[Poncho]

time to start my own new thread. Valkyrie. it is cult. the original flat 6-1500. then we have this new gen f6c using the more better motor and alum chassis, but its all wrapped in plastic and does not lend itself to all the wonderful personalization that the old Valks did. How on earth would it every earn a following and become a cult classic in its own right?


I have an idea. actually more than one. So today I took off the backseat and those hideous horns and spent some time upside down looking up her skirt.. hmm.. With the driver seat off and the enormous cavity where the GW gas tank resides, am seeing some all kinds of things that can be done to this Air Frame. lots of bits that can be tossed.


the enormous bulbous plastic rear half fender could be extrapolated, that's fancy for removed aka shitcanned. this will expose the Steel subframe and all its appendages that are meant to anchor this bit and that and give all this plastic some anchor points. This subframe can either be removed or modified aka cut all the bs off such that a 10-12" wide steel fender can be anchored to it. I have done this to several cruisers, so it does not scare me to make changes. some of the items like wiring can be moved relocated to facilitate new LEDs , etc. If the battery is an issue, it can be relocated to that big empty tool box area. but I don't see it an issue. yet.


With a FAT fender anchored solidly to the remnants of that steel subframe, there is ample room either side of the fender to accommodate FAT side cases, aka bagger baggage. these can be bolted directly to the fenders such that there is no air or light between them. its as if they were made to be there. the bags can occupy space from the mufflers up to top of this new WELL Radius'd fender, such that the profiles match exactly. side view and rear view. new LED lighting can be incorporated to look like it belongs there and is functional. the lic plate can go somewhere, I haven't spent anytime thinking about that.
actually I had often considered if wearing a hunting jacket and sticking the license plate in the clear plastic pouch on the back might suffice to keep the law at bay.. probably not.


Ok, so I want to illuminate that I had done nothing to touch the running gear of this FINE machine as that is the HEART of why this should be another classic. So far everything is purely cosmetic, including popping for a corbin dual or some other hand built seat, to suite taste.


Now that the rear end has been dealt a functional blow. What to do about this all too plastic front end? I have ideas. The first thing is that all the plastic that comprises the headlight and fork shrouds needs to be packaged up and put in a box. Then a more classic or some other fitting Headlamp could be fitted. It will need to be incorporated with this next step.


This Valk being a derivative of a Tourer only lends itself to the need of a windscreen. Everything I have seen that fits it is butt ugly. Having many, I do know that batwings do work. but they have to fit. So that brings me to these crazy radiator wings. WTF? Honda sure went out of their way to make them bigger than need be. almost an eye sore. almost.
so studying them, as I have not removed any plastic. yet. It appears the the actual radiators and fan assemblies are only about 1/2 the size of these wings. now I know there are some hoses hidden in there. But I would think I could fabricate a smaller tighter fitting metal shroud to encompass the radiators and give them some painted finish. Flat black aka invisible paint is my favorite go to finish.
With the radiators wings reduced, there appears to be more than adequate turn clearance such that a full 36"wide batwing fairing could be fitted to the forks and would do wonders to cover up and clean up the front of this thing. and it would be functional in terms of offering long distance riding comfort.
Once again nothing of the basic AirFrame of this beast has been touched and it would still behave and perform as designed by Honda. it would just be more finished. ****, I would even leave the stock fender in play.. or not?


OK, so that is my synopsis of Cosmetic changes that could be done with small effort and big cahonies. It might take me a short while to actually move in this direction as the bike is only 2 weeks mine and 2k smiles accumulated so far. I may want to spend a little time with her before I put her under the knife. poncho


ps. I am looking at the underside of this bike and what can be done to clean up the running gear. that will be another expose for another time. the idea is to open up and let this motor show and be seen.

 

[Poncho]

we have a week of rain scheduled and I have plenty back up bikes, So yesterday I removed the seat. Today with driver seat removed and studying the rear chassis further, I think I can do my magic w/o having to do any cutting.
the rear fender plastic skin has to come off and get put in a box, stowed away for the future.
the taillight, turn sigs and wire harness set aside to be worked into the new fender.
I am conversing with Tsukayu for dimensions of the wheel side relief area on their Jumbo bags. 11"wide x 15"high x 26"long. https://www.tsukayu.com/JumboStrong.html
I think these can be permanently mounted to the rear chassis iron such that they are Snug in close to the wheel well and Straight inline with the bike centerline, not splayed out like duck feet. They will sit 1/2" above muffler and top off even with the height of current fender. they should be centered over the mufflers 50/50 , 5.5" each way.
With these big beluga bags in place, Then I can squeeze a 12"wide steel fender between them and cut it to fit over the rear chassis superstructure. It will look very similar to the stock fender except it wont flare out in the front like stock.
I will attempt to retrofit the existing tail light and turn sigs at the tail of the new fender. If that doesn't work, I will find something that will.
I will have plenty of fitment and trim work to do to cover up any of the exposed areas that the bags and fender leave open. Or just enjoy the view.?


