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Seeking the wisdom of the forum

JR

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Aug 26, 2005
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Location
Lake Livingston Estates sec 4/5
First Name
J.
Last Name
Reviere
Opinions from all solicited.

I'm hung up between two possible deals to replace my 98 Magna which sold yesterday (9 Nov).

I have two possible deals hanging in the fire waiting for me to choose and give the go ahead.

Deal 1:
97 Valkyrie DECKED OUT TO THE EXTREME, if it's brite and shiny, this baby has it mounted. 51K miles, excellent condition. Seller is a good bit OVER NADA retail and won't budge. He's asking and will eventually get $7500, it's that nice. Add TT&L and the total comes to: Approx: $8000. Bike is in Houston.

03 ST1300A bone stock, 15K miles, all recalls done, excellent condition. Seller is UNDER NADA slightly, has budged $600 in last two days, says out the door: $9600 flat... that's it...... Bike is in Houston

Now, my question: Without consideration of the difference in a power cruiser and a Sport Touring ride... just considering the numbers, age, miles, potential for depreciation, etc. ... all the logical and rational things with no emotionally based preference.... WHICH DO YOU THINK IS THE BETTER DEAL?

I'm leaning one way, but won't say because I don't want my lean to influence what anyone wishes to contribute to the decision process.

Puzzled old Grumpy JR
 
I sold a 98 Valkyrie a year and a half ago for less than $7k. Stock.

Cycletrader has umptyzillion brand new '05 STs advertised for around $12k

My opinion is both bikes you're looking at are a little high, BUT they're both in Houston, by the time you got one from further away, you'd be close to the prices you're quoting. They're both specialty items, not mainstream bikes. I think you can expect to see more depreciation on them than on a more mainstream bike...one with higher sales volumes.

Buy the one that turns your crank the hardest, quit worrying about squeezing that nickel until the buffalo poops.
 
Thanx both of you. I don't understand the term "Main Stream" in this context. If the reference is volume or numbers of units, perhaps both Valk and ST are "out of the main stream" (Hummmm, no one has ever accused me of being unable to "think outside the box." My experience is, however, exactly the opposite in terms of depreciation. The higher the production runs, the faster the units depreciate in general. Both ST and Valk appeal indeed to a restricted clientele, yet, the ST in particular tends to hold market value quite well. From what I'v learned in the past week, since Honda stopped production of the Valkyrie, there has been, in some cases, an elevation in market value. At least this is what owners have been telling me. The prices I've encountered on the Valks I've consdiered have all been running at least 1K above NADA Retail and I've found no independent seller willing to negotiate any at all. Dealers might, but I've found none at dealers. It's true shipping or going and getting a bike some distance away elevates the total investment dramatically. When one is by circumstance required to be fiscally restrained, this can make a unit some distance away rather unappealing. JR.... aka Grumpy... Oh,yes, I understand Rebecca is familiar with the Valk I'll be checking out tomorrow.
 
Sounds to me like the ST1300 is the better deal. All the chrome and glitz will tarnish and depreciate, or would down here next to salty ol' lavaca bay. I don't put much stock in chrome accessories. I'd rather buy the solid deal.
 
I would put my vote in on the ST. I don't think depreciation will be that big of a factor on either bike. The ST seems like it would be more fun all around.
 
Thanx everyone. I'm still undecided. I find myself vascillating first one way then the other. I've decided, if there were a significant price differential deciding would be easier. If my name were Gates or Dell, or maybe Jobs... I'd cop out and take both so I don't have to decide... but woefully, such luxury is not reality for me......... I may ultimately go for the one least costly to operate over long runs.....

Anybody got a feel for the fuel consumtion for a conservatively ridden Valkyrie? I've owned multiple ST's. The fuel consumption on the 13 is not significantly different from that of the ST 11. I routinely ran all my ST1100's out past 300 miles on a tank easily....

JR aka curious grumpy...
 
ST for me if it were my money. lower mileage and still in production. The demand for ST's will likely remain high for years to come if the ST1100 is any indication. I don't know many people who are looking for the Valks, but then again, I don't frequent places they are likely to be either since I lean towards the more sporting end of the spectrum. I'm just not a cruiser person, and I've owned a few. All just one man's opinion.
 
Grumpy said:
03 ST1300A bone stock, 15K miles, all recalls done, excellent condition. Seller is UNDER NADA slightly, has budged $600 in last two days, says out the door: $9600 flat... that's it...... Bike is in Houston

I am biased. I love the ST. Plus you should be able to get one cheaper is you're patient. Heck, show this one to the seller and he may be motivated to knock off a couple hundred bucks:

http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/8/9/81471889.htm
2003 HONDA ST1300, silver, 15,241 miles, $9495, great cond., Global Motorsports, 16920 Kuykendahl (1 mile N. of 1960), Houston, 281-893-3600, www.globalcycles.com
 
If I were buying, it would be the ST, he Valk has no appeal to me at all. But then I would kind of like an ST, FJR, or BMW RT if I were to buy something now.

