Hey Everyone,
I just received delivery of Honda’s all new Valkyrie the other day.
What an amazing motorcycle! As for my very first impression…this is a motorcycle that defines the term “smooth running”. While cruising along you feel absolutely no vibration in your feet, hands or saddle. None! It’s quite an experience. Also, the shifting of the 5-speed transmission is butter smooth.
When you fire-up this 1800cc puppy it lights up immediately and then quickly drops into a quiet burbling idle. An easy pull on the clutch, snick first and you’re away. The sound from the rear is a quiet but authoritative rumble. Kinda like an old Corvette Stingray with Hollywood mufflers. While accelerating aggressively things get interesting really fast. The flat six torque and power is very impressive! Crack the throttle hard and you can spin the rear tire with ease, shift through the gears with authority, and before you know it the digital speedo will tell you to “shut er down buddy!”. Again the Valkyrie’s super smooth power delivery can easily cause you to lose track of your road speed. And by the way .. in case you were wondering .. there is virtually no shaft effect from the Valkyrie’s shaft final drive. The brakes are wonderful. Really nice! Perfect for a bike with this much power and weight. Easy lever pull, powerful and predictable. The riding position is relaxed – cruiser style – and the saddle is comfortable and firm. The reach to the bars and pegs is pretty much perfect for my 6 foot frame. Despite not having a proper windscreen, at 90km per hour you won’t feel very much wind on your face and chest. Just right! It’s actually quite good in that department. The Valkyrie’s large 6 gallon fuel tank and faring pod do a really good job of deflecting the air flow around your body. Speaking of bodywork, the fit and finish on this Honda is first rate. The paint is rich and the chrome is thick. Weird side note; the hand levers are as smooth and thick as they come and feel great against your finger tips. Overall, I’d give this motorcycle two thumbs up. It’s perfect for Sunday morning rides and after dinner runs with your mates. Without formal luggage it may be hard to handle road trips over 2 or 3 days. But I don’t think the Valkyrie was built for that purpose. As it sits now parked out in the driveway… I’d suggest you look at the new Honda Valkyrie as the ‘67 Vette of Motorcycles. Looks cool, runs hard and turns heads. How bad is that?
Speaking of rides, don’t forget to mark your calendar. We’ll be hosting our Pride Ride event down in Prince Edward County on June 14 just as Toronto gets set to place host to Global Pride Week. Seriously…our Ride is now only 4 weeks away!
I am really looking forward to this event. I just confirmed that my old friend Ken Edick that he will will be coming along on his Goldwing to help out as a ride “sweep”. That will be a great addition on the day. So … not only will we spend the day riding around Prince Edward County but we will also give away some really cool prizes and raise a little dough for Casey House in Toronto. So please plan on making a day of it and joining us. I look forward to meeting everyone and swapping a few riding tales through out the day.
In other news don’t forget to enter our “Open Season” give-a-way. In one month we will be giving away a fantastic BMW Urban Jacket worth $700.00 bucks along with some other Motorcycle Experience goodies. So, why not take a couple of minutes to fill out a ballot? Just click the “contest” button on the home page of our website and follow the instructions. The Urban Jacket is very cool and we can fit out both men and women with this one… so don’t hesitate to fill out a ballot. Good luck to everyone we will draw a winner during our Pride Ride in June.
Keep your right hand cranked!
Dave