So already this project is taking on legs. poncho

 

[Poncho]

We live in a world of plastic. the oceans are full of floating plastic debris, islands of the stuff. all the fish and sea creatures are choking on this flexible non perishable oil derivative. I feel their pain. I am about to add to it.


Today the new batwing fairing arrived. I held it up to the bike to see where it might fit and what needed trimming. hmm... hmm. I'm going to need a beer. better get a case, this looks like a bigger project than expected.. So, I started to fiddle with the front headlamp assembly just to see how it is attached. 4 stainless hex screws, 4 12mm hex bolts and its loose. ok that wasn't too horribly difficult. but what the **** is all this plastic? I have never seen so much plastic on a motorcycle since playing with my kids toys and they already are playing with their kids toys.. No wonder the oceans are filled with 2 headed fish. So after studying and prying and squeezing.. I finally was able to Half the fork shrouds and the headlamp assembly just popped off. Well I did have to wrestle it over the top trees. but hey it is a separable piece of the universe now.


I will work at disconnecting all the wire harnesses and other embilical restraints that are keeping me from putting it in a box forever.. NO it is not going back on this bike! This is just way too much plastic garbage on a machine that would wear the moniker VALKYRIE.. this just has to go! I will solve this another way. Yes the knife has come out. the RED BARON is getting undressed. stay tuned for further details. poncho

 

[DillPickle311]

Please pics of faring if you can Ponch.

 

[Poncho]

Please pics of faring if you can Ponch.

Pics when I can get them from my phone to my puter, no luck so far.. also, there seems to be an issue about file size. so I will have to figure that out as well.


I rec'd fairing https://memphisshades.com/products/batwing-fairing this week with this shield https://memphisshades.com/collectio...s/spoiler-windshields-memphis-shades-batwings , but it came w/o hardware. this is to fit an earlier version Valkyrie. I will have to do some fitment issues.
The horrible plastic headlamp assembly had to come off. The forks and triple trees on this bike are quite nice once you get all that trash off the front of this bear.
Next issue is those HUGE plastic radiator shrouds look like the wings on some Victoria Secrets scantily clad models strutting in their underwear. these plastic wings conflict with the fairing when the forks turn left and right. So, it is either cut the fairing or cut the wings. At the moment I took the wings off the bike. So it is sitting in my shop with bare nakid front end and exposed radiators. which btw are approx. half the size of those wingdings.
So while I wait for some hardware to arrive, I am shopping for a full size 8" headlamp assembly with mounting hardware. A big deep dish will house all those (4) connectors. The fairing will cover any unsightly cabling.
I think I may fabricate my own very trim radiator shrouds to cover the top, end and hoses. I will leave the stock side and back trim in place.


I am taking pics of the project so I will post when I get this figured out. and of course finished , my time line is ~90 days. wrench therapy. Its not like I need to ride this bike till August. poncho

 

[Poncho]

I spent a fair amount of time underneath this thing just studying the exhaust and other structure issues. First I must say , there is probably 100lbs worth of trash on these bikes in just the form of covers and other non essential components that could be stripped and boxed. I think this is in large part why this version of the Valk did not sell well . too much plastic and too many covers. What makes a motorcycle sexy is the MOTOR. when you cover it up like this you might as well be driving a car with a closed hood. So.. I was looking and thinking about how it would look with no side covers over the complete exhaust system with new headers 3 into 1 and then each side feeding a Y that flowed to each muffler and each muffler also having a Y to receive the flow from both headers. Such that each side fed each muffler 50% and that the X in the middle did not merge. All flows would be laminar and not conflicting like an H config or that upside down U that is under our sleds. poncho


dang system wont let me post a pdf , I sketched manifold design. 20kb, what is that a plain white paper?

 

[F6CT]

Is the new fairing metal?

Today the new batwing fairing arrived.

