Rider with 33+ years experience. Starting over with a $4,000 Valkyrie. Just chronicling my repairs and adventures for any who care to see them, mostly myself.
A 95 Magna does it all ...at 540 lbs ! I'm always thinking ...Valkerie, Vtx 1800, Stratoliner,...and than once I hit 5000 rpms ... I'm completely gratified with Magna !!@
I'd love to do some riding reviews/videos but i just can't figure out the audio. I bought all the accessories for my go pro, the audio adapter, etc, but it sounds terrible! Wind noise, clicking. It's super annoying!
I live in the twisty part of Northern California and I have to say the Valkyrie is very nimble on those roads. It took me about a year of riding before I was really comfortable on the twisty roads and now I hit them with ease, even with my wife on the back.
Hey thank you for the tip on the windshield but I ended up cutting it down and sanding the edge smooth which actually turned out pretty good I think. As for fuel consumption I was getting 22 mi per gallon which I thought was awful but after running a lot of cleaners through the tank and trying very hard not to twist the throttle all the way open on every trip now I'm getting closer to 29! Keep in mind I'm almost 300 lb so it's almost like the poor bike is having to carry the equivalent of two people around all the time!
@@heathenbiker That's odd. I've had two Interstates and a standard, and I always got 38-45 mpg, even 2-up at 330 lbs. and riding like a manic (the wife LOVES acceleration).
@@StevenRogers-hw9dj a couple of guys experienced with working on bikes have suggested that i need my carbs timed.. or tuned..? Something like that. That's beyond my skill at the moment and I don't have the specialized sync tool. Maybe they said "synced".
@@heathenbiker Yes, synched or balanced is the terminology. I have the tool but I've never done it on the Valk, but it's supposed to be far less difficult than it would appear. Find an old school bike shop and tell them to balance the carbs in pairs (I've never seen a 6-cylinder balancer). That said, the carbs would have to be WAY out of balance to make that big a difference in mileage, and should be very noticeable in how the engine runs.
Hello, my friend. If possible, your personal account so that I can contact you on any social networking site. I have some questions. Remember, I have a Valkyrie F6 1500 bike.
I like your project, but don’t you think that Valkyrie deserves bigger lights 😉 Interesting combination with the yellow lights. Kind of European look. Good luck with your projects ! Valkyrie looks great bro !!!!
You're right. The little lights look funny. I really want a light bar. But I'm on a very tight budget and these lights were $19 on Amazon, if I remember right. They work but they get very hot quick!
Don’t get me started on the youth nowadays. They will find out what they are missing, when it will be too late. Great looking project ! Enjoy your Valkyrie !
Nice bike I purchased a 2000 interstate a month ago and I’m in love with it, I have been an old school Kz rider all my life, but I always said when I’m ready to slow down I’ll get a Goldwing. I saw this bike and i said it’s time, so I’ll be watching and preparing this bike for longer journeys for myself so be safe enjoy the ride.
That road is pretty rough. Before I went a friend warned me that dirt/sand was on the roads. I didn't experience much of that, but lots of cracks, poor patches, uneven roads, very rocky asphalt, etc.
I just got a 2000 interstate am I plan on enjoying the longer rides on it I have not had a cruiser before but always was a Goldwing fan, but this lValkyrie was lovingly kept and serviced and the owner loved and cherished it for the last 7 years and had two thick folders with service records and receipts for everything purchased except gas lol! Be safe out there and I will keep all bikers in my prayers.
if you search for you tube videos on any maintenance you intend to carry out, there's bound to one or more to show you how! saves on making mistakes, especially potential expensive ones.
I know that's true. crappy habor freight ones are around $4-500, and good ones are $1500. I don't have $220 for a Sedici Helmet that I've got my eye on!! My current total budget for motorcycle stuff is $40 until next week when I hope to add another $20 to the stash!! LOL I'm not broke-broke, but I'm definitely on a budget! I was thinking of building one with a couple of scissor jacks (you know, when I can afford the scissor jacks and wood) I'll eventually get a real lift, at some point in the future.
