1800 CC Valkyrie

[bonnyair]

Has anyone ever put a newer 1800CC Honda engine in a Valkyrie?  I think Honda should bring back the Valkyrie with this new  engine   

[TAZ]

We all agree, but to date nothing from Honda......they are just too caught up in the twin craze to worry about getting it right again and producing another magical valkyrie with a 1800 or larger motor.  silly japs need to open them eyes abit more and see the real picture instead of worrying about other bike maker faults......flat 6 much better....heck with them twin bombs.

[Valker]

They did this with the Rune in 2004 and 5. Sales were less than stellar.

[mikehallbackhoe]

the rune looks like it belongs in a roger rabbit movie. if they had built a real valkyrie, at least it would have stood a fighting chance. until the american public falls out of love with the v twin, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Valker]

It wasn't that they didn't want to put the 1800 in a good Valk, it was that Joe Boyd was tragically killed. He was the one in charge of the Valkyrie project. :'(

[TAZ]

I agree that Joe's death was a tragic point in the Valkyrie, but, you would just think that someone close to him inside Honda would have had the Spark to reignite the Valk with the newer motor and make it Fuel Injected.  I wonder/worry about Honda's commitment to great bikes and how they seem to take the easy approach and go with the flow instead of being real leaders.   They should see by now the V-Twin market is overbored (not a misspelling) and that bikes like the Valk as the GW are true leaders in going a different direction which pleases people.  The same with jap cars and ours, they all look the same so where is the competition when everything looks the same, there isn't any.  No wonder car sales are down, heck you only need one since they all look the same and cost roughly the same.  No imagination in new bike or car development...same old crap just another new name to try and trick some no brain buyer.   

[Sludge]

I agree that Joe's death was a tragic point in the Valkyrie, but, you would just think that someone close to him inside Honda would have had the Spark to reignite the Valk with the newer motor and make it Fuel Injected.  I wonder/worry about Honda's commitment to great bikes and how they seem to take the easy approach and go with the flow instead of being real leaders.   They should see by now the V-Twin market is overbored (not a misspelling) and that bikes like the Valk as the GW are true leaders in going a different direction which pleases people.  The same with jap cars and ours, they all look the same so where is the competition when everything looks the same, there isn't any.  No wonder car sales are down, heck you only need one since they all look the same and cost roughly the same.  No imagination in new bike or car development...same old crap just another new name to try and trick some no brain buyer.  

An enthusiastic +1

[MP]

Not to start a firestorm, but.
I love my Valk.  Period.
But even in the day, the Valk did not sell well.  35-40,000 over the course of 96-2003, plus several years of getting rid of the carryovers at the end.  For a company like Honda, that is a dismal failure.
We here believe, rightly so, that the Valk is the best made bike.  But, most people went other directions, mainly vtwin, Hardlys, or want to be Hardlys.
So, do not look for an updated version.  It will not happen.
So, take good care of our babies, and they will last a long time.
MP

[TAZ]

Yep, we figured that out long time ago they wouldn't be bringing any true Valkyrie back as every time someone would ask a Honda rep they looked the other way.  I don't think the Goldwing managers at Honda liked having another bike to compete more less with the GW.  Besides that they had alto of 1500 motors to use up as the 1800 was getting ready to be introduced in a new edition GW, only makes sense they needed another way of using them up quickly.  That of course worked out very well for all of us who wanted a naked bike that was built tough and very dependable.  Heck the CBX 1000 6 cylinder didn't last long either even though it blew away the competition at the time and they sell for a good buck now as they are more less a collector bike with an attitude and ours will or is in that class of bike.

[viatornado]

to build a flat six is a very expensive task, it isn't as much that the public has come to love the v-twin it is that they are cheap to build and easy to design around. the public is just dumb enough to think that its the way it should be.
 
The marketing that was given to the Valkyrie was a far cry of what it should have been. for me personally I didn't even know what they were until after they were done building them ( I found out about the beast in 2004).

from my understanding early feedback to Honda was that people were afraid of the size, they didn't try to ride them cuz they wuz scared!......
to bad.....for them and now for us!
 Next year I hope to find a nice little tourer ( I ain't scared )
I had my standard, and my interstate. Now I want a tourer

[timk519]

from my understanding early feedback to Honda was that people were afraid of the size, they didn't try to ride them cuz they wuz scared!......

I was just visiting a friend who said he was intimidated by the bike just sitting there.

I think that's cool!

[TAZ]

Like with any very awesome bike or car.....it is easy to get intimidated if you let it get to you....It's generally for people that can and will take charge of  something out of the ordinary and they are normally leader type folks who know how to make a big step forward, see through the forest, adventurous type folk.  There are leaders and way too many followers.....make sure you stay on the right side!

[TrickyD]

Hey TAZ!!!!!  Totally agree with your stance on this issue!!!!! Stay True BRO!!!!!  TrickyD & The always Fantastic Kathy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mrflamewerks]

<edited>  I wonder/worry about Honda's commitment to great bikes and how they seem to take the easy approach and go with the flow instead of being real leaders.  <edited>

Honda still has leading edge vision, unfortunately for those of us in the two wheeled world, it all went into this little gem.

[ohblackwater]

Here's the flip side to the "Valkyrie is an intimidating machine" mentality.  My buddy rides a Road Star Royal Venture.  I think that's what it's called.  It's the Yamaha flagship bike.  Bags, radio, cruise, etc...kinda like a poorly done Gold Wing (just my opinion...ok?). 
Anyway, he rides my Valk when he comes up to visit, and he says that in comparison to his bike, my Valk rides like a SPORTBIKE!  He says it handles 10x better because of the lower center of gravity and lighter weight and also that it FLIES compared to  his Venture. 

Gentlemen, it's all a matter of your perspective.
JQ