Wanting a Valkyrie Interstate

[06INDIXIE]

If anyone has any input on this bike let me know. There is one around the corner from me that I will be looking at in the near future. Would like to know about the 2up aspect and how well you liked the Valkyrie or if you thought it was a piece of junk. Lets here it.

 

[juniorfjr]

I like them, looked real hard at one. If I wanted a cruiser style tourer, that would be it.

 

[fjrb0]

I've never owned one, but have ridden them, back when I was first getting back into riding after an 18 year lay off while the kids grew up, Honda in Tulsa had brand new Valks at a heck of a price, that were a couple of years old that hadn't moved. I've kicked myself several times since then for not buying it. Wait, you didn't ask about my life story...

Very capable bike. Buddy just bought one in El Paso and rode it home to Lubbock, loves it so far. He's had two FJR's, a couple of Honda ST's, BMW's, etc. He likes this bike, runs well, handles well, and will haul ass. Rides well two up. The good part, he only keeps a bike about two years, and I've already called first dibs!!!

Basically a GL1500 Wing without ALL the plastic up front. Six carbs and hotter cams than the GL1500. Handling is about the same, and while an old Wing is not like the new Wing, it wasn't shabby, not in FJR class, but could get around corners well. But, if you let the tires wear down too far, handles like a log wagon...

 

[rockmurf]

I had 2 valkyries, not the interstate but I can tell you the bike runs very hot due to all the plastic. It is a classic but if you are looking for a great 2 up bike you will not find better than the 1800 wing. The interstate does not handle as well as the modern bikes. It has a huge gas tank and some fancy stuff but technically it is outdated and getting parts will be a chore. FWIW its appearance is not as appealing as the standard or tourer model and since it therefore looks like a wing you would be better off with all the high tech stuff and amenities of the wing. On a plus the engine will go forever. Good luck. ps heavy heavy bike that does not handle well and gas mileage will not be all that great.

 

[JRO]

I have a brother-in-law who rides a Valkyrie, and loves it. He had one before the current bike, also. He hasn't had any trouble getting parts; they weren't dropped until 2003, after all. As a matter of fact, he hasn't had any trouble, atall. He uses his to haul his wife around, regularly. They brag on the thing. You can find them for quite reasonable prices, these days. If you're looking for more-than-an-average cruiser, and price is a consideration, a Valkyrie is a good choice.

If you can spend more, I'd suggest you look into a Triumph Rocket 3. A lot more bike than a Valkyrie. The performance is just plain awesome, and it's as comfortable, or better than a Valkyrie for passengers.

 

[Niehart]

One of my riding buddies has a valkyrie interstate. Great bike, he has over 66,000 on the bike. Runs like a top and the back seat is a barkalounger. He's damn fast on that bike in the curves, run with my FJR past 110 and then starts running out of gearing.

 

[scubatech]

If anyone has any input on this bike let me know. There is one around the corner from me that I will be looking at in the near future. Would like to know about the 2up aspect and how well you liked the Valkyrie or if you thought it was a piece of junk. Lets here it.

Hey Dixie, Those are great bikes. Typical Honda quality. I used to sell them and the owners really liked them alot. Lots of power as mentioned before,decent handling,low maintenance.I saw a couple of 'Wings with over 200K on them and they ran great! Same basic motor.

 

[reecebike]

GREAT BIKES I've had several & sold A bunch if your man enough to handle it you will love it if not you will wine about it!!!

 

[Bill Pollack]

Hi. I'm not a frequent contributor here, as I own a 2007 Burgman 650 Exec. However, I did own a Valkyrie Interstate. I purchased the Interstate new in 2000 and sold it in 2007. The problem was (is) that my knees and ankles were (are) no longer up to the task of reliably holding up 900-lb. bikes; the good news is that I'm less than a year away from getting Social Security payments each month.

Okay, some info...

Here's a bunch of pictures of my former Interstate (this was a sort of test page, in preparation for selling it on eBay): https://www.billanddot.com/valkyrie-on-ebay/

I considered my Valk a touring machine, not some sort of boulevard cruiser. I had a Laminar Lip on it, Bead Rider seat beads, etc. And a fair number of Valk riders have put Audiovox cruise controls on theirs with no problems (and that was on my to-do list, too). (By contrast, the Burger's engine/electronics/coils/whatever is not really compatible with the Audiovox, and so I bought and installed the much more expensive MC Cruise on my Burger.)

For two-up riding, I bought an aftermarket passenger trunk-cushion replacement (but kept the original seat). The problem with the original backrest thingy was that the angle was too laid back; the replacement took care of that. Incidentally, my wife really liked sitting back there, because the (replacement, and to some degree the original) backrest is large, both up and down and side to side. We did a bunch of 500- and 600- mile days. (I'm still searching for a similar solution on the Burger, to the point where I may buy an HD Tourpak or something similar; the Givi I added doesn't cut the mustard in this respect.)

