The Roadliner S rates above the average for a cruiser in reliability and below average for repair costs, and I have never heard a bad word about them. I do love the Valk though- that 6 cylinder motor is a dream, and they (and their GoldWing cousins with the same drivetrain) are famous for lasting forever and racking up well over 100,000 miles. You really can't go wrong with either: test ride both if you can, or at least sit on them and see which is more comfortable. Also, what kind of riding do you plan to do on it? For long distance touring I'd get the Valk, for around town cruising I'd get the liner. But I think it mostly just boils down to which bike is more your style: classic cruiser lines and v-twin exhaust rumble, or a less traditional bike with a silky-smooth 6 cylinder.

 

Ive had my Roadliner for almost a year now (10/27/10) and I must say that it's been a great bike up til this point. In the time I've had it I put almost 9,000 miles on it and have have no problems with it. Like Dr Bob said though it's more of a cruiser than a tourer, although plenty of guys have set them of as tourers. I myself wouldn't hesistate to take my 'liner on a road trip.

 

I can honestly see myself on either bike.

I wouldn't be doing a lot of "touring" although I would want to visit my brother in Simi Valley (about 150 mi) or my uncle/aunt in Arizona (about 290 miles). But I'd visit my brother maybe twice a year and my uncle maybe every couple of years. Other than that my "longest" ride would be the 50 miles to the VA hospital.

I'm kind of with TJ1964 in that I wouldn't let either bike determine where I rode it. I'm told the Roadliner has about as little vibration as a twin gets. Unless compared to the Valk that passes the nickel on its edge test.

I'm a little concerned about the Roadliner being air cooled, as I live near Palm Springs where it gets HOT. But I've been told that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I think my primary decision factor would be the durability and the maintenance cost. The Valk seems to be pretty famous as a 100k bike; how would the Roadliner do in reliability/durability in comparison? And I'm no mechanic, but I'm also wondering if the greater simplicity of the Valk would mean lower repair costs (not basic maintenance such as oil changes and valve adjustments, which I would do myself, but issues that would require a MECHANIC). Or would all the newer stuff on the Roadliner (e.f.i., belts, computers, etc.) make for more years of trouble free riding than the Valk. Boy would I ever want to know that. I wouldn't mess with the internals of either the carbs OR the e.f.i., but if I could order a new set of carbs pre-jetted for a stock Valk, it sure would be easier to pull off the bad set and put on the new set than it would to screw around with a fuel injection system. Just as an example.
I'm close to pulling my hair out of my head trying to decide which of these two bikes to go for. The Roadliner is probably about a thousand more. If I got it, I'd want to feel like I was really getting a thousand dollars better of a bike in the mechanical sense, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for your responses.

 

I suppose the simplest way to ask my question would be this one: if I were forced to sell my bike in five years because it was costing too darn much to maintain, would it be more likely that that bike would be the Valk or the Roady?

 

michaeld

neither, they are two of the greatest bike built , done 70,000k on my 07 roadliner .Touring or cruising i do both, just returned from a central australian trip , covered 10,000k . did a 1000k in one day sitting on 150kmh ......... love the thing.

 

It's good to know that it's a good, solid bike. It sure seems to be, from what I've read in reviews.

 

While I'd have to question your characterization of the Valkyrie as "simpler", both of these bikes should go nearly forever with proper maintenance. Neither is prone to any significant issues in the design or execution.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm a HUGE Honda fan, but I think the Yamaha out-styles the Valkyrie by a large margin. That said, I have spent quite a bit of time on Valks, and they are impressive motorcycles. In the end, I still think it should come down to which one you like better.

 

Oh, dang, I forgot to keep you guys up on the details.

I bought the Yamaha Roadliner (or at least I agreed to buy it). I pick it up Wedesday morning.

The Valk had an "issue" when I went over to see it. The owner was using the cruise control to keep the idle speed artificially high because the bike was immeidately stalling in idle.

That may have been a simple vacuum leak from a cracked hose. But my fear was that it was a carb problem. AND I DID NOT WANT TO BUY A BIKE WITH SIX CARBS AND HAVE CARB PROBLEMS.

