Torque loops anyone?

"I don't want the pipes to stick out too far past my bags." -Afta

Although I'd love to improve the sound of my Valk, and the suggestions on this thread look/sound good, one of the nice things about the stock pipes is that they don't hang out past the rear tire (although barely). This allows me to ride over curbs (carefully) without fear of scratching/hanging up the pipes. I always wondered at people who would put extra long pipes, fishtails, etc. that would prevent them from "jumping" off a curb when that's maybe the best way to go. Why risk the damage and eliminate the option that, while admittedly a rare/couple-times-per-year situation, is sometimes the only one? It's like parking your bike nose-forward on a down-hill and have to back it up later...why? I know some that do because they don't want to accidentally scratch their overly-long pipes on the curb. I'm probably missing something.

bscrive said:

Kugo, why are you jumping curbs???? I have never jumped a curb in over 30 years of riding.



Maybe you would be better suited with an adventure style bike.

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I figured someone would say something like that, but since you asked nicely I thought you deserved a response. I have been riding since 1965. Won't itemize the bikes I've had as many on this forum would think it kind of paltry compared to their list. Whether I was at a high school football game (and rode the bike over to the grandstands instead of the parking lot, thus the curbs) or recently on the Valk when I got boxed in at a crowded restaurant and found it easier to ease (not "jump") over the curbing into the street than deal with it otherwise. I'm simply saying it's an option, going over a curb carefully, I don't care to eliminate for the "purposes" of add-on cosmetics. I had a Suzuki X-6 250 "Hustler" many years ago while in college and found it really sweet to get around on campus at the Univ. of Iowa where I grew up in Iowa City and, yes, I did jump curbs and other things with that bike. Not much in the way of special "motorcycle-only" parking spots those days on a campus that stretched on both sides of the Iowa River. A car was a drag to have (they made things that way on purpose) and it was hard to find a parking spot and get to classes on time. And for the record, I doubt there are very many people who treat their new Valkyrie with any more care than I do. I was taught to respect the equipment I was lucky enough to have and to keep it working well. I do get your point, however!