More data and a comparison

[Dragonrider]

It was a terrific day in the Great NorthWet, and the road beckoned.

Let me preface this by saying that my favorite two wheeler, on which I have logged over 150,000 miles, was and is the original Valkyrie - and today, my riding partner was my friend of 20+ years, who bought his Valk in 1999, with about 36K on the clock, and keeps it spotless.

We departed Portland at 0730, to circumnavigate Mt. St. Helens - a total of almost 400 miles for me. The Spyder gave a 38.5mpg day, with lots of altitude changes, and hard running twisties.



Observations: The roads had lots of water caused damage - heaves, depressions, pavement cracks and slippage - causing the Spyder to bottom out 5 times. The new rear tire is less forgiving on grooved pavement, wagging like a happy dog, and there's a noticeable vibration around 75mph (legal posted speed limit - and we were the slowest vehicles on the road!). All in all, nothing to really complain about, the Spyder ran flawlessly, never showed more than three bars on the temp gauge, and never added heat to any part of my anatomy...

BTW, the noisy fuel pump isn't noisy anymore..

Now for the comparisons I promised.

Spyder vs Valk.
1. The Spyder is faster off the line, shifts faster, and accelerates better.
2. The Spyder stops quicker
3. The Spyder is about 5mph faster in the corners - the Valk is scraping bits, while the Spyder is still sailing.
4. The Spyder handles squirrelly roads and unexpected 20mph hairpin turns better
5. The Valk is a whole lot less work on twisty roads
6. The Valk (Crobra 6x2) sounds WAYYYYY better than the Spyder
7. The Valk feels more comfortable, and solidly planted at 75 on the freeway - not that the Spyder is unacceptable, just that the Valk feels better.

Both bikes delivered about the same milage, and it's not fair to compare lux features. Both bikes have storage, windshields, and are set up for touring.

So if you are considering coming off a nice two wheeler, you won't be losing a thing - though you may get buff shoulders and arms, if you frequent the twisties...

 

[Dragonrider]

I forgot to mention that 90% of the riders seen on the road waived at the Valk, and 30% waived at the Spyder. It did not matter who was riding what, or the brand of the other bikes... but every time we stopped two or three people would stop and ask questions about the Spyder (none asked about the Valk), and two cute ladies actually asked for a ryde. - a nice side benefit for an old F#$% like me. I would have thought that kind of attention had died down, but that's not the case.

 

[Chupaca]

Nice review..!!

grate comparison from one who knows. Never rode either one but came off a sport wong to an RS and have not missed a thing. Actually gained a lot.. :thumbup:

 

[Questions]

Hit it right on the nose

My wife and I just returned from a 2000 mile road trip covering British Columbia, Washington, and Idaho before heading back north into Alberta. Your figure of 30 % of riders waving back is exactly what we had figured lol. Funniest part of the trip was being parked alongside of a group of two wheelers who made it fairly obvious that they figured we were "non bikers". That soon ended when one vehicle stopped next to us and asked if they could take a picture.of our setup, then one after another a crowd of about 7 or 8 was gathered around our ride asking questions and commenting how much they liked the looks of our Spyder and Trailer setup. I wonder if the day will come when people will realize the fact that it's not important What you ride, it's simply that you do ride...