[Tazmool]

Greetings everyone,

New to the forum, joined to find info on the 2nd gen Valk.
A little bit about my (relevant) past bikes:

I owned a '98 Valkyrie, it was my come-back bike more than a decade ago now (previous bike was an R1), the Valk had the honda windshield and honda leather bags, highway pegs, ignition advancer and a belly fuel tank. Loved that bike, did lots of short trips on it and I was slowly turning the bike into a long distance tourer with the intention of riding cross Canada to the west coast and back.

However, the Valk had very turbulent air flow above 85km/h, and was just not that great on the highway. So I traded it in on a ST1300, which I loved and did the West coast trip (10,000km in a month) however life and work forced me to sell that bike shortly after.

Fast forward a decade,
I'm currently riding a '16 VFR1200X Crosstourer DCT, its Honda's big ADV bike, like the previous valk I love riding it, its loaded with lots of features, abs tcs cruise control, adjustable windshield, shaft drive, dct tranny etc etc, been doing lots of short 1-3 day trips on it, however its long distance touring ability is shorted mainly by its seat, plus being an ADV bike its very tall and top heavy, I've ridden gravel and dirt roads on it and would hate to drop it on the dirt. Having dropped it on asphalt it was hard enough to pick up (back was sore for days afterwards)
If anyone is curious, the DCT tranny is BRILLIANT! and its little wonder why Honda offers it on the new Goldwing, Africa Twin and a slew of other bikes.

Now why I'm thinking about the current Gen Valkyrie:
If I were to move away from an ADV bike, I'd like something that can still tour long distance and is great for 1-3 day trips and just general tooling around. I'm also thinking next year I'd like to ride to the west coast again, 10,000km round trip.....

The 2nd gen valk caught my eye when it was released in '14, but I never had the opportunity to ride one, but have ridden the F6B and (now) previous gen Goldwing ('17) both were very comfy, but "too much" too many buttons, too much weight, don't need it all. I prefer a simpler bike and the Valkyrie with some bags and a windshield "may" work?

A little more on the F6B,
A friend of mine had one, on a multi day ride on my (then) B-King, one ride on the F6B and the B-King was for sale... it was a fun hooligan bike, but sucked at touring. The F6B has always stuck in my mind (although its still heavy!)

So, Current Gen Valkyrie owners:
How comfortable is the Valkyrie compared to the F6B? (seat, wind protection, suspension)
Can the Valkyrie tour long distance in comfort? how is its air-flow at highway speeds? (I'm looking for turbulence free) Is the Honda windshield for the Valk any good? (I'm worried as my previous valk honda windshield sucked)
How is the weight compared to the F6B? I know the Valk is lighter, but does it feel lighter? easier to control?
Can the valkyrie be a bit sporty? handle twisties?

Thank you to anyone who read my post and is willing to help out a fellow rider!

Tazmool

 

[Prgrmerror]

Wish I could help but i don’t know anything about the F6b. I have taken a few 800 mile trips on my F6c. The seat was a Corbin because stock was only good for an hour or 2. Turbulence was there. I had to be closer than if I was in a cage to read speed limit signs clearly. I have the Honda tall shield but cut 5 inches off the top. I prefer to see over. I wasn’t uncomfortable in any way and could have passed the house if I had more time. I did the blue ridge parkway last fall and as long as I was mindful that it was a cruiser the twisties were fun. Hope you get your answers.

 

[Sleepngbear]

If you're looking to do some light-duty touring and the F6B is a bit more than you're looking for, see if you can find a leftover or lightly used CTX1300. A lot less buttons than the Wings, but the Deluxe model does have built-in blue tooth, ABC, TCS, auto-canceling turn signals. It doesn't have quite the giddy-up of the Valk, but the 1300 V4 is no slouch, either. They only made it in 2014, but some dealers still have new ones hanging around -- they didn't sell well at all. I had one before the Valk (and totaled it), and they was a really nice machine. Very comfortable stock seat, probably the most comfortable I've had out of the factory. The Valkyrie, not so much -- had to get a Corbin, which my ass is STILL trying to come to terms with.

Windshield, the Honda option is huge and looks like an afterthought; don't know how well it performs. I just put a short MRA shield on mine (12.4") that's working out really well so far, though you'd probably want something more substantial if you plan on doing long miles. I didn't HAVE to put a shield on -- there's virtually no buffeting without it -- but I wanted to lose a little bit of the wind blast, and this little MRA does exactly that. But there are a few other after-market options that look and perform well.

As for road feel, the Valk is just amazing. It's still a pretty bug bike even without all the Tupperware, but it's very nimble for its bulk. The big flat 6 just pulls from idle to red line, suspension is good, very well balanced, and easy to throw into corners, with decent clearance for a big cruiser. And like every other Honda, it's just as happy being ridden like an old lady going to church or having the **** flogged out of it.

 

[PAVALKER]

I think the current Gen Valk with bags, shield and luggage rack would be ideal. of course you might add a seat and some highway pegs etc etc... It is quick, nimble and sporty enough and capable of carrying some added luggage for a trip....especially if you are solo. Take one for a ride..... and you tell us what y

 

[markmine]

I had a few HD in the past, sold my glide and held on to my 04 Low Rider. I was looking for a nice cruiser for day trips and the Valk was on my radar. Then Honda recently released some new 2014 with substantial discounts (8k off msrp), it took one test ride and I went home with it. The bike is incredible and I can't stop riding it. It handles great and feels like a light bike. Cornering, stopping, accelerating, the bike does it all. Very comfortable. The engine is so smooth and pulls nice. I agree with others that the stock seat is not very good and I ordered a corbin. I also ordered the boulevard windshield and saddlebags. You can't go wrong with this bike and there are still some available with the discounts.