Honda

My good friend Albert Mayer (pelles@spring.com) is gettin' himself a Valkyrie tonight. Anyone heard of this?

You mean anyone heard of someone gettin' a Valkyrie or the Valkyrie itself? Juuust kidding! The Valkyrie is the ultimate cruiser of the day IMHO. Just have to get all that mass moving without dropping it on yer leg, then SWOOSH..smooth power 'till the next state, or galaxy.

Honda's website was only about cars, the last time I looked. Anyway, Honda has a comprehensive lineup, from beginner bikes such as the Nighthawk 250 and Rebel 250 to behemoths like the GoldWing and the Valkyrie. In between, they have the Nighthawk 750 standard, the CBR600F3, VFR800, CBR900RR, VTR1000, CBR1100XX and RC45 sport bikes, the PC800 Pacific Coast and ST1100 touring bikes, the Shadow and Shadow ACE cruisers and the XT range of Dual Purpose (D-P) bikes. I have not included their pure dirtbikes, because I only consider road vehicles.

EEK! I forgot the Magna 750 hot-rod cruiser!

Yeah, I'd say (and you old XRoaders are sick of hearing it) that Honda makes the best internal combustion machinery on the face of the earth. They have the smoothest, most well engineered and well thought out, most reliable and generally best machinery on the face of the earth. I don't know how they do that. Having said that I've owned 6 bikes, 4 of which were Hondas. Which was the most reliable? My lil' ol' Ninja 600, now parked mournfully in a snow bank (just kidding).

I'll have a report and an eyewitness account of Albert Mayer's new Honda Vaklyrie tomorrow. Rain or shine, he's riding it to work.

Hee. I don't blame him. Yep, be sure to check it out. It's quite a site.

Surprised you feel that the Ninja has been the most reliable compared with the Hondas, Jon. I'd be hard pressed to point at which of "the Four" is most reliable, I think they're all amazing. Terry, I'm curious: Is Mr. Mayer a big guy, and what other bike(s) has he owned?

He's a very small guy and this is his first bike. I hope to take a picture of this monumental event (for Albert) today. Albert is a computer dweeb, a very likeable and bright programmer and this may be his first time on a bike. I hope he shows up here someday to share his views first hand.

This Mr. Meyer is starting on a Valkyrie?!? EEK! I hope he can handle the mass! Did he ride bicycles before? I, for one, will be starting on a 1987 Honda CM200T TwinStar, partly because I can't afford anything else, partly because I wanted that particular bike from the first time I saw it and I thought that it was a shame to have it sitting down for so long (it had crashed and my employers had got a new dispatch bike, which has since crashed and been replaced!) I was almost finished fixing it when I came to M�xico (actually, I had given up on fixing it and was going to take it to the mechanic and have it fixed! If I had the money to start on a new bike, I'd probably go for a Nighthawk 250 (standard), a Rebel 250 (cruiser) or a Virago 250 (Yamaha cruiser). I'm partial to the Honda 250s because they've got similar engines (50cc bigger) to my TwinStar. The Rebel is a beautiful bike; there are tons of them here in Quer�taro and quite a few in Jamaica. The Virago 250 also looks good, but the V-Twin spoils it, IMO. I prefer parallel twins, myself.

Yeah me too, since that's a LOT of bike for a "small" new guy! If your gonna cruise, cruise big, I say, but that's a big honker!

Yeah, but if you're going to start on a 700 pound bike, that's the one. My GL1200 felt like it weighed half of what it actually did. As far as big machines go, they're very forgiving and easy to ride. I'm assuming the Valk is the same. All I can say about El Ninja is that it's never broken down, never needed parts, etc. My Nighthawks had problems with stators and electrical. My GL didn't have any significant problems either, though. The VTR250 jumped out of first gear occasionally when you gassed it (usually with a big truck accelerating behind you). Like I said, the Ninja has just worked. Of course, it is the newest and lowest mileage bike I've owned.

I just checked the "First Bike" topic and I realized that Jon hasn't told us what his first bike was. It wasn't the GoldWing, was it? Terry, didn't you suggest to Meyer that he should probably start on a 90cc bike? Then again, I don't think anyone sells a street-legal 90 in the U.S. anymore. If he finds that the Valkyrie is too much for him, suggest a Rebel.