The bike had only 8,300 miles on it. Which had me a little concerned that it was too FEW miles. So when I saw that, I slowly backed away.

And called the Roadliner guy up and made him an offer. Which he accepted.

 

Btw, here are some pics of "my" bike:

http://startthinkingright.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/roadliner2.png

http://startthinkingright.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/roadliner2a.png

http://startthinkingright.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/roadliner3a.png

Little afraid to take the ride home, because it's pretty challenging - with a lot of turns and a fairly steep downhill grade going home. But real excited to be getting it.

The owner has to sell because of a work injury. He can only ride it very short distances before his neck and back hurt. So it's either me or the tow truck. And I need the latter, it's a phone call away.

I've been told that once I get going, the bike handles so well that I won't know I'm not on a much smaller bike. That was one of the major things that attracted me to the Roadliner to begin with.

 

Hello I just purchased a 2007 Roadliner a few weeks ago. a beautiful red rides amazing. It had 6100 miles I put almost 1100 on it already runs fantastic. I’ve been hearing issues on cracked fuel pumps do you know about this issue with these bikes? Thanks

 

The bike has a very low COG. You should find it relatively easy to manuver. Congrats!!

 

I'd seriously consider getting rid of the mini-apehanger bars, though. They'll make maneuvering the bike much harder than it should be.

 

That's the place to start.

I can completely understand why'd you'd think that, WERA, because that is exactly what I thought when I saw those bars in the picture.

The owner assured me that I would love the bars. I thought, "Yeah, right."

Guess what: I LOVE the bars.

The stock wheelbarrow bars only come down about 2" more than the mini apes. Whereas the stock bars are a good 6" wider on each side than the apes.

I held the stock bars up to the stock ones to evaluate them, and just looking at them, the mini apes were a dramatic improvement.

I could easily imagine those wheelbarrow bars binding against my knee in a tight turn; but the mini apes are ABOVE my knee.

That said, I got the bike home, ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM.

I'm frankly EMBARASSED I was even the slightest bit worried. It was just that easy - and fun - a ride on that Roadliner.

I can't imagine a big bike handling better than that Roadliner handles. The ride, the suspension, the brakes, it's all just awesome.

Engine's kinda neat, too.

I'll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow to help you evaluate the stock bars with the apes.

I'm going to try to convert you Roadies to apes (well, MINI apes anyway). They really work great with the bike. And boy is that ever a great bike!

 

well done , congratulations

 

Thanks, Big O.

I still need to practice up on a few things. One of the things I'm doing is simply practicing coming to a smooth full stop, putting my left foot down, and taking off. So far no issues with the clutch, but I've got a bum knee (both my knees are bums, actually) which makes doing that right more important.

I'm also practicing slow speed manuevers like U turns (right now I'm turning into cul de sacs and then turning out of them).

Gosh it's nice to have a bike again!

 

New member here. I've owned a Roadliner for 5 years. I also live in Fresno (known to be very warm also). I have a full set of Corbin add ons (faring, chin spoiler and hard bags).
This bike will be very hot if trying to go through stop and go traffic or stoplights. You do not want to wear anything but full pants on those rides, your right leg will fill like its burning up. Also the bike will sometimes be slow to turn over when restarting when very warm, but has always started for me.
But the bike is worth the heat. Enjoy the new ride.

 

Yukonjack,

Thanks for the assurance.

I'm not real likely to get in dense stop/go traffic in Palm Springs. It's just not that congested.

I'd be a lot more likely to see that kind of condition from Riverside westward.

I HAVE to wear a knee brace on my left knee; and so far have been wearing the braces on BOTH my knees. There's also an undersleeve under the carbon fiber brace. And being a little self-conscious, I wear pants over the brace(s).

Which is to say I'm about as insulated as I can get!

I'm more concerned about the engine getting too hot for it's comfort than I am it getting too hot for mine.

I've been wondering if there's a good place to install an oil temp gauge on the Roadliner.

Here's an example of someone adding an oil temp dipstick to a Valkyrie. The problem with the Roadliner, of course, is that the dipstick is under the seat.