New bike

[mstic2000]

Just picked up a '99 Valkyrie with 18K miles. It runs smooth, and is very comfortable. My '78 has 20K.

[IanDMacDonald]

Real powerhouse right there! Fun bike, and smoother than I thought it'd be.

[Radioguylogs]

Very nice indeed.

You must have some touring in mind.

Is the weight scary at first?

[XJOK2PLAY]

A close friend of mine has one of those, same year.
Great bikes, rock solid dependable. He's owned his for about 5 years, and had about 15k miles on it when he bought it. Now has 50k miles... nary a hiccup.
For a bike that has 6 carbs, and is getting that old, one would think they'd have a lot of carb issues. But his hasn't.

We installed an Audiovox CCS-100 cruise control system on his. Works great.

The only small beef I see with them concerns the bags/removing the rear wheel.
His has no centerstand. Bags are hard mounted, must be removed to swap rear tires. Gets to be a hassle, somewhat. His solution was to go to the darkside.
For the most part, it's been fine to run the car tire, and saves him a lot of time/work/money on tire swaps.

It would just be a drag if he ever has a flat on the road somewhere, but the car tire allows for plugging, whereas a motorcycle tire usually doesn't because of it's shape.

He's also swapping out to the bigger gas tank to increase range on trips. Said they also make a belly tank option. With both, he could get 400-450 miles on a fill up, in spite of only getting 35 mpg! He's also come up with a gas guage setup, something Honda neglected to provide.
That came back to bite us once while coming back from KC to Tulsa into a strong headwind. FYI... Don't make his mistake... he had failed to switch back from reserve to main previously! So, when the bike began to run outta gas... he was really outta gas! No reserve! Lol...

Congrats, though. That 1500 flat 6 GW engine's a gem.
Bob

[motoman]

It would just be a drag if he ever has a flat on the road somewhere, but the car tire allows for plugging, whereas a motorcycle tire usually doesn't because of it's shape.

Interesting comment Bob. Tire plug kits actually work fine on motorcycle tires...BTDT many times without an issue, and even wore rear tire completely out with plug still doin' its job.

[Bonz]

I'm going ditto what Motoman shared,. I've plugged a couple motorcycle tires in my life and they held fine. The second one was last weekend on the ZRX. One week of temperature swings from hot to cold and a couple hundred miles later it's still holding right where it was. The other was my ST1300 when I owned that bike. On I-80 in BFE Wyoming in the middle of July between Rawlins and Rock Springs. Plugged it and used a mini 12v compressor to fill it up and was on my way.

Both holes (from nails) were in the center-wear portion of the thread.

[XJOK2PLAY]

I've plugged lots of tires.
When I first bought my connie, took it on a trip out to Zion.
Soon as I got off the bike at the motel in Springdale, Utah I looked down at the rear tire and noticed a tiny little air nail...smack dab in the center of the tire.
I thought... well, at least it should plug in that spot. Coulda wound up in the sidewall...

Bohn, Cody and I used a special mushroom-shaped motorcycle plug kit Cody had. Kept leaking. Next day, tried to repair it again. Kept leaking. So, I plugged it using the common glue/cord tire plug. Would not seal.
I finally had to toss the tire and replaced it.

Not saying you can't plug a bike tire... 'Cause many have done it successfully.
BUT, I am saying they're more of a challenge to seal due to the curverature and flexing. Car tire's flatter, stiffer, less flexing...easier to plug.

Biggest thing on most Valk's is Honda's deletion of a centerstand.
I hear you could get one, but it's aftermarket, and some exhaust systems become an issue with one.

One of the thing's my friend loves the most about his Valk is the ability for him to stretch his legs... being 6'5", he has issues getting comfortable on most bikes.
A problem I'm sure Bonz understands well...

[Bonz]

Yes! I know the long leg syndrome well. My ST 1300 was set up the most comfortable for me. I put an MCL peg lowering kit and seat riser kit on it. I would have kept it however the ZRX came up for sale at a local dealer. My job was shifting around so I didn't want a payment over the winter. I traded the ST 1300 and the VStrom 1000 and ended up with the ZRX. ST was a great bike. I love that V4 engine, great gas mileage, huge gas tank, good real-world performance but it just didn't have that soul. I put one of my longer days in the saddle in while riding that bike from Jackson Wyoming back to Palmer Lake Colorado. Right around 600 miles but it was through nasty weather and rain the whole way. Started below freezing in Jackson for the first 100 miles, and finished in the sunshine as I pulled up my driveway. That bike definitely made that day possible.