retard I have severe detonation issues at wide open throttle, and I've been advised by those that know that I'd quickly find myself with blown up pistons if I play around with any detonation at all.
Hondaline chrome front fender guard rail ($87), Pro One chrome oil filter cover ($42), Kuryakyn chrome transmission covers ($139). I screwed up the transmission cover install (snapped off a bolt), so I contacted Hal at Directline who put me in touch with a guy over at Kuryakyn who sent me out a whole set of replacement hardware free of charge, no questions asked. Gotta love that kind of service.
American Eagle Leatherworks jumbo sport pack ($291)
Formotion stick-on clock ($30)
Kuryakyn #4050 ISO highway pegs ($149). I've tried out a couple of different crashbar mounted pegs and highway boards and these are the best I've found. They are rock solid and can be set to any number of different positions. Regardless of what you do, that great big wide flat six is always going to present a problem. Still, this seems to be the best option for my legs.
I picked up a 6.9 gallon Interstate tank on eBay ($200) and had it painted at Al's Body Shop ($350). My old Hopnel tank belt didn't fit the new tank so I picked up an OEM Interstate tank belt ($57) and added studs to it ($10). I bought a stock fuel level sensor for the tank ($63) and hooked it up to a VDO fuel gauge ($29). Sitting next to that is an Autometer vacuum/boost gauge ($44). The gauges are held to the handle bars with a pair of Pro One cable clamps ($67 for the pair) and are mounted inside a pair of Autometer gauge cups ($79 for the pair).
I get a lot of people asking me about the gauge hardware I used, so here are the specifics:
ATM-3303 2 1/16 30In Hg/30PSI Turbocharger gauge Sport Comp
VDO fuel level gauge 301-509
Auto Meter gauge mounting cup
Pro One cable clamp
OK, I admit it, I went too far. Like a lot of people who get a vehicle they really like, I overdid it with draping custom stuff on it. I used to like the studded look, but now, along with all the accessories I've added, it just looks busy to me. Also, I find that the more I see Valks decked out for solo cruising, the more I like that look.
So, first I get rid of the studded backrests (driver and passenger) and luggage rack. I have a non-studded passenger rest in storage should the need arise, but for daily cruising, forget it. It really messes up the natural lines of the bike. Similarly, there really isn't any need for a driver backrest when it comes to my daily driving needs. I also got rid of the custom studded tank belt/pouch and replaced it with the stock version ($87 from Hondaline). The studs on the pouch add a nice accent without going overboard.
Next I get rid of the passenger seat. Letting that nice, big, round rear fender show through completely changes the looks of the bike, and to my eye, reveals the true look of a Valkyrie. The seat goes on and off in a couple of minutes, so I just carry it around in the saddlebags and put it on when I need to give somebody a ride (like when I pick my son up at school).
Now, to clean up the rear end I replaced that godawful stock license plate frame (with the giant reflectors) with an Aeromach frame ($50). And to take the place of the stock sissy bar I added a Big Bike Things cruiser bar ($40). I also decided to get rid of the Highway Hawk taillight accent. What's the point in busying things up with the cheapest and most common Valk customization? I prefer the clean look of the stock light.
To replace the studded OEM seat I thought I would try an Ultimate seat. Unfortunately, this was a failed experiment. Yes, it's plenty squishy and no doubt cuts down on butt burn, but I really dislike the looks of it. It's too busy what with all the stitching and logos and whatnot and doesn't really work with the stock rear seat. Plus, it's just too huge and puffy looking. To make matters worse, it's not all that comfortable for me to sit on. The rear of the seat pushes forward and the giant nose pushes back, while at the same time I sink down into the middle, and basically what you wind up with is a case of crotch squeeze. Not comfortable at all. So, the seat is being returned for refund. Frankly, I still really like the look of the (non-studded) stock seat and am just going to have to find another one. Now, for solo-cruising I think I need to check out one of those Corbin stinger (aka gunfighter seats). They come with a removable back rest which should be ideal for long cruises.