My advice to anyone who's committed to the sport is Buy as Much as you can Afford, and learn to ride it properly. Those with any common sense, and being new riders, generally stay away from ZX11s and such. This may be changing a little, since many new riders have the bucks to buy 916s if they choose. Hey i wouldn't *tell* anyone what to pick, but a 1st-timer on a Valk will have a lot to learn/think about, no?

> a 1st-timer on a Valk will have a lot to learn/think about, no? Especially if he's never ridden a bicycle either! Has Mr. Meyers ever ridden a bicycle?

Turns out he's very experienced and he popped down $17k for this bike. That includes the helmet (not a Bell), gloves, leather jacket, and six pipes (they're louder than the stock issue), it's an awesome looking bike. It weighs about 700+ pounds and Albert weights about 165. He didn't get side bags, electronics, or any extras other than the pipes. The tires are huge. The radiators pretty good sized. And it only has a kickstand, no center stand. He got it in all black because they didn't have red. So he may get it painted later.

So that's Albert driving home after a hard day's work where he couldn't wait to hop on this awesome machine. You can kind of see the 3 pipe arrangement on the side and the massive engine and radiator. I like the design of those instruments and that sqaure thing just under the mirror is the brake fluid resevoir with a little window so you can check your level. Who knows? Albert might be cruising up and down sixth street as we speak. John Arisco and Rick (of "Click there it is" fame) were marveling at this monster machine earlier. Rick lifted it off the kickstand while Albert watched nervously and John speculated on getting one himself, halfway seriously.

For another view of Albert's bike, check out http://www.spring.com and again apologies for putting it out that Albert might have been a first timer, we got the whole scoop today!

So we can look forward to hearing about Albert's experiences on the Valk, and on his previous (& other current?) bikes! I guess that a Valkyrie has to have pull-back handlebars, otherwise people would have a hard time reaching for them!

I'm trying to get him online!

Looks real good in black, shows off that great motor. I've not heard a valkyrie with aftermarket pipes personally, so that must be pretty interesting! Best of luck!

Man, that thing blasts off! 0-60 in about 3 secs.

Want to see a very high performance Valkyrie? Check out http://www.twobros.com/

Nitrous injectors and blowers.

O.K., 1500 cc, nitrous & blowers! And a road at least 20 km long and straight! That thing should be confined to Bonneville! Or at least only be allowed to commute between Bonneville and Black Rock!

Yeah....think of it....

Wait a second. I think I missed something. A stock Valk can't get to 60 in 3 seconds (pretty close, but I think three is wishful thinking). Is this your friend's Valk? It has nitrous and blowers? What did I miss here?

My thing about nitrous and blowers should have had a question mark after it. It was a question about what might be on the above referenced website. twobros. Didn't mean to get folks worked up, and I seem to recollect Albert saying that his bike could go from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, but I could have heard him wrong. It does seem to get up and go.

Oh, it's fast, and perhaps I'm mistaken. I'm sure it feels like 3 seconds! ;-) And like I said, even if it isn't, it's probably close. Wait a second..... Well, I looked through some back issues of various mags and found nothing. They usually don't list 0-60 times anyway. Hmm. I'm curious--I may have misspoken. The reason I'd assume it's not capable of a 3 second 0-60 time in stock trim is the fact that it weighs about 700 pounds and puts out "only" 100 horses. Most 400 pound, 120 horse machines have 3 second 0-60s. But I could be wrong.

I could be wrong too, it's all heresay. Maybe I should measure out 60 yards in the street and see what it takes Albert to traverse this.

Yeah, getting the ol' 0-60 time yourself is a pain. It's hard to operate a stop watch while hanging on for dear life! ;-)

That's 0 - 60 yards, not 0 - 60 mph! Terry, do you have any cop friends, who can get their hands on a radar gun?

I know a programmer that works at dps. That's about all my cop friends.

Well, there goes the radar gun plan. I think the bike magazines use a radar gun, or an on-board computer with links to sensors on the wheel.

