We sold a '99 Valk standard to get the Beast. Both are very interesting motorcycles. Honda reliability is legendary; and ours was no exception through 46K miles. So far (a bit over 5K miles) the Beast has been equally reliable. We hope it is so long term, but shall have to wait and see.
We consider the Beast a bit more "raw" than the Valk with her smooooooth flat six motor. The Beast is measurably more powerful, breaks better, and (for us, at least) a bit lighter on its feet. We are more confident in turns and feel good riding the Beast harder than we ever did the Valk. We cannot explain precisely why this is, but it is very real to us.
We are very happy with the Beast, but we will not forget the Valk anytime soon.
We trudge on.