........but what the **** is all this plastic? I have never seen so much plastic on a motorcycle since playing with my kids toys This is just way too much plastic garbage on a machine that would wear the moniker VALKYRIE.. this just has to go!

 

[Geepers]

Modern plastics aren't "garbage". They're light, strong and don't rust or corrode. Sure, like any product there's pro's and con's but pretty much every luxury vehicle maker on the planet clearly believes the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[bparish]

Thanks, Poncho - appreciate you posting your thoughts and progress!
Will be very interested to see how it turns out for you.

 

[Poncho]

Is the new fairing metal?

no its abs hard acrylic. capable of sustaining direct hits from rocks and other airborne projectiles such as bugs and the occasional road buzzard lifting off a meal of road kill. tell me you have never hit a bird before? Its primary Function is Protection as well as some degree Form.


All the PLASTIC on this beast are just Coverings like skin to Cover up the Muscle and Bones underneath. kind of like a burka. what are you hiding under there?


A real Beast isn't afraid to show its pure self, like a well developed horse or a gladiator. All that muscle is there for you to see. Not so on this otherwise well endowed machine. Honda chose to enclose every nook and cranny with overlapping and interlocking layers of this stuff. Honda must have spent at least 1k engineering hours just coming up with that Confabulated Headlight design. there is absolutely no reason on planet earth to build such a complex, next to impossible service item, replacement cost would be horrific if not just for all these One Off components but all the shop hours $125 per to disassemble and reassemble. It took me 3 hours just to get it off the bike. Perhaps that is the underlying reason for all this plastic, Honda is trying to increase Revenues via parts and service hours? certainly it didn't help selling many of these units.. they only moved in limited lots when Honda chopped the price in half. It is that motor, why I jumped at this deal. not the skin on this beast.


This is 8th Honda of 32 bikes in my life. I think very highly of their motor engineering. Often their finish is a bit boring because it doesn't awake the soul. Sure they have that in your face, flash flair edgy profile. but it becomes boring as **** after 5 minutes because you can't do anything with it beyond wash it and look at it.


Most of the griping and whining I hear and read on forums is guys complaining about the lack of aftermarket accessories to change up / enhance their Ego Sled. that is what it is. They want a Bolt On solution that is fool proof and idiot proof so they don't have to do any real work as it is already done for them, and then they want it for cheap.. They don't want to RISK either their investment or their reputation that they might do something that is Not As Good a form/function as it was stock.. Yet they will fuss fool with the exhaust and computer and tires just to say they improved their machine is special. Some will even go ride it harder faster than common sense and risk destroying it or selves.. but wouldn't think to pull a piece of stock finish off it.


The best thing any one of us can do is go get a cheap beater bike and take it all apart. Clean it piece by piece and reassemble it into some degree of working status. it does not matter how imperfect it is. The experience is worth more than the cost. Always keep your day rider handy to get some ride therapy in so that you don't burn out on wrench therapy. They will feed on each other like a fire. do it. poncho

 

[F6CT]

Is the new fairing metal?

no its abs

So, you are taking off all the garbage plastic , so you can put on more plastic?

 

[Poncho]

So, you are taking off all the garbage plastic , so you can put on more plastic?

If that is what you think you see, well then knock yourself out. I am making this beast my own. if in the end it doesn't resemble anything like yours or all the other wingdings out there, couldn't bother me less. its mine and I will make it mine. poncho

 

[Poncho]

I was marginally able to move some pics from my cloudy eye fone to my 'puter so that I can disiminate this hard earned info to the wary public, that would be you. But I need somebody to chime in and instruct how to scale back file size so that they will fit in this teeny tiny attach box below. anybody got a clue?

the 45mm fork tube mounting kit arrived yesterday and I did get this Memphis shade fairing mounted. It fits like a glove. and is adjustable up/down, back/forth and tilt. So it lends itself to an array of fitment and fun'ction. I took it for a ride to my first watering hole. it is a creek that I built a small dam of rocks to host turtles and fish. they are doing exceptionally well with all this rain lately. anyway, the fairing was a bit low for my requirements, so while tipping back a cold frosty, because I can, I adjusted the whole fairing up 2" (50mm) and secured it. then I proceeded to my next evening bike stop thru city park down to the lake. lots of twisties. The fairing performed marvelously. Now I need to re adjust my new 8"(200mm) chrome headlight bucket w/led lamp up 2"(50mm) to fit snug under the nose of this batwing fairing.

the batwing tips which offer wind/rain/rock protection to your hands do not interfere with the radiators when turned full left and right. I have several inches of clearance above the radiators. not enough to re install the factory plastic wings w/o severe trimming, So I will pursue fabricating my own radiator shrouds... all the while contemplating moving the radiators completely from their current local, so as to expose that beasty motor and give access to it w/o having to remove the gas tank.

