I am a recent newbie to the Valkyrie as well. But I will tell you one of the fastest and easiest ways to clean up your ride is to use Pledge furniture polish on the painted parts. Its an old motorcycle cop trick and it works great.
Valk Honeymoon Questions?
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http://www.originalbikespirits.com/products/spray-cleaner-polish/
Been using this stuff for years ......used the old "Honda spray wax/cleaner" before this .I suspect it was produced for them as it smells exactly alike. I had my old Honda VTX for 13 years & this is all I used on it . I got caught in the rain numerous times & not a rusting bolt to be found anywhere on the bike. GREAT at repelling water when used regular ! I also use on my windshields with super results,let it set a minute & bugs wipe right off ! NEVER had it yellow or change a windshield .......GREAT stuff !
I've seen whole threads about the horrors of filling your tank standing upright and soaking the twins
....I've filled my tanks on all my bikes that way also .....Most people will say fill it off the bike with it on the side stand .....I just can't help getting that little bit of extra fuel in there .......
Been using this stuff for years ......used the old "Honda spray wax/cleaner" before this .I suspect it was produced for them as it smells exactly alike. I had my old Honda VTX for 13 years & this is all I used on it . I got caught in the rain numerous times & not a rusting bolt to be found anywhere on the bike. GREAT at repelling water when used regular ! I also use on my windshields with super results,let it set a minute & bugs wipe right off ! NEVER had it yellow or change a windshield .......GREAT stuff !
I've seen whole threads about the horrors of filling your tank standing upright and soaking the twins
....I've filled my tanks on all my bikes that way also .....Most people will say fill it off the bike with it on the side stand .....I just can't help getting that little bit of extra fuel in there ....... 
Multiple attempts before success
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My opinion, 80000k + of Saturday recreational riding since Jan 2015. All weather conditions.
I see lots of allen bolts. Should I check for tightness?
I can't see this doing any harm so go for it if it makes you happy. I never have except brakes/wheel related bolts when changing tires/brakes.
Should I wax the painted areas or simply keep it wiped? What product and which fabric to prevent scratches?
The paint is garbage. Mine looked so bad after just a few weeks and I ended up trying to buff out all the little marks to clean it up. At the time I read about some stuff called "Liquid Glass" and bought it and wish I had put it on before I road the thing as it seemed to have worked very well.
The rectangular can in the middle with the old corvette I think it is on the label is the one I bought.
http://www.liquidglasspolish.com/about/
I re-fuel while sitting in an upright position. Any pointers for properly filling the tank?
Don't know. Here in Australia if you sit on the bike it is a good bet the station attendant won't start the pump until you get off. This is both for "drive off's" and also I have seen what happens if you are sitting on it and it goes bad. I am good with not sitting on it but hey each to their own. I will tell you it is a pig to fill to the brim on the side stand. I can seemingly go forever putting a little bit more in, letting the bubble go down, a little bit more until hey it's coming out the overflow. I usually get bored first.
With the way the cowls are designed, what is best way to keep summer bugs cleaned out of this area or actually keep them out?
A hose. I simply hose them out and have had no issue what so ever. I do start the bike and let it idle when I am finished to the point where the fans start and blow all the water out (Blows forward FYI) and then finish the wipe down. One thing to note, the switches can develop a problem with a bit of corrosion on the contacts. IE the high beam won't work unless you flick it repeatedly on and off to clean the contacts. I have fixed this by just spraying in WD40 or something along those lines from time to time. Never had any problems since then.
Is it best to replace the tires once they are worn with the same tires?
I think this is more a personal question but for me... I won't touch the OEM's again. Everything is better in my opinion except Metzeller 888's. I won't touch them again either. I have found the Pilot PR4's on the back on the PR4 trail on the front are by far the best for wet weather grip but at the moment I am running Michellin Commander II's. Unsure of the mileage because I didn't look after the tire pressure on my first set but I have no issues with them in wet or dry at they don't bother the handling so win. I pull the left pipe off to get them on but it is only 3 bolts and a minutes work so not biggy. I should also be noted I am running a 200 on the rear for the simple fact that I really like the look of it.
https://beta-static.photobucket.com...riginal.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds
https://beta-static.photobucket.com...riginal.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds
What I have found over time is I like this bike more and more. It is stupid fun and can really handle a beating on some really bad roads. It also does great fishtails on dirt
I see lots of allen bolts. Should I check for tightness?
I can't see this doing any harm so go for it if it makes you happy. I never have except brakes/wheel related bolts when changing tires/brakes.
Should I wax the painted areas or simply keep it wiped? What product and which fabric to prevent scratches?
The paint is garbage. Mine looked so bad after just a few weeks and I ended up trying to buff out all the little marks to clean it up. At the time I read about some stuff called "Liquid Glass" and bought it and wish I had put it on before I road the thing as it seemed to have worked very well.
The rectangular can in the middle with the old corvette I think it is on the label is the one I bought.
http://www.liquidglasspolish.com/about/
I re-fuel while sitting in an upright position. Any pointers for properly filling the tank?
Don't know. Here in Australia if you sit on the bike it is a good bet the station attendant won't start the pump until you get off. This is both for "drive off's" and also I have seen what happens if you are sitting on it and it goes bad. I am good with not sitting on it but hey each to their own. I will tell you it is a pig to fill to the brim on the side stand. I can seemingly go forever putting a little bit more in, letting the bubble go down, a little bit more until hey it's coming out the overflow. I usually get bored first.
With the way the cowls are designed, what is best way to keep summer bugs cleaned out of this area or actually keep them out?
