Another Newbie

[pjripple]

Hello all! I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Paul and I live in Las Vegas, NV. I've been reading this board for a while and recently bought a slightly used (1350 miles) '04 ST1300. I appreciate all of the info here that helped make my decision. I have a few questions...

I'm not sure if my bike has had the 600 mile dealer service and don't know exactly what that entails (I didn't get an owners manual with my bike...ordered one over the internet but haven't gotten it yet). I can hear what sounds like a very light valve ticking, and I'm not sure if that is something that would be adjusted at the first service. I changed the oil myself as soon as I bought the bike (thanks to the advice from this board).

Also, my bike came with a bunch of accessories that had not been installed...heated grips, cruise control, fairing and mirror deflectors...does anybody know how difficult these items are to install? I'm a bean counter so I not overly mechanically inclined, but I enjoy tinkering around with the easier things (oil changes, etc.). Thanks in advance for any responses. I look forward to partcipating here!

Paul

[creakyneck]

Hi Paul, welcome to the group...

According to my trusty manual here, the 600 mile items are as follows:

Replace oil and filter
Inspect idle speed
Inspect brake system
Inspect nut,bolts, fasteners
Inspect steering head bearings

Just my new 04' ST around 1st of november, not many riding days left then here in Ohio, so put her to bed for winter with only 144 miles on the odo. (gave her an oil change then).

I seem to remember a comment on a slight "valve tic" here on the forum you might check that out.

Why did the previous owner sell bike at such low miles, just curious.

[tccox]

First service is basically oil and filter and a general check over. Make sure you get the two recalls taken care of. You might want to call Honda CS and see about getting your name in their database as the new owner of the bike. Ticking ????? OH NO you bought a FJR by mistake !!!!!!!!

Actually it certainly would not need valve adjustment with that few miles. Its a big engine with a lot of moving parts and it aint hidden under the hood of a car. I personally think some mechanical noise is perectly normal. Mine ticks, clicks and has that neat sound at idle I love so much. I don't worry about it.

[NewsMag]

As you pointed out, ease of accessory installation (we call accessories farkels here, BTW) is a function of your mechanical and electrical aptitude. If oil change is your level of comfort, here's my opinion:

Fairing and mirror deflectors. No fairing parts to remove, necessarily, but some folks do drill holes in the plastic and use screws for security, some don't. Living in Vegas, you may not want them. Of course, deflecting the wind blast if the temps are over 100 may keep you cooler, though most here put those in place to keep warmer/quieter.

Heated Grips - Will require removing the grips and routing wires and removal of at least the left forward/side and front fairings. If you have the Honda brand and the matching quartet harness, it's mostly plug and play, but you will need to drill a hole in the plastic and install the controller. If it's not Honda brand, you will have to do some electrical splicing and replace the grips. Fairing removal is pretty straitforward, but there are many small parts to keep track of and reinstall. Again, heated grips in Vegas?

Cruise control - a pretty major job of removing plastic, mounting stuff, and electrical splicing. You may well prefer to get some help on that one.

[Bones]

Paul:
If you do the fairing removal, here's a trick to keep track of the various fasterners and their order. I use an ice cube tray (one of the plastic ones that makes large, straight edged cubes) and I numbered each section. The first time I removed the fairing, I wrote down the description/location of each piece I removed in order then placed the fastener in the same numbered section of the ice cube tray. Whenever the plastic comes off, I follow this same procedure.
I love the Honda heated grips. It's nice having four settings when you live in the North. FYI, mine died after two seasons but Honda replaced them, no charge.
Bones