It's a radar gun. But Cycle World uses said radar gun to do top speed tests on public roads. I'm sorry, but this is lunacy (no matter how deserted the road is) and is not safe for the rider or others on the road. I've lived in a pretty desolate part of West Texas and have done a few high speed blasts on deserted roads, but I can assure you that I wouldn't feel safe on any public highway at 180 mph.

But we came damn close a couple of times Jon... hehehe....

Hey, Shane, you must have me confused with Chuck. He's the speed demon with a 150 MPH top speed.....

Only once, and only once, did I push my 305 past 100 mph. I remember that!

I bet you remember that! I got my Nighthawk 650 up to 105-110 a couple of times, but because of the lack of fairing, it was a terrifying, shaking, all over the highway, hanging on for dear life experience. I've had Senor Ninja up to 120 or so, and even got my VTR250 up to 100 (it was much better behaved at its maximum speed of 100 than the Nighthawk was because it had a fairing).

Albert ran out of gas on the freeway. Well, at least he knows how much gas it takes now. 5.3 gals.

You mean that behemoth has no fuel gauge?! Did he push it or leave it and come back? Bummer.

He has to push it *past* and onramp and then off on an exit ramp, where he called a cab from a phone booth and went on a quest for gas. He had to do a bit of work there. A behemoth without a gas guage!

I was sure it was you and I and Chuck out rodding around west of town one day but I could be wrong... Maybe Chuck and I and ? (a ghost rider)... LOL So far the Wing has done 145 with the wife on the back.... Not too shabby.. and Smmooootttttthhhhhh... hehehe

NOPE JUST REMEMBERED!!! It was going up to Robert Lee... Me, Chuck and some guy on a Triumph Trophy..... (They say the mind is a terrible thing to waste..) LOL

If you really want to see some Valkyries decked out, check out Motorcycle Cruiser. They supercharged one and customized another. I must confess that I have a secret lust for one of those bikes, even though I am quite happy with my Voyager. I just love that engine. And it's such a torquey bike. I understand that it will idle at 15mph in 5th and still accelerate without changing the gears. I must get a test ride one of these days....

Is Motorcycle Cruiser a magazine?

Sure is. It's a competitor of BLVD magazine. Both are very good in talking about the odds and ends of the cruiser lifestyle and bikes. You can contact MC at 800-234-6981. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. Jim.

I saw it tonight at Half Price Books. That Valkyrie got 1st and 2nd in two polls for cruiser of the year.

I had a 1964 Honda 160, which was a great dirt bike. What is today's equivalent of this? Or do I have look for a used 64 Honda 160 to get this kind of performance?

Anything in a Dirt Bike is going to out perform a 64 Honda. Innovations in the dirt arena have been fast and plentiful since the late 70's. Just go get ya some recommendations from dirt riders and then get riding.... Personally I have always wanted to find an old (mid 70's) KE model Kawasaki, but this is more nostalgia driven than performance. Recent trips to the cycle shop has shown me that dual sport bikes have been the latest bunch to go through some growth and remodeling... One should be able to find a bike that can be fun on both the street as well as the dirt.... Shane

Actually, in some people's opinions, the dirt bikes have gotten too hight tech too fast and are too narrow focus these days. I'm no expert, but there are some deadly serious dirt machines out there--strap on a number plate and go racing. There are, however, some nicer, bigger, less racing/performance oriented machines out there, especially some of the Kawi dual sports.

Is always depend on what you'll do with it. If you only ride on soft dry places, a dual is ok. If you plan to get in deep mud, the tires on dual won't do the job and you can't put trail tires for road riding (quickly worn out). If you want a powerfull bike in hard condition, an enduro type will be the good one (low end power,and stronger chassis than motocross). If you want speed, power then high tech low weight motocross are the way. But I think that motocross and recents enduro are brittle cause there p shed at max of performace (technicaly). I'm still looking at dual and if I get one it will be a 350cc. Not too much heavy, and enought power to have a decent speed on road (and I'll have 2 sets of tires). Yves

There was a Kawi 600 Dual Sport at the Cycle Plex when I was there the other day... Very interesting machine... Had a lot of the 4wheeler type add-ons, Tank type gun rack, Tail Rack, and something resembling Saddle Bags.... Looked like it could satisfy a number of uses and that it could be REALLY customized to an individual rider.... The only thing I didn't like was that sucker was TALL.... (sucks to be short) hehehe... It did look like it could be tuned down a bit suspension wise...