I want to see many videos of you guys riding together! I also have a Valkyrie, my wife has a Rocket III, and my daughter has a Shadow. But we don’t do youtube videos.
Is that something I can do myself? I did my fork seals and can do basic things like replacing a starter or alternator in a car. Do you think that's enough technical skill to be able to do timing belt? Never tried that so I'm just curious how hard it is. thanks.
@@heathenbiker If you can replace the fork seals on a bike, you should certainly be able to change the timing belts. The great thing about the Valkyrie is that you don't have any "tupperware" to remove, and you don't have to remove the radiator hose like you do on the GL1500. You don't even have to lift the bike off the ground. It's a very straightforward procedure. Several good videos on UTUBE. Go for it.
Inspect the belt at 100 k. The book says, they last longer because they are industrial ..and over built so, just do a visual first at 100..not replace for fun.owner of 1976 gold wing , used belts and 1999 Valkyrie interstate with 43 thousand miles.
Mine is still smooth enough at 92k to do the nickel trick. One of the best bikes ever made. Check out the braking distance from 60 mph; still one of the shortest stopping distances even to this day.
The caliper may be hitting the rivets on the brake rotor. Loosen the pinch bolts on the clutch side and pry the fork away from the wheel about 1/8" and retighten the pinch bolts. From the video, the tire looked off center.
I never knew that was a thing. I ended up loosening the whole thing, finding notjing wrong that i could spot, took the caliper apart and one cylinder seemed like it would not retract so i cleaned it some more, greased it and put everything back. No more noise!
Good luck! That left hand fork was a str8t b1tch! I ended up NOT taking it all the way apart (didn't release spring), just took the tubes apart so i could replace bushings and seals!
Thanks for the video. Great job. Just got mine and the fork seals are leaking on right side. My question is if you do them one side at a time, can you do them with the bike on the ground or do you need to jack up the bike? It looks like yours was still on the ground.
@@actung4307 i bought a $80 lift from amazon. I barely lifted it. Maybe 8" and only the front was lifted, rear tire still on the ground. It didn't look like I had room to pull the fork all the way down and out with the bike on the ground. Maybe i could have but i didn't try.
I have a 98 Valk that I'm modernizing ( paint, lights, pegs that sort of stuff) cool video, cool you went alone. I want to try that sometime. How do you like that seat? I have been thinking about those but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
I absolutely love this seat! I've tried Mustang, which was netter than stock but too soft. I tried corbin which is like horse saddle hard. This is just right. I sound like goldilocks! Anyway, gane changer for me.
The carburetors are very easy to fix. Take them out desmog it clean your low-speed Jets. Almost guarantee that's going to be your problem on the carburetors. Just watch a couple RU-vid videos.
Run an entire can of Berrymans through it you won't have carb issues after that.Cleans the jets and everything right on up.I have bought bikes that don't run and put a $5 can of that in the tank and they ran perfectly after that.
Looks amazing bud, you could have fooled me and titled this video “my new windshield” haha I’m a subscriber now, could you do a video on any possible maintenance jobs or upgrades you have done on that Valkyrie. I’m going to buy one this summer and keep hearing about this hydrolock issue that they get from sitting for to long. I live in CT and she will sit for the winter.
Thinking about buying a 98 for this summers ride up mount Washington, I’ve always wanted one but I’m a little hesitant due to this hydrolocking issue I am now seeing
I've had 3 of these Valkyries now, in my life. Don't worry about the Hydrolock. It only happens if the petcock diaphram fails while the bike is off and the petcock is still "on". You can prevent it by getting in the habit of turning your petcock off. I have ordered a petcock rebuild kit, and I'll make a video on how to rebuild your petcock. It's fairly easy and having a new diaphram goes a long way to preventing the problem. If you ever get bad gas with sand or grit in it, then that can prevent your diaphram from sealing and cause hydrolock since the Valk has no fuel filter really. But that's pretty rare, and turning your petcock off prevents the issue. The truth is I only turn my petcock off when I'm done riding for the day, I don't worry about it while driving around if i run into a store, or stop for gas, or a burger. I know a lot of people are now going to tell me how horrible that is. They're probably right, but I'm not planning on changing that habit. I'm just a damn Heathen after all.
