Just got back from a wonderful family trip to the Hawaii's Big Island (that means no riding for me). I was really surprised to see a 07-ST1300 at a shopping plaza in Kona. So I decided to wait until the owner got back and struck a conversation.
When he returned we exchanged a few pleasantries and got talking. I brought up ST-owners. He said that he did not know about it but promised to look it up.
With regard to the ST1300, he said that he had bought the bike on the mainland and had it shipped. Apparently, there are 3 ST1300s on the island, and I was looking at the best one. "The others are not much to look at", he mentioned. He said he owns another BMW motorcycle. He said he was very happy with the ST1300. When I brought up the issue of maintenance and servicing he remarked that he does not prefer to do any wrenching himself. According to him, the local dealer was very competent and did a thorough job. "Unlike the Honda, I have to ship the BMW to Oahu for servicing", he added.
His ST1300 was not heavily farkled, save for a weathered Givi case. He asked about the farkles on my bike and raised his eyebrows when I mentioned the cruise control. "I wouldn't need that. There is not a lot of places to go here", he added as he started the bike.
The last remark I assume was on the small size of the island and not related to the wonderful variety of places one can ride and see. It also left me wondering if the ST1300 was trapped in a gilded cage. Wonderful riding weather year round but never too far from home!
--Ram
When he returned we exchanged a few pleasantries and got talking. I brought up ST-owners. He said that he did not know about it but promised to look it up.
With regard to the ST1300, he said that he had bought the bike on the mainland and had it shipped. Apparently, there are 3 ST1300s on the island, and I was looking at the best one. "The others are not much to look at", he mentioned. He said he owns another BMW motorcycle. He said he was very happy with the ST1300. When I brought up the issue of maintenance and servicing he remarked that he does not prefer to do any wrenching himself. According to him, the local dealer was very competent and did a thorough job. "Unlike the Honda, I have to ship the BMW to Oahu for servicing", he added.
His ST1300 was not heavily farkled, save for a weathered Givi case. He asked about the farkles on my bike and raised his eyebrows when I mentioned the cruise control. "I wouldn't need that. There is not a lot of places to go here", he added as he started the bike.
The last remark I assume was on the small size of the island and not related to the wonderful variety of places one can ride and see. It also left me wondering if the ST1300 was trapped in a gilded cage. Wonderful riding weather year round but never too far from home!
--Ram
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