Name the top 5 Hondas in order of best to lesser. Please, someone. Can be any year, don't have to be current models. My list: 1. Honda Valkyrie (new) 2. Honda 160 dirt bike (old) 3. Honda 305 (old) 4. Honda 350 (old) 5. Honda 90 (old)

Tough call. Hmm. 1. '70s CB750 2. CB650SC and CB700SC--the 650 and 700 Nighthawks 3. GL1200 Standard 4. GL1500 (you can't deny it--it is an influential model) 5. Honda 305 (it was a ground breaker in its day)

Honda "Scrambler" model-got everyone to pay attention. CB750 GL1200 CBX VFR750 All street bikes that IMO caused the rest of motorcycling to wake up, and are still valued as such today.

How about the Nifty Thrifty Honda 50? It got the whole ball rolling! Outside of that, I'll take Frank's list. Ground breakers all. Honda people are sooooo nice! hehe

Hey, I forgot about the VFR. Shame on me!

Honda people are sooooo nice! hehe Yeah, what should another bike company's moto be? You meet the biggest @#$holes on Kawi? (Big grin)

That wouldn't sell many bikes, Jon. But cute, sounds like a groovy political slogan.

Hey we could have a ball with this! With the aside that there's no intentional dissing. It's not the brand, but the type of bike...

I agree with the C50 being on the list. I think they've increased the capacity by a whopping 80% and called it the C90... Have been a Nighthawk fan from the start, and, of course, my personal bias is toward the 200s and 250s like my Twinstar, the Nighthawk 250, and the Rebel 250. BMW riders are so cool, they keep their beer in their pockets! (How's that for ribbing?)

HEY!!, I've rode Kawi's for ever... What you tryin' to say there Jon?? (I refuse to post further on the grounds that it may incriminate me hehehe) Shane...

I think you know what I'm trying to say, Shane. In fact, it was aimed directly at you! (Grin)

Humm, let's see: 1. VF and VFR series 2. CB750 series 3. Goldwing series 4. CBR series 5. PC800 6. VTR1000 Heck all the rest are great bikes, Honda is without a doubt the BEST of the Japanese bikes! Tailwinds BJ

Then that, IMNSHO, makes them the best of motorcycling. They do make fantastic machinery.

This from a Triumph fanatic!

Hey, sometimes you have "well made" and sometimes you have "soulful". Gee, who am I starting to sound like????? Aaaaaargh!

I've never owned a Honda, and I've ridden a few Triumphs more than Hondas. They are the best mass-produced motorcycles in the world. But by the looks of the new VFR800 I'm waiting for the day when you key a Honda and hear a mellifluous female voice: "Ignition..on" or "Ignition..off" if you get my drift.

Frank, LOL. "I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you start this motorcycle." hehe Jon said "Hey, sometimes you have "well made" and sometimes you have "soulful". And when you ride a Harley "sometimes" you have both! hehe

...and sometimes you don't! Brad's style, Marc's sentiment! heehee (my spelling of heehee!)

Hey, no offense Brad, and HD's quality has vastly improved, buuuuut the quality of a HD just doesn't compare to the quality of a Honda. And, to be honest, the quality of even a Mercedes Benz (a well made and expensive car, no doubt) isn't as high as the quality of an Accord. And the quality of a Snapper Lawnmower just isn't up to the level of near perfection that a Honda lawnmower is. I know some may not agree, but Honda has perfected the science of making extremely good internal combustion machinery. Harley may have, however, perfected the art of building bikes, but I don't think many would disagree that in terms of build quality, reliability and low (no?) maintenence, nothing approaches a Honda. Just change the timing belt, oil and add gas. Boring? Maybe, but then some people like that. I'm the one looking at buying a Triumph, so don't worry Brad--you're preaching to the choir!

Cagers might talk about Toyota, but...

