rickj
10-17-2005, 07:23 PM
Hi everyone,
Well, I've been lurking around this great site as a future ST owner for some time and have enough posted a few times. I finally bought on '03 ABS model from a nice gentlman who posted his for sale on the MSN site.
SHORT STORY
Long time riding enthousiast, but relatively inactive the last couple of years. Last bike was FJ1200, which I gave to my son recently. After much research I decided on a ST1300, but put off the purchase until I completed building our new home. For the last few months I've been looking / pricing new '05 STDs, but finally decided to try to find a used one with ABS and a few farkles to boot. (Please, let's not start the ABS debate here...)
Of course, it's conveniently raining like crazy right now and is expcted to continue through tomorrow night, so I can't pick up the bike until Wednesday morning. Wednesday night we travel to the land down-under for 10 days, so my new owner test ride won't happen until the first weekend in November! As Charlie Brown so eloquently stated - AAAAARRRGGG!!!
LONG STORY
While Sport-tourers are not that common here in the States, I've always admired them for their style and versatility. I was actually trying to find a BMW K100 when I bought my '90 FJ1200 back in '94 or '95. It was a bit sportier than other bikes I'd had, but also pretty comfortable for the long haul. (Early bikes included Honda 160, several BSAs, Yamaha XS750 and a couple of Suzuki water buffalos.)
I re-married about three years ago after almost 20 years of "bachelorhood", and my wife loves to ride with me, but we both agreed that we'd like a little more comnfort. Considered the K1200LT briefly, but not ready for that large a bike yet. Tested the BMW R1150RT, which I think is a fabulous bike, but know that I wouldn't be able to settle for the anemic power and annoying vibration. I had considered an ST1100 due to the ergos, but quickly changed my mind once I started reading about the ST1300. I also considered the FJR for a bit, but opted for the Honda for better two-up comfort. (It would have been cool to ride on an FJR with my son on his FJ though...) Once we landed on the ST1300 decision, it was all about color. My wife loved the red so we were looking at a new one for a time, I was looking at a nicely farkled '04 ABS in NM, but finally opted for this '03 due to the fact that it's one hour away and some obvious price savings over the newer ones.
The bike has both Corbin and Rick Mayer saddles, Staintunes, in-dash speakers, heated grips, Gen-mars, tank bra, new Metzlers, 12 volt connectors, mirror and faring wind deflectors, a Rifle windshield with a Laminar lip, and VERY VERY COOL highway wings that tuck in to the tip-over wings. The Rifle is tinted and quite tall for me, so it will likely go. I'll also be ordering a top box before we leave on Wednesday. Other than that and a few other minor farkles, we should be ready for the winter riding season - I realize that must sound strage to those of you who have to winterize your bikes for the cold months. Sorry.
We live in wine country, which is north of San Diego off the 15 freeway on the way to Vegas. This is also Harley country! I think the only type of vehicle that outnumbers Harley's around here is monster trucks! There's a large Harley shop nearby in the touristy "Old Town" area, where you'll see hundereds of beautiful bikes on the weekends. In general, this area is riders' heaven with closeby mountains to the North and East, costline to the West, nad the desert just over the hills. The specific area that we live in is also a popular weekend riding area with mostly 5 to 20 acre avocado and orange groves, streams, and lots of windy roads through canyons.
I want to state how impressed I am with this forum and all the great folks that participate in it. I see wonderful companionship, great sharing of information, support for the hobby, encouragement of responsible riding, and excellent debates. A testament to the participants is that it never gets in to trivial or personal attacks, as do many web sites that offer anonymity. I've enjoyed this site tremendoulsy and look forward to meeting some of you on the road. (Remember - I'll be down-under from Wednesday until the 30th.
My best,
Rick (and Marilyn)
Well, I've been lurking around this great site as a future ST owner for some time and have enough posted a few times. I finally bought on '03 ABS model from a nice gentlman who posted his for sale on the MSN site.
SHORT STORY
Long time riding enthousiast, but relatively inactive the last couple of years. Last bike was FJ1200, which I gave to my son recently. After much research I decided on a ST1300, but put off the purchase until I completed building our new home. For the last few months I've been looking / pricing new '05 STDs, but finally decided to try to find a used one with ABS and a few farkles to boot. (Please, let's not start the ABS debate here...)
Of course, it's conveniently raining like crazy right now and is expcted to continue through tomorrow night, so I can't pick up the bike until Wednesday morning. Wednesday night we travel to the land down-under for 10 days, so my new owner test ride won't happen until the first weekend in November! As Charlie Brown so eloquently stated - AAAAARRRGGG!!!
LONG STORY
While Sport-tourers are not that common here in the States, I've always admired them for their style and versatility. I was actually trying to find a BMW K100 when I bought my '90 FJ1200 back in '94 or '95. It was a bit sportier than other bikes I'd had, but also pretty comfortable for the long haul. (Early bikes included Honda 160, several BSAs, Yamaha XS750 and a couple of Suzuki water buffalos.)
I re-married about three years ago after almost 20 years of "bachelorhood", and my wife loves to ride with me, but we both agreed that we'd like a little more comnfort. Considered the K1200LT briefly, but not ready for that large a bike yet. Tested the BMW R1150RT, which I think is a fabulous bike, but know that I wouldn't be able to settle for the anemic power and annoying vibration. I had considered an ST1100 due to the ergos, but quickly changed my mind once I started reading about the ST1300. I also considered the FJR for a bit, but opted for the Honda for better two-up comfort. (It would have been cool to ride on an FJR with my son on his FJ though...) Once we landed on the ST1300 decision, it was all about color. My wife loved the red so we were looking at a new one for a time, I was looking at a nicely farkled '04 ABS in NM, but finally opted for this '03 due to the fact that it's one hour away and some obvious price savings over the newer ones.
The bike has both Corbin and Rick Mayer saddles, Staintunes, in-dash speakers, heated grips, Gen-mars, tank bra, new Metzlers, 12 volt connectors, mirror and faring wind deflectors, a Rifle windshield with a Laminar lip, and VERY VERY COOL highway wings that tuck in to the tip-over wings. The Rifle is tinted and quite tall for me, so it will likely go. I'll also be ordering a top box before we leave on Wednesday. Other than that and a few other minor farkles, we should be ready for the winter riding season - I realize that must sound strage to those of you who have to winterize your bikes for the cold months. Sorry.
We live in wine country, which is north of San Diego off the 15 freeway on the way to Vegas. This is also Harley country! I think the only type of vehicle that outnumbers Harley's around here is monster trucks! There's a large Harley shop nearby in the touristy "Old Town" area, where you'll see hundereds of beautiful bikes on the weekends. In general, this area is riders' heaven with closeby mountains to the North and East, costline to the West, nad the desert just over the hills. The specific area that we live in is also a popular weekend riding area with mostly 5 to 20 acre avocado and orange groves, streams, and lots of windy roads through canyons.
I want to state how impressed I am with this forum and all the great folks that participate in it. I see wonderful companionship, great sharing of information, support for the hobby, encouragement of responsible riding, and excellent debates. A testament to the participants is that it never gets in to trivial or personal attacks, as do many web sites that offer anonymity. I've enjoyed this site tremendoulsy and look forward to meeting some of you on the road. (Remember - I'll be down-under from Wednesday until the 30th.
My best,
Rick (and Marilyn)