The Valk is exceptionally smooth, and has plenty o' power. It may not be in the FJR league in terms of outright power, but it has gobs of torque, and anyway how much do you need. I never had any issues with heat, unlike some mention of it in this thread. Yep, the engine gets hot, but it's out there in the open and there's no bottleneck or heat trapping tupperware. Did I mention that it's smooth.

Also, the valve adjustment procedure is very easy -- screw-and-locknut -- if you ever feel like doing that. The six-carb sync is a little more than usual, but how often do you do that? And the Valkyrie Internet support community is extremely knowledgeable and helpful, at least it was as of two years ago.

Downsides... Well, as I mentioned, it's heavy. And that weight is carried high. (Surprisingly, the Burger, at 610, is almost 100 lbs. heavier than an 850 Beemer I had for three years, but the CofG is so looowwww that it's a pleasure. And there's still plenty of ground clearance. Oops, I digress.) You'll get the occasional spline-failure 'Net write-up, just as you'll find with any shafty; I never had any problem in that area (45,000 miles). Um, you might become a chromaholic, as I did. (["He turned me into a newt."] I got better.") My radio stopped working somewhere in those seven years; I never used it, but discovered the problem as I was preparing to sell it. Argh, it's a fine bike, and there's not much to complain about.

Back to the Interstate as a touring machine. The Interstate has a larger tank, by a couple of gallons, than the other two Valk models. (There were three models: the standard, the Tourer [hard saddlebags and a bolt-on windshield], and the Interstate [hard saddlebags, batwing fairing, and a topcase].) And it's fine as a twisty machine, e.g., adequate ground clearance, good steering feedback, etc. (for instance, the handlebars are not rubber-mounted, and you have pegs, instead of floorboards). Oh, right, speaking of handling, I replaced the stock fork springs and back shocks with Progressives, so you might want to ask about that.

Hope some of this helps.

Regards,

Bill P.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Very little personal experience -- other than I know they're heavy (and low). I've heard that they use a lot of gas (maybe only when ridden hard -- maybe not?).

They seemed, to me, to have been discontinued prematurely?

I wonder if Honda was unable to make them meet (stricter/current) emission requirements...?

 

[Bill Pollack]

Very little personal experience -- other than I know they're heavy (and low). I've heard that they use a lot of gas (maybe only when ridden hard -- maybe not?).They seemed, to me, to have been discontinued prematurely?

I wonder if Honda was unable to make them meet (stricter/current) emission requirements...?

Remember, Honda was updating the Goldwing with the new (fuel-injected) 1800 engine (and aluminum frame, etc.) in 2001. The Valks used essentially the same engine as the then-discontinued 1500 Wings, so when the Wings changed it was probably not economically feasible to keep making the 1500 engines just for the Valk. I suppose the question now is why Honda doesn't make an un-tupperwared version of the current 1800s.

Highway-droning mileage for the Valks is mid 30s. That can drop dramatically, of course, if you're doing Autobahn-like speeds. So, I used to fill up the Interstate's 6.9 gallon tank typically around 170 - 180 miles, but you could usually stretch it to just over 200 if you had to.

Regards,

Bill

 

[SilverHound]

I sold my '99 Valk Interstate last year after owning it for three years. The post above by Bill Pollack pretty much sums it up. I will say that service parts are plentyful and there is no problems getting them from Honda but aftermarket farkles are getting harder to come by. Original Honda accessories for it are rare and pricey if you can find them. The Tupperware is VERY expensive.

I had no complaints about the Valk. It is as others have said a very heavy bike and it sits up pretty high so it feels even heavier. It weighs about the same as my VTX but is far more bulky and definitely is not what you would consider "flickable" through the twisties.

I changed the front springs to Progressives (you need a special tool for the left fork) and also the stock seat was not butt friendly to me so I switched that with a Mustang which was perfect.

The only real known problem is possible hydrolock due to some of the vacuum operated petcocks failing. Always turn off the fuel when you stop. Some replaced the petcocks with Pingles or just rebulit the originals but if you do get hydrolock you are in for a world of hurt when the starter self destructs and breaks the idler gear.

Minor problems can be old or cracked vaccum hoses, clogged carb jets etc. but can be easliy fixed. Get a shop manual.

It's a great bike and a beautiful machine. I only sold mine because the wifey no longer wanted to ride 2-up. I also had a Blackbird and decided to just combine the best of both worlds in buying the FJR. Four bikes were a little too self indulgent for me and kinda a PITA to keep up to date with the maintenance and registrations.

 

[Bill Pollack]

SilverHound,

Good points. I'd forgotten about the potential petcock issue (as I said, I'm getting old); because of that, I'd gotten into the habit of manually turning it to the "off" position, even though it theoretically does that all by itself.

The guy in Canada who bought my Interstate is still, two+ years later, having a grand time on it.

 

[Bounce]

heavy

out of production

heavy

later models built using remaining stock of GL1500 parts after the 1500 Wing was discontinued in 2001

short range on a tank of gas

heavy

less than 32 mpg (try in th low twenties and sometimes teens if you really ride it)

MUCH heavier than the fjr

LESS cornering clearance

heavy

i had a GL1500 before the FJR. for everything i like about riding (except for packing stuff and audio) it's 180° the wrong way.

