Re: Replacement for the Honda ST1300 in 2014? A short article with responses.
I am a mechanic by trade so I naturally critique what I ride or work on and if anyone takes what I said offensive I apologize but the ST1300 is an awesome machine. I have been on this forum a bit and have read countless post about "certain" bearing problems. If this is not so please explain to me why so much of this forum pertains to modifications, my point is Honda engineering could have gotten some simple problems corrected years ago, like say improve the ST1300 and keep it around a bit longer, I personally like it but if and when a "replacement" comes along these easily corrected problems will not be in the new model.
I hope you realize that I realize my opinion is my opinion LOL !
That's a natural thing for a mechanic... but, do you know of a bike out there that was made perfect the 1st time? I've never had one in my short riding career. The wing was the closest and when I got it home I started adding stuff to it.. Name a bike and I can probably find a forum where someone is griping about some flaw. They may have been built by computers but still designed by humans and as such, inherently flawed.
The ST1300 does have some issue. The rear flange bearings are a weakness however, not everyone will need to replace them and you just have to check them at every tire change to avoid being stuck anywhere which is something you should do during every tire change regardless of the bike anyway.
You stated so much of this forum is pertaining to modifications. But there's not all that much going on that pertains to design flaws in my opinion... lots of customizations.. but that will always be the case with regards to comfort and personalization of a bike... a company makes lots of identical round pegs but they don't fit in every square hole.. so, they make it small enough to fit in as many as possible and then the customer - one of billions of us - can customize it to make it as 'square' as possible 'for that individual'.. For some, the bike is perfect right out of the box but for most - some modifications are needed..
As for your last statement about keeping the bike around longer... well, if it were a cheap bike like the old C10 was then maybe because it would be at an affordable price point and THAT would be it's selling point, but given it's price tag, it's going to compete with the other companies coming out with new stuff all the time.. so, by NOT upgrading the bike you'll hear a lot of chatter like we hear today - why doesn't Honda upgrade the ST and add this, and that... guess I'll go look at xyz competitor.
.. .hey wait.. I just thought about something... you're a mechanic, why on earth would you want someone to make a perfect anything and put you out of a job..
Your opinions are welcome here BTW.