Show Chrome (Big Bike Parts) stealth mirrors ($65). These aren't going to win any safety awards but they're very cool looking. At one point I was trailering my bike across town and I guess it must've been a pretty bumpy ride because one of the nuts that holds one of the mirrors to its stalk worked itself loose and the mirror fell off. I recovered the mirror, but lost the little concave piece that holds it in place after you adjust its position. I contacted Big Bike Parts to inquire about purchasing a replacement part. They had a better solution and mailed me a brand new set of mirrors. How's that for customer service? Funny story - the guy who was trailering my bike was a Harley owner and apparently quite familiar with having parts rattle loose from his bike. He took one look at my missing mirror and said "welcome to my world".
OK, now on my fourth stock seat, this one I'm keeping. It looks awesome, fits fine with the Interstate tank and is comfortable as hell ($80 used from a VRCC member). I really paid a premium price for a stock seat, especially a used one, but amazingly it turns out to be worth every penny. I don't know what they were smoking down at the seat factory the day they made this one, but it is markedly more comfortable than the other stock seats I've owned (which were plenty comfortable in their own right). Seriously, this thing is as plush and cushy as an Ultimate. I had to double check with the guy who sold it to me to find out if he'd installed some kind of gel pack in it or something (he hadn't). Definitely a one-of-a-kind item that I was very lucky to stumble across.
In my continuing search for a touring seat/driver backrest combo I decided to try out the Corbin "Stinger" seat ($279 + another $180 for the backrest). I modified it to work with my Interstate gas tank by sawing about 2 inches off of the nose and adding 1 inch spacers to the clamp that holds the lock hoop (I spent another $20 at a local auto upholstery shop having the leftover leather trimmed, retightened and reriveted). Corbin will perform this service for you at no extra charge, but you have to bring your bike and seat into their factory for them to do the work for you (not really an option for me up here in the hinterlands, but it's really not that difficult to do on your own).
Unfortunately, this one didn't work out for me either. Although the looks are a little different, they do kind of grow on you after a while. However, aesthetics aside, this is a total bun burner and there's just no getting around that. This is one hard seat. Seriously, it's like sitting on a park bench. I've been told that they break in after a while (1000 miles or so) and fit your rear end better, but there's just no comparison to the stock seat (much, much softer). I went on a five hour, 250 mile trip using this seat and despite taking breaks about every 90 minutes, I was still ready for a total ass-ectomy by the time I was finished. I ordered an Air Rider external gel pad ($95) to help keep the screaming bun syndrome to a minimum while breaking it in, but never did get around to using it. Instead, I've decided to look into getting a windshield to help cut down on back and arm strain rather than continue messing around with different seats and backrests.
I picked up a Sophie's Motorcycle Works lightbar (just the bracket for $135) and mounted my Harley spotlamps on it. As previously noted, clamping the spots to the turn signal stalks just didn't work out. Installation was dead simple (4 bolts) and now I have a nice sturdy mount for my spots. I have to admit, I really like the looks (and solidity) of this bar and in addition to the toolbag being gone, I think my front end is looking better than ever. I really like the fact that the bracket is very unobtrusive - almost invisible, really. And the good news is now I can add a windshield.
I'm back to the stock seat/backrest configuration. I was never comfortable driving my son around without a proper backrest, so I'm saving the cruiser bar and the one-up seat configurations for when I'm going on long solo cruises. I carry passengers practically every day, so it's just easier to leave it set up this way. I still prefer the cruiser bar look, but what are you gonna do? Substance over style, man.
As far as my first Valk went, there was lots of stuff on that bike that I didn't like enough to buy again: Hondaline leather saddlebags, Mustang seats and backrests, stock exhaust with Hondaline triple tips, Rivco floorboards, Rivco air horn, Iron Horse tank bag, et al. I still like the black, though. Oh well.
I tried out a Memphis Shades Hellcat windshield ($120). Install was easy enough, but this dog won't hunt. First of all, I just don't think small windshields look good on the Valk. Man, it just swallows them up. It's like putting a beanie on a hippo. And looks aside, I could not find a position for the thing where I wasn't getting buffeted to death. Seriously, I thought my sunglasses were going to fly off my head and afterward it felt like I had two fat lips and a bloody nose. I guess I'm just going to have to bite the expensive bullet and go get me an OEM windshield (by which everyone swears).