Yes at some point I will strip ALL the plastic off the bottom of this sled and expose the exhaust system. I am contemplating a complete new header system with a 6 into 1 into 2 manifold. that is at least a year down the road or more. ponchout

 

[use2b]

I like all the light weight plastic above the nice flat engine as it reduces weight . I think i could surprise many people on a road track as i have become one with this bike and can counter steer a corner almost like when i owned my Busa. BTW it was down for tires as i got about 3500 miles on M-Pilots after removing a lot of plastic

 

[Poncho]

I like all the light weight plastic above the nice flat engine as it reduces weight .

u2b, I like all the light weight plastic anywhere on this skooter to be put in a box and stowed away as it reduces even more weight!.. I like nothing but air between me and my motor. it weighs less.


btw, there is something in your garage that is buggering the attached pic of that gmc power wagon.. could you remove it and let us see what a real truck looks like? mucho gracias, poncho

 

[Valkkiwi]

Hi Poncho and all!

New 2015 Valk owner here, from New Zealand. I haven’t made an introduction post yet as I’m still waiting for my bike to arrive. (I imported from Australia as they are uncommon, and expensive here). Great to see you going outside the box with your mods Poncho. Customising these bikes does seem to require some committed effort as you mention in a previous post.

I haven’t seen the thin underbody plastic you refer to, but it sounds like a PITA if maintenance is required. Is there any possibility it had to be designed into the equation to reduce air resistance to meet fuel economy requirements out of the factory? My daily drive car is a Prius, (mainly because I’m a cheapass, not a treehugger, lol). It has loads of thin plastic skin under the motor bay, and has actually been shown to make a reasonable improvement to mpg.

Of course no one ever buys a 6 cyl motorcycle with a nearly 2l motor for the purposes of fuel economy, but perhaps Honda’s hands were tied on this due to EPA / Euro regs? Regardless, once the bike is ours, we will do as we please. (Unless we live in an emission nazi state like Cali.) Just thought i’d Throw a different angle in there, and say HI! This is a great forum. Cheers! Malcolm

 

[Geepers]

Welcome Malcolm from across the ditch

 

[ashram1974]

Hi Poncho and all!

New 2015 Valk owner here, from New Zealand. I haven’t made an introduction post yet as I’m still waiting for my bike to arrive. (I imported from Australia as they are uncommon, and expensive here). Great to see you going outside the box with your mods Poncho. Customising these bikes does seem to require some committed effort as you mention in a previous post.

I haven’t seen the thin underbody plastic you refer to, but it sounds like a PITA if maintenance is required. Is there any possibility it had to be designed into the equation to reduce air resistance to meet fuel economy requirements out of the factory? My daily drive car is a Prius, (mainly because I’m a cheapass, not a treehugger, lol). It has loads of thin plastic skin under the motor bay, and has actually been shown to make a reasonable improvement to mpg.

Of course no one ever buys a 6 cyl motorcycle with a nearly 2l motor for the purposes of fuel economy, but perhaps Honda’s hands were tied on this due to EPA / Euro regs? Regardless, once the bike is ours, we will do as we please. (Unless we live in an emission nazi state like Cali.) Just thought i’d Throw a different angle in there, and say HI! This is a great forum. Cheers! Malcolm

Welcome Malcolm ... but why you hating on Cali like Poncho ... don’t get influenced by him lol and stay a good boy !

 

[Geepers]

Yep. "Emission nazi states like Cali" will soon be seen to be the progressives.

 

[Valkkiwi]

Welcome Malcolm ... but why you hating on Cali like Poncho ... don’t get influenced by him lol and stay a good boy !

Thank you for the welcome Ashram. I like many places in Cali. I'm just glad I don't have to justify modifications I make to my vehicles on a yearly basis.

Some years ago I rented a car and drove down Highway 101 from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco. Beautiful route. I think now how great it would be on a bike.

Two visits now to San Francisco, and due to visit old friends again sometime. Everyone tells me San Diago is wonderful too. Haven't made it that far yet, maybe next time