Do It Yourself Repair

In June, on a trip to Canada, I had a deer strike(first day of the trip) , broke some plastic but continued on the trip, no abnormal tire wear. Now I have the insurance settlement. The bike is a 2007 ST1300A with 82,000 miles.

I am considering doing the repairs myself. Also, somewhere along the trip the forks stared leaking (oil dripping).

Questions

1. I want to get OEM Honda parts. It appears www.hondadirectline.com provides real Honda OEM parts. Is that true?

2. If I do this, I intend to pull all the plastic off and re-inspect all the add on wiring (GPS, radar, CB). Is there anything else I should consider replacing/upgrading while the plastic is off.

3. Since I will have the forks off, should I replace the front wheel bearings or anything else in that area?

4. I was going to do the repairs using the center stand. I have Sears jack I use on the Valkyrie with a special support. I have read that some have used it with the ST. Would this make it easier and the pros/cons?

5. Is there anyone in my area that would be interested in "helping"?

Thanks.

Jim

You may find parts cheaper here http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Honda/Motorcycle/2007/ST1300+A/parts.html

I would just replace the fork seals and upgrade the springs in the forks, wheel bearings should be fine just check them for any type of friction or notchy feeling.

Just replace what needs to be replaced and install any new goodies that you may want to.

Good luck with the repairs.

1) Yes.
2) Yes, a quartet harness and/or a 30 amp aux power and a better horn.
3) Make sure you inspect the bushings at the bottom of the forks or you might just replace them as they have over 82k on them already.
4) I use a floorjack with a piece of 2x4 between the pipes (so I don't put the weight of the bike on the pipes. I'd figure out how to lift/stablize the bike with your jack.
5) A bit of a commute for me!

P.S. edit
I agree with Mike, upgrade your springs to sonicspring 1.2kg and put in some heavier wt fork oil.

If you hit the deer with the front end, you may want to pull the forks and have a qualified suspension shop check the run out to see if they were tweaked in the collision. Or you can take the tubes to a machine shop to have the run out checked, but they may or may not be able to straighten them for you.

vinny said:

If you hit the deer with the front end, you may want to pull the forks and have a qualified suspension shop check the run out to see if they were tweaked in the collision. Or you can take the tubes to a machine shop to have the run out checked, but they may or may not be able to straighten them for you.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was thinking about having a suspension shop rebuild the forks for me. I will have the runout checked. Did not even think of that. Impact was actually on the right fork at the fender/reflector, whipped around and cracked the plastic, impacted my leg and shattered the right side case.

Mark,

I put sonicsprings on the to do list. Thanks. I'll look at the fork oil.

Jim

970mike said:

You may find parts cheaper here http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Honda/Motorcycle/2007/ST1300+A/parts.html

I would just replace the fork seals and upgrade the springs in the forks, wheel bearings should be fine just check them for any type of friction or notchy feeling.

Just replace what needs to be replaced and install any new goodies that you may want to.

Good luck with the repairs.

Click to expand...

+1 BeST prices. Free shipping on orders over $250.

I have used Service Honda (near Chicago) and Dillion Brothers (Oklahoma?) before.

good time to check-adjust the valves. change the air filter. Replace the clutch and brake fluid. Bleed the brakes and clutch slave.

I'm of the opposite view on the wheel bearings. Since you will be into the bike already and buying a set of SKF or other high end bearings will be inexpensive from a bearing supply, why not replace them? They are 8 years old in the bike, at least. Buy a set of double sealed bearings, clean things up and put a light coating of grease onto the spacers, axles and lube the splines.

The tupperware is generally pretty straight forward tool use although you may wish to hold off on ordering parts until you have everything assessed. It is sometimes more that practical to repair rather than to replace. Depends on how perfect you need things to be and your skills. A local body shop, detailer or one of the specialty outfits who does spot repairs for used car dealers may provide a solution at a decent price. It can be an interesting education in simply contacting and discussing options, depending on your interest.

As for fork and front end damage, if it rides well, things are not likely messed up. I'd be very pleased to help out although this might be a bit far to come. ;-)