I picked up another Hondaline Valkyrie emblem ($30) and stuck it on the crossbar where my forkbag used to be. Sharp!
I got a great deal on a stock Tourer windshield from Lamb's Honda in Dallas. They had a number of pull-offs they were selling for $340 and I managed to snag one. The install was pretty simple, although I did have to modify one of the brackets to work with my Sophie's lightbar (basically had to saw off a couple of bolts, no big deal). My oversized Harley spotlamps fit, but just barely (the tips of the on/off switches are right up to the windshield so I shortened them a little bit). The windshield performs nicely. It totally blocks any wind hitting the upper body. And turbulance, though present, is not a problem. I mainly feel the turbulence hitting the very top of my head, so I can wear sunglasses without fear of having them knocked off, and don't get that beaten-about-the-face feeling I had with the smaller Hellcat windshield. It's definitely a different feel from riding wide open to the breeze, but I got used to it pretty quickly. At first I thought I might want to experiment around with fork deflectors or air wings to cut down on swirl, but after a few weeks of riding it seems just fine the way it is.
Update: I took a six hour, 300 mile trip with this setup and I have to say I am totally sold on it. No butt pain, no arm fatigue, no back stress, no nothing. When I was done, I could've easily jumped back on and gone another six hours. In fact, this seat/windshield combination is so comfortable I never even felt the need to make use of the highway pegs. I'm definitely going to stick with this setup (and probably just go ahead and sell the pegs).
I decided to lower my front end a little by sliding the fork tubes up a half an inch. This is a pretty simple operation. All you do is loosen the 6 bolts on the fork clamps and then jump up and down on the seat to slide the forks up. Conventional wisdom says that you can slide them as much as three quarters of an inch without any adverse side affects, but I decided to err on the side of caution and only go 1/2". The lower the better as far as I'm concerned, though. I think the bike looks better, it's easier to stop and keep your feet flat on the ground, and supposedly it improves slow speed handling (although when talking about such miniscule changes, any real differences are pretty difficult to gauge).
Do not attempt this if you don't have a bike lift. If you push the forks up too far (something that's easy to do), there is no way you'll be able to slide them back down unless you can pull the front wheel up off the ground.
Since I'm going to be getting a nice custom paint job this winter I decided to get rid of the tank bag. I only used it to hold my garage door opener, so instead I picked up a nice small one and attached it to the triple tree. Very convenient, and with a very cool side affect. When I turn the handlebars hard to the right, the button on the opener just barely pushes up against the frame, causing the door to open/close. James Bond eat your heart out!
Custom paint job by Lin Anderson of No Limit Custom Designs in Bloomington, MN ($1000). Black base with gold and orange metal flake flames. I'm happy with the job he did, and I'm especially pleased with the way he does business. When he first delivered my parts back to me I noticed a number of problems with one of the saddlebags which he then cheerfully fixed for me, no hassle. I think quality-wise, I got about what I paid for. It looks great until you really get up close and eyeball it, at which point the minor flaws are pretty evident (nothing to get excited about - just the differences you'd expect between a $2000 paint job and a $1000 paint job).
I replaced the godawful stock license plate/signal assembly with a cleaner custom version from Wingman Accessories ($279). It comes in three parts; the base that connects to the fender, the Badlands license plate frame with built-in turn signals and the Badlands frame backing plate. I also added a Radiantz LED light bar ($70) to illuminate the license plate. You simply take the supplied template, drill a couple of holes into the license frame and attach the LED bar with the supplied bolts. The bar uses these white LED's that make a really cool looking bluish light. Others recommend adding bullet lights to augment the built-in signals, but to my eye (and people following me) they seem plenty bright on their own.
I sent my exhaust hangers and peg mounts to Sophie's Motorcycle Works for chroming ($80).
