After riding a little over a month on the Sabre, I knew that my wife wouldn't want to share long rides with me.
Within one half hour, she needed to get off. Since we (I) had many dreams of trips all over America, I had to get a larger bike.

I have looked at many bikes, kicked many tires and came to the conclusion that two bikes may fit the bill.
These were the Yamaha Roadstar and the Honda Valkyrie (Tourer model).
A fellow rider graciously offered me to try his Roadstar anytime I wanted. Low and behold, the dealer
where I had purchased my Sabre, had a used Valkyrie in his showroom. I quickly made an appointment
to reserve the Valkyrie for an afternoon.

As I started the Valkyrie, I kept asking myself if this ride was not too big for my needs/tastes, etc.
I was sure that it would be a handful to ride, etc, etc.

Well ... within ten minutes I was HOOKED! This bike handled MUCH better than my Shadow Sabre ... and the POWER!
The rest is history. I am now the proud owner of a black (no other color for this boy) 2000 Valkyrie Tourer.
Since then I have joined a wonderful club named VRCC where I have met friends, slowly learned how to maintain the Phat Lady (i.e. Valkyrie)
and ... most important ... have managed to add much required chrome enhancements.

Note: As of June 2003, I am still a nonsmoker. I promised myself to sell the bike if I started smoking again.
No way!!! Motorcycles are great for my health!!