2014 HONDA VALKYRIE
FIRST RIDE
P90
both inspiring to look at and im-
pressive to ride.
In a lot of ways, the new
Valkyrie still reminds us of the old
Valkyrie – just better in almost
every way. It has more power
and more torque, yet is just as
smooth (if not more so) as ever.
The last Valkyrie was carbureted,
via a single-carb-per cylinder
layout. The new Valkyrie is fuel-
injected, featuring its own unique
intake ducting to feed air to its
two 40mm throttle bodies, and
six high-pressure fuel injectors.
Throttle response is nothing less
than superb. We couldn't detect
any flaws.
Larger displacement, more
efficient fueling and other motor
tweaks make the new Valkyrie
even more of a joy to ride than
the former Valkyrie. Roll on the
throttle and the power comes on
hard – but not too hard. It gives
you just enough time to warn you
what's coming and that's a quick,
steady, yet smooth, stream of
power all through to redline. But
most of the fun comes way be-
fore that.
Max torque is reached at just
4000 rpm with peak horsepow-
er arriving just 1500 rpm later.
Early in the powerband is also
where the Valkyrie sounds best.
Compared to the Gold Wing, its
now more compact six-into-two
exhaust system, with new slash-
cut tips, delivers a throatier growl
from bottom to mid, yet is still
fairly quiet overall. There's no
mistaking the Valkyrie's unique
howl from its flat six-cylinder mo-
tor when this thing rides past.
Shifting the five-speed trans-
mission is just as smooth as the
rest of the bike, and the light-pull
clutch makes launches from a
stop a non-issue.
There is plenty of room to
stretch out on the Valkyrie. In
fact, it feels more spacious than
the Gold Wing. The wide handle-
bars are well positioned and the
two-piece seat is also wide and
comfortable, and with a seat
perched just 28.8 inches above
the tarmac, the Valkyrie does not
feel intimidating at all, even for
such a big machine.
Despite being 154 pounds
lighter than the Gold Wing and
90 pounds lighter than the F6B,
the Valkyrie is still a beefy bike at
750 or so pounds, but it carries