Mainly, get what moves you. All of our opinions won't mean squat if you aren't happy with it.
 
I'd take the ST1300 simply because it's stock. Also, I think it's the more versatile bike. The big thing though is that I'm just not a fan of other people's aftermarket add ons. For some reason it automatically sets off a red flag in my head.
 
I'm with the ST as well bro.
The deciding factor, IMHO, even though the Valley girl (Valkyrie) sounds like a better deal financially because it is already "fully-loaded", is that fact that the Valley girl you're looking at is already fully loaded. You'd be buying someone else's dream bike, not your own. You'd be robbed of the stories you'd be able to tell at the biker events of what YOU did to fix the girl up yourself.
That bike is one that you'd want to pick up raw and cook her up yourself.
Meanwhile the ST is the kind of beast that needs no customizing.
I bet if you go with the ST later on down the road you'll find a raw or medium rare Valley girl waiting for you to cook up yourself.
Then you would have BOTH. :-D

IMHO
 
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Get the Honda.


peepwall.gif




Seriously, +1 w/bluedogok, just get the one that moves you the best. ;-)
 
I would be a little leary of any bike with 51,000 miles on it.

I agree; also consider how difficult it would be to sell a bike with as many miles if it does not work out for you.


Uhmmmm, well........ All I can say is that I had a very bad experience with this bike, and personally I would not recommend it to anyone. It's smaller brother might be ok. That said, it is a great value (reason I purchased) and many riders love them.

Also, I recommend you stop looking at this from a logical standpoint; get the one that you feel more passionate about.... life is too short :-)
 
Check Your Email, Grump, There's A Valk For Sale In Austin, I Sent You The Information.
 
Another ST vote here. I like bikes that handle, and that Valkrie has some miles.
 
Grumpy said:
Anybody got a feel for the fuel consumtion for a conservatively ridden Valkyrie? I've owned multiple ST's. The fuel consumption on the 13 is not significantly different from that of the ST 11. I routinely ran all my ST1100's out past 300 miles on a tank easily....

JR aka curious grumpy...
I rode to New York with a friend riding a Valkyrie a couple of years ago, and he got low 30s at legal freeway speeds. I can't say if that's normal. It was real discouraging having to ride at legal speeds and stop so often for him to fill up ;)

Funny story. His was the touring edition (Interstate?) with the trunk with Valkyrie across the back. At one stop I just happened to be standing next to it, and a guy came over and asked me if I was in the Navy with him in the early 70s. I told him that I hadn't been, and I swear (I am not making this up) he said "Oh, well I served with a Val Kyrie in the Navy, and I thought you might have been him."
 
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Grumpy said:
Anybody got a feel for the fuel consumtion for a conservatively ridden Valkyrie? I've owned multiple ST's. The fuel consumption on the 13 is not significantly different from that of the ST 11. I routinely ran all my ST1100's out past 300 miles on a tank easily....

JR aka curious grumpy...

"conservatively ridden Valkyrie" - I think that is an oxymoron. It is hard not to romp on the throttle on the Valk. HP and Torque in the 90's You have seamless power across the power band.

That being said - You can expect mid 30's for a conservatively ridden stock Valk. If you add the trigger wheel that advances the spark 4 or 6 degrees (for the interstate and the std/tourer respectively) you can get it up to the low to mid 40's.

Before the trigger wheel I once got 17 mpg riding hard into a head wind. After the wheel I never got below the mid to high 20's and usually in the mid 30's, but then I never rode conservatively.

There is a Valkyrie Riders Delphi forum where you can get a lot of good information about the Valk but expect the info to be slanted. For these guys riding the Valk is like a religious experience.

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bushwhacker said:
"conservatively ridden Valkyrie" - I think that is an oxymoron. It is hard not to romp on the throttle on the Valk.
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Now that you mention it, he did seem to enjoy the throttle; it's just that he stopped nailing it around 70mph and refused to go any faster :suicide: ;)

How's tire life on those bikes vs the ST?
 
Mr Ed said:
Now that you mention it, he did seem to enjoy the throttle; it's just that he stopped nailing it around 70mph and refused to go any faster :suicide: ;)

How's tire life on those bikes vs the ST?

A friend and I, both on Valkyries, went from I-10 and hwy 6 in Houston to I-10 and EE White in San Antonio (171 miles) in 2 hours and 10 minutes including a gas stop at the mid point.

The bike is very comfortable and easy to ride at reasonable speeds.

I averaged about 10k miles to the set for tires. The front always had more life but I always change both when I change them.

Being large radial tires, they are fairly expensive. I usually ran Avon Venom R's and you could occasionally find a special on a set for around $250-$275.

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ST. Like someone stated here already, 51kmiles is quite a bit...difficult to sell if you do not like it after all. Bearings etc...

Jussi
 
Brotha J said:
Meanwhile the ST is the kind of beast that needs no customizing.

:shock: But even if it's not needed, it's so much FUN! Sagent seat, cruise control, PIAA lights, windshield, and on, on and on ;-)
 
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