 

[Bill Pollack]

heavyout of production

heavy

later models built using remaining stock of GL1500 parts after the 1500 Wing was discontinued in 2001

short range on a tank of gas

heavy

less than 32 mpg (try in th low twenties and sometimes teens if you really ride it)

MUCH heavier than the fjr

LESS cornering clearance

heavy

i had a GL1500 before the FJR. for everything i like about riding (except for packing stuff and audio) it's 180° the wrong way.

Bounce,

Good points, excellent addition to the discussion!

Your comments jogged my mind. I am reminded of a thread I read a few days ago on a Ninja 250 forum:

[Poster A]: Hi. I'm thinking of adding an FJR to my stable. Do you folks have any thoughts on that bike?

[Poster B]: Are you kidding? It's way heavy, not as flickable, gets much worse gas mileage, and for the price they're asking you can get two or three of our Ninja 250s.

[Poster A]: Ah, hadn't considered any of that. I also have an opportunity to get a 1969 Triumph Bonneville; whatdya think?

[Poster B]: Whoa -- they don't even make those bikes any more.

In our current discussion, yep, the Interstate's heavy; I think we covered that, and that may or may not be issue, depending on whether the prospective buyer is in good shape and whether he minds that. On the plus side, it's highly resistant to cross winds, and is a nice stable platform for long hauls.

I have family about 1,000 miles away and also about 2,000 miles away. I rode the Interstate to both several times, and due to time constraints did a lot of super-slabbing in the process. Riding at an actual 72mph-ish, I consistently got around 34mph one-up; two-up, that dropped to around 32mph. I don't know how often you FJRers gas up, but I already mentioned my range.

The riding position and lack of buffeting (with stock windshield and Laminar Lip) is very nice for those of us who don't like to or can't bend our knees back much. And it's easy to add highway pegs. Two-up riding is very comfortable for both; I added adjustable mini-floorboards for my wife.

I found that the Interstate had plenty of cornering clearance for my needs in the twisties, and that I was more limited by my riding skill (or lack thereof) than by the Valk itself (but that's me; you're probably a better rider). If you have time to take a look at the first seven or so pictures at https://www.billanddot.com/bike-pics-photos/ you can see a Deals Gap photo and a couple other pics where I'm taking Lee Parks Total Control class.

(Minor aside: after that class, Lee got on my Interstate and demonstrated for me going in a circle on it... at constant full steering lock... for approximately as long as he wanted. Aside to the aside: I think this probably demonstrates that the Interstate is a much better bike than most Ducatis, as the latter are notorious for their limited steering lock. Aside to... Lee was doing his class demo rides on, of all thing, a Ninja 250, dragging a knee most of the time. Last aside: one of my fellow RiderCoaches actually bought his own Ninja 250, and said it was now his favorite ride.)

As SilverHound mentioned, a fair number of Valksters replaced the stock petcock. Also, the Honda driving lights for the "pods" (the air deflectors) are unobtainium, as are some plastic chrome side-cover replacements and perhaps some bag guards. Aftermarket farkles are in good supply, as are the rest of the stock parts, as far as my experience goes.

If o6indixie implied that he was replacing an FJR with an Interstate, it went over my head. I thought he merely wanted some comments from other Interstate owners or those who otherwise knew a lot about the bike.

Yep, it's top heavy, as some of us had already pointed out. Some people think it's also a very nice looking full bagger. I know a few people who -- and I don't think there's a right or wrong side of this -- think that, aesthetically, you ought to be able to see daylight when you look through the center of the bike. Me, I think the Interstate has very nice lines.

Last, I think the Interstate, and Valks in general, are very reliable bikes, and if 06indixie is aware of and doesn't mind the above limitations and can get one for a fair price, he will be pleased with it.

Regards,

Bill

 

[06INDIXIE]

I have been reading up on the Valkyrie Interstate for the past few months with most all of them saying that the Valk is the best bike they have ever owned. If i can find one that I can't do without I'll probably buy it. Being a former wing-a-holic the size of the valk is not an issue, kinda miss my wing but don't want another, not yet anyway. Thanks for the replies and I will post pics if I pull the trigger.

 

[capttwb]

Hi, I rode a Valkyrie Tourer for 3 years. Great bike. Fairly comfortable. No vibration. Great looking bike. Fairly good handling for such a heavy bike. The biggest drawback is its weight. I sold mine once I rode the new 1800 Goldwing. The Goldwing felt so much lighter, even though it was not. The Valkyrie just always felt really heavy. Hope this helps.

 

[bob-st]

My buddy with a Valkyrie tells me that it will pass everything but a GAS station.

 

[Bounce]

My buddy with a Valkyrie tells me that it will pass everything but a GAS station.

more torque than the fjr

less hp iirc

more weight

equally-skilled and determined riders... what d'ya wanna bet about it passing an FJR? R1?