With all the monkeying around I've done on this bike over the past year, my cylinder head covers had gotten scratched all to hell. So, I ordered a set of Big Big Parts covers from JC Whitney ($275). Despite the price, I do not recommend these things. First, the chrome is very cheap. It scratches if you just look at it the wrong way. Second, the bolts they supply totally suck. I don't know why I bothered trying to use them, because the stock bolts work just fine. Anyway I wound up snapping off, not one, but two of the damned things before switching back to the stock bolts. To make matters worse, I wasn't able to extricate the second broken bolt end from my cylinder head (I snapped off a drill bit trying to remove it with an "easy out"), and I wound up having to replace the whole freaking cylinder head. And man, just try finding salvage parts for a 1500. People simply do not junk these bikes, it seems. I tried every cycle salvage yard in town and scoured the internet before finally finding a website that was selling parts from a wrecked Valk.
I also got some new Supercharged emblems to replace the old red ones (that didn't match my new paint job). These are from Miata ($24).
Ouch, riding season has been interrupted. I was roaring through some unfamiliar twisties near Prescott, WI... at about 70 MPH... at night... and lost control on an unexpectedly sharp curve. I haven't seen the bike yet myself (I wound up in the hospital for 5 days), but my father-in-law drove down there and took these pictures for me. From what I can tell, it looks like I wound up suffering more damage than the bike did. Nothing permanent, but we're both going to be out of commission for a while. Once the bones mend, I guess it's back to the drawing board...
Apparantly they weren't kidding with this sign:
Dead Man's Curve. Watch out for the stump!
Well, despite the fact that my insurance company originally wanted to total my bike (and not give me the option of buying it back, the bastards), the damage wasn't too bad- basically just a lot of cosmetic damage to the front end and a couple of blown up saddlebags. Fortunately, the frame and fork appear to have survived intact. Anyway, I did finally get the insurance straightened out. Here's the final tally:
$43 - Big Bike Things cruiser bar
$235 - Sophie's lightbar and spots. I decided to punt the HD spots and just use the ones Sophie's sells with its lightbar.
Actually, they look almost identical to the HD spots I had and don't have those crappy "replace every other week" bulbs that HD uses.
$44 - Autometer boost gauge
$29 - Autometer gauge cup
$46 - Kuryakyn grip set
$74 - Big Bike Parts stealth mirror set
$25 - Kuryakyn chrome master cylinder cover set
$92 - Hondaline front fender guard rail
$1500 - Tachometer/housing, headlight trim ring, right crash bar, left and right turn signals and mounts, handlebars, clutch lever, windshield and
windshield mounting hardware, valve covers and valve cover gaskets
$32 - Supercharged emblems
$1100 - Tourer saddlebags
$1300 - Paint and dent repair
$65 - Handlebar risers (upgraded to chrome)
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$4585 (about $1000 less than my settlement, the remainder of which I used to pay for my helicopter ride to the hospital...)
I went with Lin Anderson again and I couldn't be happier with the paint. I decided to go with a black base again, but this time with metal flake (small). For the flames, I opted for the same ghost-flame style with medium metal flake, but went with a gorgeous blue instead of the orange/gold. Lin used these really cool bluish flakes in the black and the whole thing is just stunning. He even brushed in silver tips on the flames to go with all the chrome on my bike. As much as I liked the first paint scheme he did for me, I'd have to say that this new one is about ten times better. I may crash this thing every year just to try out new colors (or not).
Still trying to track down a set of Valkyrie saddlebag mats. Honda is dropping Valk accessories like there's no tomorrow and so far I haven't had any luck finding a replacement set. It was nice of the guys who towed my bike to grab my torn up knit cap, but I'd rather they grabbed my mats (assuming they weren't up a tree or something). In the meantime, I bought an $8 indoor/outdoor mat at Menard's, cut it into two pieces and trimmed it to fit. Hell, it even matches the color of my bike.
My odometer reads 13684 (got it to around 8000 my first year). Not bad considering I missed a couple of months after my crash. No long trips to report, just a lot of tooling around town and short jaunts out into the countryside. No problems, no worries, no blower-induced headaches, all is well. I can't wait until next year!
