2000 Honda Valkyrie sitting 10 years! Let's fix it! Part 2, fuel tank and carbs.

Part 2 on the Valk, fuel tank work, cleaning and also carb rack removal.

[@Thomas-wk5ll]

Man your the epitome of old school mechanic A dying breed and that's a huge compliment I love your work.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Wow, thanks. Very much appreciate it. I guess that's where the "don't just repair, restore" comes from, in the old days, repairs consisted of making something work without necessarily having to replace something. Enter today's parts changes. Can't blame them, they weren't taught like we were. Got a pic of my old man in the garage to remind me of that. Cheers.

[@wileyt8423]

I'm taking notes...

[@TheMarcball]

I was gonna say you'll need TP for that bung hole... But I did not say it. Thanks for the inspiration and keep on trucking!

[@MotoRestoFL]

Beavis and Butthead are unfortunately, quite forgotten by most. However, every now and again I watch the movie. :)

[@johnstocker6728]

Your right shuold have finished video. Tank looks fabulous

[@flexjay87]

First video of yours i have seen, and this looks like a good project to follow. I plan to buy another Honda possibly today, and am purposely obtaining it without needing much work at all, just a little maintenance, cuz after surgery last year my body still hurts, ( guessing we are similar in age ) but i am not gonna stop riding without a fight. Anyhow, i look forward to following along with this Valkyrie project. I love carb bikes, and the Goldwing version is an interesting example of Honda engineering :)

[@MotoRestoFL]

Watch the Circus Bike series... that Shadow sat 25 years reportedly, borescope looked like crap on the rear jug with corrosion and rust, there was water draining out that exhaust when I got the bike. It had low compression off the bat, but some oil and run time, she runs perfectly. Honda stuff is hard to break, although the VFR project is demonstrating that some folks do have the ability to slap some voodoo on the engine and screw stuff up. Cheers.

[@flexjay87]

@@MotoRestoFL , Ok, gettin ready to watch the Circus bike, but i have an update on my new purchase. You know that old saying, " The best laid plans" , yeah well, my buy a bike and ride it, is down the tubes. Needs brakes, air filter , ( why do people always neglect the air filter ? ) , all fluids changed, etc. All things i can , and have done, cuz i have another bike just like it, 2 years older, and i have done all that , plus more. Oh and gonna install bar risers too, while i am spending money i shouldn't . Lol

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@flexjay87 Never. There's never too much to spend on a bike for ones own use. Customer jobs? Sure, sometimes something is way not worth the cost and we must spare them the pain and suffering of letting emotions get the best of them. Case in point: couple years ago, an out-of-state person reached out due to a referral from a colleague who does kind of what I do out of a home shop. I think this guy was like up in Oregon. Anyway, he explained he wanted a restoration of a bike and emailed pictures of this potential resto job. Forgot the make/model, but it was a smaller dirt bike from his and his brother's youth that their father had purchased for them -- typical story often heard. He wanted it restored. It was almost completely rotted away. I told him it'd be cost prohibitive to replace all the parts on that platform like brackets, muffler, fenders, anything metal, virtually and it'd be cheaper to just source another good used unit and restore that. Nope. He wanted THAT particular bike done, not a replacement or even a replacement part, even if it meant fabricating metal parts from scratch, basically. I politely told him he was nuts and declined the work. So there's points where it's not prudent to spend a bunch of coin on stuff but if it's for you and you dig it, why not? Some people blow thousands on booze, gambling, Vegas trips, dumb vacations like taking cruises where the norovirus has been and will be the biggest issue; we throw the gauntlet aka our wallets at bikes. Nothing wrong with that at all.

[@markmath2883]

Can’t believe how people neglect a bike. My ‘97 is in immaculate condition with 105,000 miles. Replaced the final drive, otherwise no significant issues, to include carbs.