Good idea getting the right curve. Not only is it more functional for you, but actually looks better too. The edge looks fantastic, it will darken over time. You did a great job. Jeep, Toyota, Valkyrie and dogs…yeah we would be friends.
Thanks man. I never even thought about cutting it until you suggested it on another video. Drove it to work today in drizzle. Works great, I can see over it now. The guy who owned it before me must've been 6'5" or something!! LOL -Cheers
@@heathenbiker You are very welcome. Polycarbonate is pretty easy to work with…as you found out. Lol Keep that thing waxed with a good UV wax to keep it looking good for a long time. RainX can help with the rain, but I have had same issues as you on several of my bikes. I actually bought a sheet of Poly off of Amazon and cut my own shield for my Shadow’s batwing fairing…I actually made several. Polycarbonate does not like UV, so any time you mess with it, coat it in a UV protectant and it will last a very long time. Again, nice job!
That bike weights around 720lbs wet. I bought one in 2022 also. Install a cobra 6 into 6 exhaust and I promise you will love the bike even more. Nice seats. I installed heated grips on mine…game changer! For the $, I’m not sure if there is a better bike on the market. That shield is not OEM. Nice bike. Luv me sum Valkyrie. It’s almost 50f here today (Jan 11th 23), so I’ll be getting mine out for a little ride.
@@heathenbiker throw some painter’s tape on the shield and cut to the height you want with a jigsaw. Cut right on the bike, just make sure your cut line is exactly where you want it…measure twice, cut once. Lol. Use a metal blade on the jigsaw for a good cut. Cutting the shield will make it much better until you can find one you like. Mine came with aftermarket shield also, I’ve cut spacers so I could angle it more, but I have to cut mine also. It’s just too tall.
Great bike, I have four of them. A Standard, Tourer and two Interstates. As someone said, service the petcock and possibly add a electric fuel valve to avoid hydrolocks. Keep the final drive serviced, about every 10,000 miles. 90-110 miles per tank is bit on the low side, you probably do have some carb issues and probably some vacuum leaks. If you have brown stains around the bottom of your carb tubes you need to replace the o-rings under them, an easy job. You should be getting around 125-150 mpg before reserve depending on how you ride it and where you are in the world. High humidity areas like in the Southern USA you will get around 125-130 mpg before reserve but when I've ridden my Tourer in higher elevation and low humidity areas I've noticed a definite increase in mileage, 2-3 mpg. The big thing on stretching out the mileage is to stay out of the high speed jets on those six carbs. Under 3000 rpms will see the best mileage. That six cylinder loves the taste of gas so everything above 3000 is sucking it down but of course your smile gets bigger too :^) Lots of technical information on the Tech Board of the Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club. They will have their annual rally this year (2023) in Roanoke VA in June where they have tech sessions on lots of things that you should (and can) service yourself. That is not the factory windshield hardware. Look up the Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club (VRCC) and join, no cost and check out the tech section and links to tech articles for how to do a lot of things (properly) on the Valkyrie. Don't take it to a dealership, most won't work on bikes over 7-8 years old anyway, as most of their mechanics are young and only know how to uncrate new machines and bolt on accessories and they are usually not old enough to even know what a Valkyrie is. They will screw up more on your bike than they fix, you can fix it yourself, it's not as hard as it appears.
Oh crap, now you've gone and done it. You got a Valkryrie. I hope you are prepared to not get too far on cruises without having to stop for long periods of time along the way, because you are going to be swarmed by people stopping you to admire that bike and ask questions about it. For a 6 hour ride, factor in 3 hours of talking to admirers! :p Wicked bike, just top of the charts. Also, more American than most Harley's, so don't take any flack from HD guys.