Picked up a set of saddlebag mats off of eBay. I paid through the nose ($58), but since I've actually seen them go for over $100 in the past few months in other auctions, I guess I can't complain. But since these things only cost $40 new, it's clear that certain discontinued Valkyrie accessories are quickly becoming collector's items.
Well, the old odometer is up to 18698. I never did get around to taking any long trips this year as I've pretty much come to the conclusion that my interest in touring is limited to about four hours, give or take. After that I start to get bored and my butt starts to ache. So, I did my normal commuting and lots of short jaunts out of town, but nothing that would take me much beyond that four hour limit. At this point I'm becoming much more interested in the speed end of things and towards the end of the season I started concentrating on fine-tuning my bike and removing excess weight. The first thing I did was divest myself of some of the chrome doodads I've acquired over the years (front fender rail, horn and horn relocater bracket, radiator grille, and the lightbar and spots). I'll probably get rid of the tranny covers as well, but at the moment I don't have access to my bike to do so (more on that in a moment). The windshield, passenger seat and backrest are easily removed when I'm in the mood to race, and in addition to that, I installed the Rattlebars bag-drop kit which allows me to pull the bags off at a moment's notice. Stripped down I probably make the equivalent of another 10-15 horsepower. As for tuning, I'm still waiting for my Viking exhaust so I haven't been able to get going on that yet. Spending a lot of time playing around with the engine before I get the new exhaust is just going to be a waste of time, so I wait (and wait and wait and wait).
The other hold-up is that I don't currently have ready access to my bike. At the moment it's sitting up at Cycletek waiting for some repairs - yeah, you got it, I had another crash. It was mid-October and the weather in Minnesota was absolutely gorgeous, so I thought I'd take the bike out for one last cruise and then get ready to store it for the winter. Unfortunately, I only made it to the intersection at the end of my block where I wound up smacking into some oblivious old geezer who didn't see me coming and pulled a left turn in front of me. Fortunately we weren't going very fast and the bike didn't go down. I bounced off his front quarter panel and wound up with a twisted fork, a mangled fender and a couple of destroyed handgrips. His insurance paid off nicely though, and I'm looking forward to getting everything fixed up and ready to roll well before the snow melts.
OK, spring has sprung in Minnesota and I am definitely back in business. Here's the new stripped-down look Spookshow bike (OK, the windshield is my concession to chilly spring temperatures), complete with Viking exhaust (holy shit, it finally came). Fixing the bike turned out to be no big deal and I wound up doing most of the work myself. I picked up a used fender on eBay ($150), had it painted by Lin Anderson ($300), and put on new Kuryakyn handgrips ($54). The fork tubes were not damaged so it was just a matter of loosening the clamps and twisting them back into their proper position. The front axle did turn out to be slightly bent, so I had that replaced. Grand total for all that work was $150. After cashing geezer's insurance check ($1600), I guess I wound up turning about a $1000 profit on the whole deal, which almost paid for the new exhaust ($1250). Not the easiest way in the world to make a thousand bucks, but I'm sure not going to complain about it.
So, how 'bout them pipes, you ask? Well, all I can say is that I can't believe I've wasted almost four years playing around with those skinny stock header pipes. The difference with the VMC exhaust is night and day! This bike finally runs the way it should and I can't wait to hit the pavement. This is going to be one hell of a fun summer!
OK, I can definitely tell I've run out of constructive
things to do on this bike, having now reached the stage where I'm adding goofy doodads like a
Rask Cycle "Skull Bolt" to the mix. Oh hell, I couldn't resist. It fits right into the hole for the middle bolt on the windshield frame,
the blue eyes match my paint
job and the skull works with the whole Spookshow vibe. Best three bucks I ever spent. Hey, does this qualify my bike as a "theme bike" like those
OCC yahoos build?
And do I get my own boring TV show now? 
I did have my first maintenance issue with the bike this past week (and gee, after only 20,000 miles). It turns out the bearing in the tensioner/idler pulley on the supercharger manifold was starting to go. Scared the hell out of me too. Whenever I'd really wind the thing out and go into boost, the thing would start screeching and clattering like my motor was about to explode into a million pieces. Kudos to Jeff K for sussing out the problem for me. So, $10 for a new bearing from NAPA and another $12 for a new belt (figured as long as I was going to be taking off the radiator anyway, I might as well go ahead and get that one taken care of too).
