The American Dream is Alive and Well
at “Viking Motorcycle”

By Susan Bowman
 

One thing known by all that ride the Honda Valkyrie, Honda does not make all the parts we need to customize our bikes. In many cases, one needs to hunt for specific chrome parts or little things that will turn his or her Valkyrie into a thing of beauty. In addition, as more time passes and the 1520 models get older (though they’re still going strong), those who treasure their bikes will have to look harder and harder for parts, especially non-OEM items.

 

Well, not to worry!  We Valkyrie owners have a friend… Viking Motorcycle in Upland, CA.  Justin Scalzi and Andy Manna, owners of Viking Motorcycle, are the guys to go to for all of our motorcycle needs.  They’ve made it one of their goals to try to maintain the availability of parts for our beloved Valkyrie.

Click on Photo to get a look at these dashing fellows

In a relatively short period of time, Viking has taken off as a responsible and trustworthy young business. They are fast becoming the epitome of an American success story.

Andy and Justin have been friends for about 14 years.  Justin went to college, got a degree in Psychology, but in his soul, he was still a gear-head. Andy, a two-time world champion Drag Racer, has a mechanical knack that is nothing short of amazing.  Design improvements to make things better and faster are nothing new to Andy. 

 
Click on the Photos
See a video of Andy Racing

 
Enter the Valkyrie! Justin started riding Valkyries with his dad, Gale (yep, oZ is his dad).  Being the gear-heads they are, Justin and Andy starting looking at ways to improve the Valkyrie’s performance.  They began to develop an exhaust system.  Not just your ordinary system, but a system that would yield more power and better gas mileage.

The guys made a few sets and used the bikes of close friends or family (good old dad) as guinea pigs.  Now perfected, Viking’s pipes alone boast an amazing 10-12 horsepower gain (they have had increases as high as 16 HP).  But, that wasn’t enough for the Viking guys. They went on to completely re-work the cylinder heads; stuff like matching the exhaust ports to the exhaust for optimal flow, tipping the valves to restore proper valve train geometry and installing high performance valve springs.  Together, the pipes, headwork and springs will yield as much as 25 HP and 20FT/LBS torque.

All that led into building custom Valkyries (and later VTXs).  That was the extent of their focus… high performance mods and building customs.  They kind of “fell” into the parts business.  The two guys, frankly, had no intention or desire to sell parts.  However, the Prescott Bash Ride-In changed all that.  There was a conflict of events that prevented the scheduled parts vendor from attending.  The committee, having exhausted all avenues in finding a replacement vendor and in a real time crunch now, turned to Viking.  Viking came through in spades!  They took on some heavy debt and got online with several parts distributors.  They found, however, that they had to make certain volume commitments to some of the distributors.  So, necessity, being the mother of invention, created their parts business.  They now have a very successful nationwide on-line parts business.

Viking Motorcycle played a significant role in making the Prescott Bash a success. They brought tons of stuff and their prices were great.  That was my first experience purchasing parts from Viking and I can say for a fact that they know their business; they know the parts, how they work and how to install them. It was fun to have them there.  One really great thing about these two great looking guys is that they are very nice to deal with and they treat everyone with a lot of respect.  Personally, I am grateful to finally have a place to buy parts, where the people actually know something about my Valkyrie; in fact, that, quite literally, know it inside and out.

I realize that most of you are in other States and only have the opportunity to deal with Viking long distance.  That’s what compelled me to write this story; so that other club members, that would never have the opportunity to go there and see the Viking operation for themselves, might have the benefit of knowing about Andy and Justin’s company.  I have been to Viking Motorcycle on numerous occasions.  I live in Simi Valley and travel 80 miles just to have them perform their magic on my Valkyrie.  Recently, I had my wheels polished, they charged only $100.00 per wheel.  They charged less than half what other dealers charge to mount and balance the tires.  They also saved us approximately $100 on a set of Progressive 440 shocks (I won a set at Prescott and liked them so much, that we had to get a set for my husband’s Valkyrie).  As I write this story, my husband, George, is having his wheels polished.  We needed to leave the bike there, so I rode it down to Viking’s shop and took the train home. Justin drove me to the Metro Link station (talk about customer service!).

It is such a relief to have a place to go where the work is reliable and the price is fair.  I do not have to wonder if I’m getting the best deal for my money.  Nor do I have to worry about the competency of the mechanics.

Viking is almost as helpful for you long distance guys.  I’ve heard them several times on the phone… everything from helping people decide which parts would serve their needs best to walking them through an installation step by step.  I find it remarkable that, as busy as they are, they still take the time to offer this level of service!

I really like these guys!  They do great work, you can trust them and they always go that extra mile.

 

BTW, there is an article in the March issue of Road Bike that talks about Viking Motorcycle as a new and upcoming business. There are some great pictures.  I would advise picking up a copy; it was a great feeling seeing our beloved Valkyrie amongst the big name Harley makers.  In a world of custom Harley makers it is refreshing to have someone on our side. 

Got a question for the boys? Call 'em at 877-867-0784 (In U.S. Only) Outside U.S. 909-946-6837 or click here  to email them or go to their site at VikingMotorcycle.com

Click on Photos Below for more Detail

More detail on Viking Motorcycle Company   See Andy's Racing Site