Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) A modified vers ion of the Gold Wing's GL1500 powerplant Is used, but with a host of changes to make it more ins piring. (Below left) The white-faced gauges are handsome and easy to read. (Right) This accessorlzed Valkyrie Is said to resemble the touring mode l due at the end of this yea r. (Left) A s ix-into-six exhaust ensures that the Valkyrie sounds like noth ing eise on the road . (Below) The dual 11.65-lnch discs at the front are fantastic. provi de ample leverage to keep stee ring effort low, even at p arking-lot speeds. So often with th is type of bik e, brakin g p erformance is overlo o ke d , M an y tim es a rider is faced with binders that offer a low lev el of feel, hi gh effort and mediocre p ower . Not so th e Va lkyrie. Braking performance w as su perb . Th e twin discs a t the fro nt w ere easy to m odulat e a n d o ffe red good o u trigh t power without bein g tou chy. Likewise for th e rear. Two-piston calipers are fitted to bo th ends. Tho ugh H o n d a didn't opt fo r the hard- tail look with th e retro styling theme, it d id a fair job of preserving such a fee l; the twin-shock rear suspension features five-way preload adjustment, but is on the stiff side. Stiff enough, in fact, to have launched me out of th e saddle w hen traveling over rough pavement on more than o ne occasion. And this was on a bike that was set to the second of the five preload positions. This is really the only glitch I found when it came to the comfort level. And in th is respect, the Valky rie rivals its Go ld Wing bro ther. Indeed , ta lle r riders m ight even find the seating position bet ter tha n o n the W i n g, thanks t o the slightly altered ridi ng position tha t feels m ore spacious. By adding the leather sad d lebags and effective wi n dscreen from the am p le accessory lin e th at w ill be offe re d, th e Valkyri e turns int o a mile-eating tourer, the engi ne spinn ing a lazy 2500 rpm at 60 mph. Wi th out th e screen, 65-70 mph is abou t th e m aximum before windbJast starts to make yo u han g on too tightl y to the cruiser-m-ainstay, smooth rubbe r grips . D ied -in -the-w o ol touring fo lks lookin g for so methi ng d ifferen t w ou ld probably be satisfied with a touring-accesso rized Valkyrie, but if that' s not quite eno ugh, a spo kes man for Honda said a Road King-type tourer is in the offing. The broad, su ppo rtive sea t remained comforta ble for th e one uninterrupted 70- m il e stint w e h ad . Under th e sea t yo u' ll find the tool kit, battery, ra diator overflow tan k and a helmet lock. A variety of other bikes were br ou ght along for our mean der ing ride from H ond a's headquarters in Torrance to the hills above Santa Barbara, and getting back on the Valkyrie was always pleasant. Especially in comparison to some of the other cruisers that were included in the pool. If yo u're fond of chrome, this is one bike that won't disappoint. The sheer size of the engine ensures that you can 't miss it in this naked and very glittery application. Valve covers, the timingbelt cover, engine guards, ca rb u reto r . tops, intake manifolds, the fat exhausts and just about everything else that's exposed gets a dose of the shiny stuff. For a powerplant originally designed to be covered u p in the Gold Wing's large fairing. it makes a suitable centerpiece. Contrary to normal cruiser practice, the Valkyrie un abash ed ly reveals its Iiqu idcoo led nature, sporting chrome accents on either side of th e radiator . With the size of the pow er pl ant, th e rest of the bike w as cons tructed to a suitable scale. Large tires m ounted on alu.m in um whee ls are cove red with deeply valanced fenders, w hile a big-bre w ed. chro me head ligh t graces the fro nt of the bike. The white-faced 8500-rpm tach and 145-m ph speedometer are comp aratively small, but handsome and easy to read. Con tai ned in the face of th e tach are w a ter-temperature, oil- p ressure and si des tan d indi ca t o r lights, while integrated in to th e back of the h eadlight housing ar e th ose for neutral , tum signals and high beam. The handlebars, to o, go big, be ing quite wide and spo rti ng a hefty lin ch d iamet er. Mounted under the right side of the 5.3-ga llon fuel tank is the easy -to- find ignition switch, and on the left side is the (chromed) fuel petcock. The re is no fuel ga uge. If th e available two-tone pain t schemes (red/ pearl white; pearl pur'ple / pearl white; or black/pearl yellow) aren't your bag. the Valkyrie also comes in basic black at a $300 savings over the two-tone model' s $12,799 asking price. Included in this price is a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty. Overall the Valkyrie is very comfortable and enjoyable to ride, an d in this it reveals its Gold Wing heritage. But what it is really closer to in te rms of riding experience is not the fully loaded, acces sory-la den lu xo-tou re r th a t th e Go ld Wing has become over it s 20-year life, bu t the ori ginal stri pped m odel th e line s tarted from . What we h ave h ere is a great sta ndard m otorcycle dressed up in retro cloth es th at harken back to a tim e w he n som e of us were ba rely walkin g, much less riding motorcycles. None theless, no m atter what yo ur gene ration, if yo u like a relaxed ride down the boulevard with a n occasio n a l foray in t o tw istier settings, th e Valkyrie mi ght be th e bike for yo u. It's a cru ise r that didn't lose sigh t of the fact th at it's a motorcycle -_and it's got soul. l~ 1997 Honda F6 Valkyrie Specifications Engine Uquid ·cooled. SOHC . horizontally opposed six-cylinder Bore x stroke 71 x 64mm Displacement 1S2Occ Compression ratio 9.8: 1 Carbu reti on (6) 28mm CV-type Ig niti o n Solid-state digital Tran smission .. five-speed. shaft final drive Clutch Multiplate wet S uspension Front .Inverted 4Smm te lescopic forks. 5.1 inches travel Rea r Twin shoc k. five-way adjustable preload Brak es Front Rear Dual 11.65-in. discs with two -pisto n calipers Single 12.44 -in. disc with two- pisto n caliper Tires Front lS0/80 RI7 Dunlop D206F radial Rear 180170R16 Dunlop D206 radial Rake/trail 32°/1 52mm Wheelbase 66.5 in. Seat height 29. 1 in. Dry weight 682 Ibs. List price $1 2.799 lo r two- lon e paint. $ 12.499 lor solid ...... ;.., -< 17

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