Bob's Bike

valkyrie central

The Valkyrie that was resurrected from the grave.

Check out Bob's bike. Look at it very very closely.

Read how Bob Rickel brought this beauty back from the grave.

Just imagine this bike was a TOTAL WRECK according to the insurance company that obtained it after it was wrecked by one of it's policy holders.

In Bob's own words.
I have a friend who buys bikes for salvage (parts) after the bikes are totaled by the insurance company. He told me that he had a 1999 Valkyrie with 4500 miles on it that had a Virginia Salvage title and could be turned into a Florida title. I currently owned and was driving a 1984 GL1200 Standard with 13,000 miles in near perfect condition. Basically it was the grandfather of the Standard Valkyrie.

I had always admired the Valkyrie since it was basically my GL with a lot more power and size but I always figured that it was too expensive for me. I bought the wrecked Valkyrie for $3800. I started checking with my local Honda dealer for the parts I needed to rebuild her. WOW, was I shocked. I needed a new fuel tank ($1295), new exhaust ($1100), new front and rear fenders ($700. each), both gauges complete ($650), plus a number of other pieces like a brake master cylinder ($140), handle bars,engine guards, foot pegs, complete headlight shell ($200) and a number of other small parts. Needless to say I was in sticker shock. I had rebuilt a number of bikes like this one over the years but I could not believe how much prices had gone up. Then I found the VRCC website and started looking into the classified section for parts. I was able to find all of the parts I needed with the exception of an engine guards, handle bars and headlight shell through the classified ads. I was able to sell both the dented up tank and fenders for $50 apiece on the VRCC classified website.

The bike is now finished and I have $5200 invested in her. Not bad for a 1999 Standard with 4500 miles. My original plan was to finish her and sell for a nice profit to my brother in law, but then I started riding my Valkyrie (just to make sure everything was OK). Well within a week my museum piece GL1200 was up for sale. I sold the GL to a collector off the internet for $5000 so I have a nice Valkyrie for the $200 dollar difference. I had promised my brother in law first option on the Valkyrie but I called him and told him he would have to look elsewhere, he just ordered a new one. I told him to check the VRCC website for the club in his area (Knoxville) and am looking forward to cruising in the mountains with both our Valks.

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Below you will find a number of "before" pics. Click on image for enlargment.