Topic: 2001 Honda Valkyrie Interstate

[grepper]

I'm inheriting a 2001 Honda Valkyrie interstate.

My wife's uncle bought this bike new back in 2001.  I think he went into the Honda dealer and said, I want the most expensive bike you have, and put every option on it.  He road it a it a little, but lost his license due to too many DUI's.  Over the years he's had lots of people offer to buy it, but he was dead set on keeping it.  So it sat in his garage, looking like it did off the showroom floor, collecting dust with only 3K miles on it..  A couple of years ago he thought he was going to be able to get his license back, so he had the local Honda dealer pick it up, go through it and make it road worthy again.  The problem is that though he switch from vodka to beer, his health continued to fail.  Last Saturday night, his liver, kidneys and what ever finally gave in. 
So here it is.





the battery is dead, there's gas in the tank and the petcock was left on.  Hopefully it will be pretty easy to get it going again.

Anyone know of a good Valkyrie Forum?

[jeffg]

is that a 6 cylinder?

[grepper]

Yup, 1500 cc's of Honda Power, with 6 carbs.

[MoMo]

sad story, I know way too many people like that....Larry

[grepper]

I spent last weekend helping clean out the uncles house and got some more information.
Turns out he was back on the vodka.  He had a couple of drunks shacking up at his house for the last few weeks, making party store runs, keeping him pickled.  The house was littered with liquor bottles.  From the looks of it, they stole everything they could carry, all his jewelry was gone, he had jars of change all over the house that are now empty, his expensive mountain bike is gone.  Who knows what else they took before 911 was called. Pretty sad, my wife had talked to him a week before and he seemed fine.

As for the Valkyrie.  I drained and put in fresh gas and some seafoam, charged up the battery.  I was a bit hard to start a first, but I got her going and road it home Sunday night about 100 miles.  It's a real beast to handle at low speeds, but a dream once it gets going over 20 mph.  On all my other bikes the drafts off of semis always shake me around, not this bike, it plows straight through.  the thing pulls like a freight train, and I easily got the tires to chirp in the first 3 gears.  When I got home, I shut it off to help my wife, then it wouldn't start, the battery is a 6 volts.  I'm hoping I just took the last little bit of life out of that 15 year old battery and all it needs is a new one.  It needs a good cleaning and going through and I'll get some new tires before next summer when I can put some serious miles on her.

 

[jeffg]

Maybe you can file a police report, and insurance claim?

[seanbarney41]

somebody makes 6 into 6 exhaust for that too...my buddy Charlie has 'em and the sound is wicked

[Stev-o]

Sad story but congrats.  Be proud to ride it, bet he would like that. Thing is a beast!

[Don R]

A friend has the naked valkyre, it's got almost 200K on it and still going. He rides it everywhere and takes trips to the west coast every year. He always goes the long way too.

[grepper]

Maybe you can file a police report, and insurance claim?

I don't think that's going to happen.  My wife and her mother have their hands full.  He was wise in his youth to start a nest egg, now they have 6 houses to sell.  Not to mention cleaning out the house he lived in.  They are on their third dumpster, plus selling off everything else.