Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Best motorcycle I've ever owned. After riding my friend's Suzuki M109, I was thoroughly convinced I needed a bike with more power. I had a 2001 Suzuki Intruder at the time. So I searched and waited until a bike with similar power became available. I didn't at the time knew anything about the Valkyrie. I bought it in 2013; my search and wait was over.

It can run with those big muscle cruisers produced today. Most have larger displacement engines, but my Valk has surprising power without fuss that makes them push their bikes to their limits to keep up. The Valkyrie is amazing on long stretches; the engine is smooth with a nice growl from the stock pipes.

This bike is a keeper; there are faster cruisers out there like the Vmax and the Rocket 3 and probably the Porsche engine VRod and a couple of others, but pound for pound, mile for mile, the Valkyrie can hold its own.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I've been riding a supercharged 2001 Valkyrie for 13 years. It also has nitrous oxide, with 144 HP on the throttle and an additional 50 HP with the bottle. You better be riding a Busa and twist your throttle hard to get around me.

I have ridden this GL1500 all over the country, and have many first place trophies for best cruiser.

Being water cooled keeps it dependable in all weathers. Could never imagine trying to push any air cooled bike this hard.

The blown nitrous Valkyrie is a beast!! Everything I have ridden feels like a toy after getting off a 195 HP flat six with an ultra smooth driveshaft and a cruising speed of 100+ all day long. This heavyweight is a Cadillac on the highway, and it's made in the USA.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I started riding in 1966 when I was 13. Had many scooters since, including Kawasaki 500s and a Kawasaki 750 H2 (scary), and three Harleys, among many others.

I bought my first 'wing in '79, then my second new in '82. I had the '82 for 27 years and put about 170,000 miles on her. Then it happened. I rode my first Dragon (Valkrie) in '05. Had to have her. I bought her from a dealer with about 20K miles on her. It was love at first ride!!! I love the way she handles and feels. Not quite as comfy as the Aspencade, but hey, she's a cruiser. Since '05 I have rode her 2,000 to 3,000 miles a summer.

I had my 'wing till '09 when I sold her pay the Valk off. Why? Because riding the Valk was more fun :) She is a beast with the heart of a kitten. Power, fantastic looks and a sure head turner. Wouldn't trade her for anything unless they made a Valk with the 1832cc engine with the same classic look of my '01.

Faults:

The coolant overflow tank dry rotted and leaked.

General Comments:

The Honda Valkyrie is a great bike and fun to ride. It's heavy and as big as a refrigerator. But it has the power, brakes and suspension to handle it. I traded a 1200cc Harley Sportster for the Valkyrie. I've never been sure if that was a good trade. It is very smooth, but freakin horrible on gas. I think I was getting maybe 25 mpg if I rode very gently. If I rode as normal, I got like 20 mpg. When I traded the Valkyrie, I never looked back.

The upside. The Valkyrie handled surprisingly good considering its size and weight. It will carve up a mountain road great. Plus, those big fat tires feel secure in the curves. The power is plentiful. It was my opinion that the Valkyrie wasn't as quick as everyone thinks. Yeah, it's a rocket ship, but not like a sport bike. Which, is what people think. It will smoke most vehicles on the road with ease though.

I had the Honda line windshield and highway pegs. Plus I added saddle bags. I toured on this bike and found it to not be as comfortable as I had hoped. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I had hoped. Better than a Sportster though, way better, way way better. No better than the 1400 Intruder that I traded it in for.

The downside. It's terrible on gas. 5.5 gallons means lots of gas stops on a Valkyrie Custom. Because it gets bad gas mileage and the tank isn't as big as a car, you have to stop a lot. I wouldn't take one of these across the desert. It might be a long push. I didn't like the stock foot peg position. With the big cruiser handle bars, it felt like my feet were too far back. The engine is so huge that the position for your feet on the highway pegs was awkward too. I personally just never warmed up to the Valkyrie. I wanted to.

Overall it's like beer, it's an acquired taste. I did think the Ferrari sound from the Cobra 6x6 pipes was awesome. But, in time, I got over that too.