Hee, I know, I know. But if you measure quality as customer satisfaction, I think Harley is right up there at the top with Honda, Mercedes, or anyone else. In fact, the waiting list and the price inflation would indicate that buyers "value" Harleys more than any other bike on the market. I value your qualities! hehe

When you put MB down on Honda, I said Hmmmm. The Honda *is* cheaper, OK. But when you said Honda's better than SNAPPER I had to respond! The Snapper's made of all steel, the Honda's plastic. For the same 2G's you get a mower that'll last for years and years, when folks have sold their Hondas in pennysaver. And that Snapper Red color makes a better background for the "Moto Guzzi" wing decal. How can you beat that?! (o;}

My dad had a Snapper rider mower that was still running perfectly after 10 years of hard use (2 acres mowed every other week). Given the fact that 3 kids did a lot of "racing" on that puppy before, during, and after cutting the grass, and the fact that the oil was changed once a year, I think it did everything you could have asked of it. It even had a "quick detachable" catch bag. hehe Cut that grass boys and make it Snappy!

(I know, off topic): My Snapper rider is at least 10, I bought it used in keeping with my motor philosophy. I acre give or take, twice a week in summer. Also a tribute to the other Company, Briggs & Stratton.

You're right--Snappers are nice. I was thinking in terms of the engine. Those Honda engines are works of art (science?). You're probably right--overall the Snapper probably is tougher. What engines do Snappers use?

Never mind, I just saw your message. I've had B&S on every lawnmower I've ever used--I still say Honda makes a better lawnmower engine, generator, etc.

Like I said before as far a Japanese bikes go, HONDA is the best overall and though H-D's may be more "popular" in the USA, "Worldwide" Honda is far ahead of Harley! Sometimes we Amercian's think the world revolves around us, "NOT". I saw a model of Honda that we can't get that is lovely to the eye, it's called a Rever, it's a slightly streached 650 Hawk (V-twin, water-cooled) bike with "aero ST1100 style bodywork (fairing and intergrated luggage), I'd kill for that bike, it's perfect in everyway but it won't sell in the USA becuse we all have to have "large displacement" bikes! Even though it'd probably eat a Big Twin or a USA version CB750 Nighthawk for lunch. Sometimes I wish we had more exceptance of things like the Europeans, I et Frank knows what Iam talking about. Everything has to be BIG, that's why of all the Harley's I like the Sportsters the best but the old style, slow ass big twin" get's all the glory here in the US. Idoubt we will ever have as much "class" as the European's no wonder they think were crude moron's! Tailwinds, BJ

The Revere is also shaft drive, BJ. Great machine, but I wonder if they did anything about the total lack of HP that the Hawk suffered from. Less than 40 horses! And they wonder why it doesn't sell.... And yeah, I agree--the Europeans seem to have crummy taste (only my opinion, of course) in several areas, but they've got us whipped in terms of bikes, cheese, wine, hmm. Maybe they *do* have better tastes than us! (Grin)

Sorry for the sermon guys but as much as I like Harley Sportster's even I have to admit that they are not up to what the Master Jap, ie: Honda, can manafacture. Harley only mfgs. 2-engine styles, Honda does dozens! I mean twins, inline 4's,V-4's,opposed 6 cylinder! It truely amazes me that a company that started as a "piston ring mfg'er" has come so far in only a mere "50 years"! Yes, Harley is working on 100 very soon but it's more style than substance. One day we will see the end of the Air Cooled, push od V-Twin and will H-D be able to survive without that engine style, who knows but Iam sure that HONDA will continue, IMHO. Tailwinds, BJ

Between the piston rings and the motorbikes, there was a time when Honda made nothing (factory bombed flat...)

What happened to our tech group. I love those techie questions and answers. A friend just bought a Honda V45, l983 in great shape. A real muscle bike. Could I have some thoughts on this bike, problems, advantages etc. The display panel is faulty, otherwise everything seemed fine. Thanks.

Three words--"Cam Chain Tensioner". They're all bad on the early V-45s, but can be refitted by a competent Honda mechanic to use the newer tensioners. I don't know if I've ever seen an early 80s V-45 that didn't rattle.

The Valkyries are amazingly designed, beautiful machines made for cruising but not bogged down with all of the common features of a car like the Gold Wing. Gold Wings are designed for retired old men who can't escape the bells and wistles and comforts of a car, such as a drink holder. Biking should be a passion, not just transportation.

YOu answered my question in topic 4!