A hose. I simply hose them out and have had no issue what so ever. I do start the bike and let it idle when I am finished to the point where the fans start and blow all the water out (Blows forward FYI) and then finish the wipe down. One thing to note, the switches can develop a problem with a bit of corrosion on the contacts. IE the high beam won't work unless you flick it repeatedly on and off to clean the contacts. I have fixed this by just spraying in WD40 or something along those lines from time to time. Never had any problems since then.
Is it best to replace the tires once they are worn with the same tires?
I think this is more a personal question but for me... I won't touch the OEM's again. Everything is better in my opinion except Metzeller 888's. I won't touch them again either. I have found the Pilot PR4's on the back on the PR4 trail on the front are by far the best for wet weather grip but at the moment I am running Michellin Commander II's. Unsure of the mileage because I didn't look after the tire pressure on my first set but I have no issues with them in wet or dry at they don't bother the handling so win. I pull the left pipe off to get them on but it is only 3 bolts and a minutes work so not biggy. I should also be noted I am running a 200 on the rear for the simple fact that I really like the look of it.
https://beta-static.photobucket.com...riginal.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds
https://beta-static.photobucket.com...riginal.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds
What I have found over time is I like this bike more and more. It is stupid fun and can really handle a beating on some really bad roads. It also does great fishtails on dirt
I often use pledge polish especially on shield.
I am a nut about making sure before each ride, shield is as clean as possible. The bugs here are awful. However, I can see all the crack and crevices the bugs are gonna find to mess up. Just using a hose won’t be enough.
I’ll cross that bridge when warm weather returns.
My last bike got cleaned often and so did my methods create lots of little scratches you could not see unless very close to it. I want to prevent this.
I may try the liquid glass product.
I absolutely love the 6 gallon tank y’all! I will continue to fill fuel in upright position. I was quite shocked at how hard it is to fill it to the brim. You seem to constantly have to add more almost like there is suddenly a new tank somewhere. What I really like is the fact if I overfill, it won’t spill down to my crotch as happened a few times on my vtx1800(gas burns like crazy). The little fuel catch is nice!
I think I’ll try the size 200 tire mainly to see if it will help with all the terrible roads we have. I figure I’ll not fill it with as much air, have a little wider and softer track to counter act the pot holes and patched areas of the roads. This seemed to work well on last bike. I’ll see if Dunlop has a rear tire for this and then I’ll get a bridgestone or Michelin for front.
Shrub? Where’d you get the belly pan?
The only reason I mentioned tightening some of the screws is because I can sometimes hear the plastic additions squeaking when shifting bike in certain ways.
I am a nut about making sure before each ride, shield is as clean as possible. The bugs here are awful. However, I can see all the crack and crevices the bugs are gonna find to mess up. Just using a hose won’t be enough.
I’ll cross that bridge when warm weather returns.
My last bike got cleaned often and so did my methods create lots of little scratches you could not see unless very close to it. I want to prevent this.
I may try the liquid glass product.
I absolutely love the 6 gallon tank y’all! I will continue to fill fuel in upright position. I was quite shocked at how hard it is to fill it to the brim. You seem to constantly have to add more almost like there is suddenly a new tank somewhere. What I really like is the fact if I overfill, it won’t spill down to my crotch as happened a few times on my vtx1800(gas burns like crazy). The little fuel catch is nice!
I think I’ll try the size 200 tire mainly to see if it will help with all the terrible roads we have. I figure I’ll not fill it with as much air, have a little wider and softer track to counter act the pot holes and patched areas of the roads. This seemed to work well on last bike. I’ll see if Dunlop has a rear tire for this and then I’ll get a bridgestone or Michelin for front.
Shrub? Where’d you get the belly pan?
The only reason I mentioned tightening some of the screws is because I can sometimes hear the plastic additions squeaking when shifting bike in certain ways.
I'm thinking in the same direction. I greatly enjoy stupid fun.
I'm curious as to what color valk is most prevalent or most popular. Anyone have an idea?
I wonder what these pipes would sound like?
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I wonder what these pipes would sound like?
I have tried a lot of different waxes and they all work.
Liquid glass is a great wax sometimes hard to find.
The paint on my Valkyrie is great, I also have a black F6B the paint from Honda is terrible just looking at it would scratch it. It was BAD!
Until I tried Glare Wax. It is a 4 step system that looks and is holding up great, since I put it on I three years ago I have only used the last 2 steps of polish and wax. It no longer scratches and shines like a show car. Best hundred dollars I ever spent.
On my Valkyrie I used Honda Glare wax it's made by Glare so I would think is the same it's not cheap $20+ for a bottle.
https://www.glare.com/
I also use Honda spray cleaner for dusting
The belly pan you can get from any motorcycle dealer. I have show chrome (Big Bike Parts) on mine.
Liquid glass is a great wax sometimes hard to find.
The paint on my Valkyrie is great, I also have a black F6B the paint from Honda is terrible just looking at it would scratch it. It was BAD!
Until I tried Glare Wax. It is a 4 step system that looks and is holding up great, since I put it on I three years ago I have only used the last 2 steps of polish and wax. It no longer scratches and shines like a show car. Best hundred dollars I ever spent.
On my Valkyrie I used Honda Glare wax it's made by Glare so I would think is the same it's not cheap $20+ for a bottle.
https://www.glare.com/
I also use Honda spray cleaner for dusting
The belly pan you can get from any motorcycle dealer. I have show chrome (Big Bike Parts) on mine.
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