I decided to go the hidden horn route in lieu of the stock horn mounted to the Sophie's horn relocater bracket (which I finally decided was too big and too sticky outy) and installed a cheapie ($16) Auto-Zone horn behind the left sidecover. The particular model I got was a "Blazer Horn Low-Tone Highway Blaster". Finding a good place to stick it took a bit of head-scratching, but I eventually found a big open spot behind the coolant reservoir and forward of the battery box. First I had to clip a little bit of extraneous plastic off the box, then I attached the mounting bar to the battery box (using the existing bolt) and then bent the whole thing inwards. It's a tight fit, but it works. And despite being buried inside the frame, it's plenty loud enough to get the attention of daydreaming cagers.
I took second place in the "Best Custom" category at the Wolf's Head Rally in Two Harbors, Minnesota (July '06). There were a whole two bikes
in my slot, so obviously I'm very proud of this achievement... Although, since the bike that won my category (a gorgeous custom
chopper) also won "Best In Show",
I guess I can say I came in second place to the best bike there In any case, it was
a fun day of riding - 200 miles up and 200 miles back, all in 100 degree weather. Fortunately, BLOWN6 is a magic carpet ride and
"watering holes" along the interstate are plentiful, so no complaints here!
The odometer stands at 25294 and my best season yet has come to an end. Gorgeous weather and a supercharged Valk that can finally breath made for one hell of a lot of fun out on the interstates this year. But, as always seems to be the case, my riding has once again come to a rather premature conclusion. I discovered in early October that the forward bearings in my supercharger are starting to go (as evidenced by the nasty jingling and grinding noises beginning to emanate from the nose). So, yippee, now I get to pull the damned thing off, ship it back to Magnacharger for service, and then slog through the whole installation process yet again. Y'know, just once I'd like to park this thing for the winter and forget about it, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Karmic payback for all my highway hell-raising I suppose. Oh well, I guess it's something to do while the snow flies, so I shouldn't complain. See ya in the spring!
It's late March (2007), the snow is gone and temperatures are flirting with 60 up here in Minnesota. In other words, it's time to get ready to get back out on the road for another season of supercharged Valkyrie mayhem.
I did finally get my blower back from Magnacharger... after five months. Man, those dudes are seriously overworked and understaffed. Not that big of a deal I guess, as ultimately I didn't miss out on any riding. I spent a couple of days getting everything bolted back together, and lo and behold, it actually worked. Started right up, no leaks, and all the chirping and clattering noises are gone. So, wow, it looks like I'm ready to roll. Here's hoping for another fun (and safe) riding season. See y'all out on the pavement!
The odometer stands at 29482. Wow, 4000 miles? Is that it? Well, I guess I'm not surprised... I finally got bored with tooling around aimlessly between biker bars, so most of my joyriding now consists of hitting the interstate and looking for impromptu 100+ mph road rallies in which to participate. Minnesota is particularly good for this as the drivers up here are just about the biggest bunch of brain-dead a-holes in the country. They love to camp their cages out there in the left lane for no good reason, turning virtually every stretch of Minnesota freeway into a nicely challenging slalom course. Throw in a decent mix of psychotic speed freaks looking for someone to race and there's almost always some adreneline-pumping action waiting to be found out there. Unfortunately, I got a big juicy speeding ticket early on in the summer, which basically put the kibosh on my joyriding activities (me not wanting to lose my license and all). I guess ultimately I just wound up riding my bike back and forth between work and not much else. Throw in a couple of really rainy months (September and October) and I guess that accounts for the somewhat limited mileage total. On the plus side, no crashes to report. Better still, for once I'm parking the thing for the winter with no pending maintenance issues to worry about. So I guess that's it for '07, see ya's next year!
Oh, and one bit of bad news for Valkyrie nuts- I guess the Lamonster supercharger has been discontinued. I'm glad I got mine when I did!
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