Honda Valkyrie Rune NRX1800 reviews

Bought a used '99 Green & Silver Interstate in June '07 - only 3845 miles on it. Great ride either single or two-up. It'll handle twisties with ease and has plenty of power. The 1520 engine runs at slightly ;-) more than posted speeds with no strain, even when loaded down. Noisy tires when cornering (famous growl). Just made a 1,000 trip on it with the biggest grins on our faces. Always getting looks and comments - people think it's a new model. Compliments my '97 Magna for big-boy fun! Show less

Rode a friend's 97 Valkyrie Tourer and knew I had to have a Valk for myself. Purchased a 1999 Interstate with 45K miles and an N-Line trailer. This bike is so comfortable...there is absolutely no vibration, and the performance is outstanding...VERY FAST. If you don't want to buy one...don't ride one. Show less

This is the best bike ever produced. It performs, it handles, it cruises, it tours, it has style, and if you're a good rider you can hit the twisties and keep up with and even blow off a lot of the crotch rockets. It's absolutely solid and dependable and pretty easy to do routine maintenance on if you have a lift. It's too bad Honda stopped producing it. I test ride different bikes every chance I get and nothing is as smooth or comfortable to ride. The Triumph Rocket III is a powerhouse but it's also overkill. More power than you need on public roads (so does the Valkyrie for that matter) and it's not as pretty as the Valk but is very comfortable. I like the looks of the Kawasaki 2000 Vulcan but it's not as comfortable or smooth as the Valkyrie nor can you lean it as far in corners without dragging something. A Valkyrie is better than a Harley in every way. I like to ride and that's what a Valkyrie is for. I guess if I just wanted to ride from one bar to another or hang out at all the dealer parties a Harley would be fine, but bars and such aren't my lifestyle. The resale value of my Valkyrie may be terrible compared to Harley but who cares? I'll keep mine 'til I'm dead anyway. Show less

It's my second, I trashed the 1st one on a deer at 48,000 miles. I have 43,000 on this one. I also have a 1800 VTXc that I use to commute to work I prefer the Valk. I can afford any bike I want but there is nothing finer than a Valk. Power, looks, comfort, style and quality. I did 5500 miles this year in two weeks; Chicago to California and back via Phoenix, San Diego, LA and SF and back. The year before it was the northwest and this coming year it will be the northeast. Never a problem, flawless performance, absolutely dependable machine. Honda made a huge mistake not upgrading the Valkyrie as it was with an 1800 engine. I'm looking for a tourer to replace my VTX so I can have two Valks. Show less

Had two Valks now, a 97 Standard and now have a 99 Tourer. Most reliable comfortable bike I have ever owned. I can and do blow Triumph R3's away in the real twisties. Have ridden all the new 06 and 07 cruisers that they are putting out, including all the Honda twins, (Hear me Honda, if I wanted a twin, I would buy HD) and not one of them feels or goes as good as a Valk. Show less

Well it runs smooth, powerful, handles well and is quite comfortable and sometimes it takes a little muscle to move it around but man this thing just looks great. It could use a beefier deeper exhaust sound though. Why Honda only made this bike for one year is crazy. They should keep making this bike and offer it every year in limited production. Price is a bit steep on this one, but look what you get. A one of a kind and there is no mistaking this for any other bike. I have ridden Harleys all my life but when I saw this, I had to get one. Nice bike and I haven't had to wrench on it yet or take it in. Great bike but the price....OUCH. Show less

O-Yea, ridin' buddy, my son and I, we've been ridin' the beast for three years. Lately we've been on the look out for a better bike. Think we may be ridin the beast for many more years to come. We live in MI where it's cool to ride most of the time, so we really enjoy the furnace between our legs, (nicknamed the turkey cooker). At 25 mpg it's nice to know you are getting dual use for your fuel. By the way, Baker Air Wings are the best up grade you can buy for the beast. Two of the Valks have driver's back rest which makes the Valk real close to my Lazy Boy. My riding bud really missed the handle bar buzz that he enjoyed on his old Kawie Concourse. At the Hoot. We had our beasts off road (through the median) and hill climbin in the hills of Kentucky, they'll do it all but it takes some good sized kahunas, and o-yea we've got-em. Show less

I own several bikes inlcluding Harleys, BMWs, and other. None could match the performance, styling and comfort in its class. What a wonderful shift of Honda's design team. I hardly ride my BMW now, I do still ride my Fat Boy but prefer riding my Rune. I would love to ride it all the way to Baghdad, Iraq.. but I may want to wait until things settle down a bit. Show less

After being down from a bike wreck (Oct. 04), I had a lot of time to study all the bikes out there. I wished I never spent so much time with the three money hungry H-D models I owned. I found a '99 Interstate with 13,000 mi. for a great price even with add-ons! This bike is just flat out awesome, no complaints here. H-D enthusiasts can't say anything negative about it, either. If they do, it's either false or due to envy. This one's a keeper... unless I buy a different Valkyrie! Show less

I recently purchased my Rune and at first was concerned about the weight. The weight goes away very quickly and after about 40 miles I felt very comfortable on the bike. (This is my 40th something bike and I currently own other V-twins.) I just returned from Daytona and had a great time with the bike. At Daytona one gets to experience first hand how a bike handles in stop and go traffic and also on the open road. I give the Rune good points on all around handling.
This Bike has to have costed Honda a lot to make and probably has lost money on them but it does make a statement.
Everything about the bike is so different from the normal bikes of today.
When the grip is twisted things happen. And they are good things. It has a lot of torque and the sound is great although a bit quiet.
The backlash and throttle sensitivity are a bit of a pain. I put a couple of o-rings on the twist grip (between the grip and housing) and that gave me the slightest bit of friction and solved the problem.
The riding position is a bit cramped for my legs but otherwise is a reasonably comfortable ride. People seem to love it including the v-twin guys and most appreciate the work that went in to the building of such a bike. Kind of like the union between a locomotive and motorcycle. Show less