Beating me to death!

[Charles S Otwell]

I'm not sure when it started or when it got so bad but my Valk nearly snaps my back when I hit bump in the road, like a rough track or uneven joint in the pavement. I raised my shocks to the highest setting because it would bottom out when I would wind it out and shift hard into second, fixed that problem but was to stiff for riding. I started backing it down trying to find a better setting for just riding and I'm all the way back to where I started and it still jars the heck out of me on a rough road. I feel like I'm riding a rigid frame. Have any of you Valk owners ever run into this problem? Could it be something besides the shocks, like tire pressure or brand of tire (still has the hard as rock Dunlops on it)? I keep thinking that if it had bad shocks the bike would be bouncing up and down, not just up!! Also are there any difference between the shocks on a standard and a tourer, mine is a tourer that is stripped down to a standard at the moment. Any thoughts ?

[roboto65]

Valks eats shock bushings lol I ordered some from a guy on the VRCC and she ate those in a few hundred miles not common but need to do mine I need to order some more just the tops.  If you look at the top of the shock and see a gap in the washer then they are bad ..

[Charles S Otwell]

Thanks I'll check that out. I just redone the exhaust. Finally got the saddlebags painted and hope to have them on by Sunday nite. I'm hoping the extra weight will help smooth out the ride , we'll see!!

[lragan]

Well, it may not ride too sweet, but it sure does look nice!!

Every time you post a new pic of that bike it looks better and better.  I really like the red color.   

[dgc67]

Well, it may not ride too sweet, but it sure does look nice!!

Ditto

Did you redo the seat??  It looks like it does not have much "cushion" to it.  that could contribute.  I was also wondering if the shocks maybe got "stuck" in the highest setting somehow.  dunno.

[TLRam1]

That looks good Charles!! What a transformation.

[silveradocowboy]

Sounds like shocks to me bud

[BudMan]

I have the shocks on my IS as stiff as they will go and it still rides better than my car.  Something is definitely amiss.
Do you think the shocks may be frozen somehow.  By that I mean, are they infact moving up and down when you apply and remove weight from the bike?
Yours is surely a beauty, would be a shame to not ride it at every opportunity due to the discomfort! 

[Charles S Otwell]

Ok I'm ready to load it down and see if the extra weight helps with the ride.

[TLRam1]

Last I saw of your pipes they were wacked off, what did you do between then and now?

[Charles S Otwell]

I decided I didn't really have the sound I wanted so I started over. I cut every thing off and and welded a 2&1/4 inch tubing approximately 20 inch's long to a home made collector,  plugged the end of the tubing (welded freeze plug in the end) then cut  12 holes along the top, bottom and sides, got the idea from a pic of a cobra baffle I saw in a dealers catalog. Then added a 4 inch by 24 in long chrome truck stack (as used in some of the Valk muffler mods)  by capping the end of the 2 1/4" tubing, I forced the exhaust into the 4 inch chrome stacks evenly, eliminating the metallic resonating developed from running the exhaust straight thru the tubing. That's about it..

[Charles S Otwell]

First thanks for all the compliments .

If you look at the top of the shock and see a gap in the washer then they are bad

Allen I checked the bushings and I don't think it has enough wear to cause that kind of jarring, will replace them because there is enough wear to warrant it.

Did you redo the seat??  It looks like it does not have much "cushion" to it.  that could contribute.

Yes I reshaped the seat, there is more cushion than appears to be in the photo and the seat has been fine up until lately, but I'll borrow a friends stock seat just to be sure.

Do you think the shocks may be frozen somehow

I can feel the spring pressure lessen when I adjust them but have no idea if they are working properly.

Sounds like shocks to me bud

I was hoping to hear you say it was probably the tires,  I hate Dunlop, they seem to be hard as a rock and don't seem to be wearing out. Maybe Willie will let me ride his Valk and see if there is any difference.

Thanks for the input guys . I just hope it's the bike and not my body, I can fix the bike

[Capt. Howard]

First thanks for all the compliments .

If you look at the top of the shock and see a gap in the washer then they are bad

Allen I checked the bushings and I don't think it has enough wear to cause that kind of jarring, will replace them because there is enough wear to warrant it.

Did you redo the seat??  It looks like it does not have much "cushion" to it.  that could contribute.

Yes I reshaped the seat, there is more cushion than appears to be in the photo and the seat has been fine up until lately, but I'll borrow a friends stock seat just to be sure.

Do you think the shocks may be frozen somehow

I can feel the spring pressure lessen when I adjust them but have no idea if they are working properly.

Sounds like shocks to me bud

I was hoping to hear you say it was probably the tires,  I hate Dunlop, they seem to be hard as a rock and don't seem to be wearing out. Maybe Willie will let me ride his Valk and see if there is any difference.

Thanks for the input guys . I just hope it's the bike and not my body, I can fix the bike

I would variate my tire pressure on the rear to rule out tire...Dunlop will get hard sometimes depending on what compound makeup it is..Just anther idea..

[Smoked U]

Thanks I'll check that out. I just redone the exhaust. Finally got the saddlebags painted and hope to have them on by Sunday nite. I'm hoping the extra weight will help smooth out the ride , we'll see!!

Very nice work, Charles.

I wonder if someone could have put IS shocks on your Valk and stiffened the ride up too much.