[@MotoRestoFL]

I agree. I bet it's still sitting there, neglected since the day I brought it back whenever that was, couple years ago? Reason I say that, when I delivered the bike completed, the owner wasn't home, his son was there, who is a local police officer. He explained why his father didn't ride anymore, his uncle was a Lieutenant with Bradenton PD and was killed riding out west going to, or coming from Sturgis. I remember this incident, it was a long time ago. Anyway, as a result of that, this owner stopped riding. The second part is, the son told me my repair wasn't the first, from the bike sitting as the owner (his dad) had it fixed once before for same reason, neglect. So it stands to reason, he probably just cannot part with it and again, I bet it is still sitting there today. For a few weeks after delivery, I watched the local ads for motorcycle sales, even checked the nationals with CycleTrader, since I was told he was going to finally sell it. I never saw any ad for a Valkyrie, safe bet it was never sold and probable doesn't run anymore.

[@markmath2883]

@@MotoRestoFL very sad! Thanks for telling the story.

[@steves7458]

I use Bayer concrete etcher to clean these tanks. Does a quick and easy job. Last tank I did it only took ten minutes. I buy wd40 in the gallon jug. Just pour some in and slosh it around. Funny thing is I just picked up a 2000 Valkyrie. What a bike it is.

[@MotoRestoFL]

I believe that's Muriatic acid. It'll work, but it's a risk. That acid is very aggressive even diluted 50%. A moderate tank can become a leaking pinhole tank with strong acid. But you're right, it'll definitely work. I wouldn't use it on a tank with pristine paint like an expensive paint job, but something crappy I may try that. Thanks!

[@mar1video]

Great video ❗️

[@MotoRestoFL]

Thanks for watching

[@jrp6695]

To clean and seal your tank. Go to Costco and buy the 1.3 gallons of vinegar and fill your tank to the brim after you have flushed out the old stuff. Leave it for a few days and then drain it and flush it with distilled water and leave it in the sun or by some type of heat source or maybe having a hair dryer blowing in there and then coat it with red coat

[@MotoRestoFL]

I have used white vinegar straight up, not diluted and even after 3-4 days, it won't get the rust out of a bad tank. I'd agree it'd be fine for a minorly rusted tank. This Valk tank was way past minor, probably one of the worst I ever had to deal with. Vinegar wouldn't have touched this even if I waited a month. I do like the distilled water flush, that's a good idea, something to keep in mind. I have never used Red Kote, I never used it and have read horror stories about it flaking off. I do not recommend any tank coating any longer. I used to, but there's too much liability. Even done properly, the stuff can cause a ginormous amount of problems down the road. For myself, however, I have used (many times) the Caswell Plating tank coating, which is a 2-part Phenyl Novolac epoxy. It's more expensive than Red Kote (considering average pricing) but works great. I will not coat a customer tank unless they just about demand it and sign a waiver/release that I'll never see the gas tank again for any reason related to the coating. Cheers.

[@gardensofparadiselandscapi8881]

I love to bring mine to you to do my front suspension and a tune up of the carburetors I am on south Florida (Miami area)

[@MotoRestoFL]

Sure, depends upon what you mean about front suspension. If you mean repairs such as fork seals or similar, probably no problem. If you mean suspension tuning or setup, I suck at that. It’s a black art, kind of like Voodoo where only practitioners sanctioned by the gods of dampening and spring rate can practice. Carbs no issue either of course. Lemme know. Cheers.

[@Technewlogy]

What do u think one should pay for a bike in this type of condition? Sitting for 10 yrs keeping all the worst cases in mind .

[@MotoRestoFL]

No idea. Sorry.

[@ashleyburkett4329]

What did you do to replace the "Honda Snot" from the air box?

[@MotoRestoFL]

No idea what you mean.

[@gandl2123]

Has anybody ever tried to take these bottom intake runners off and service the carburetors while they're still sitting in their mounted positions?

[@PSYCSLOGIC]

What's your price to revive a bike sitting 6-7 yrs

[@MotoRestoFL]

That's no enough info. What bike? What condition? This particular Valkyrie job was just under $2 grand.

[@johnstocker6728]

From experience ,metal rescue ,red kote tank liner. Your working way to hard.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Too expensive. Plus I don’t use tank sealer. Not on customer units. That red coat is an inferior product compared to Caswell’s tank coating.

[@dennismirante9528]

@@MotoRestoFL Which product do you believe is superior? Kreem or Caswell? I purchased Kreem, but am reluctant to use it. I just went through the process of rebuilding my Valkyrie carbs and have read stories where Kreem failed and junked up the carbs. Do you believe it is just better to treat the tank with phosphoric acid and leave it alone after that?