Good Morning!
I thought I'd like to chat about the ST1300 with you guys for a bit now that I've had it for a few months.
I am very new to the ?Sport Touring? type of scene, I?ve always been a cruiser guy since before I even was old enough to legally own a motorcycle. 20 years later I decided I wanted to dip into the Sport Touring group and see what its all about. Previously the only other Sport Tourer I?ve rode for more then a few hours was a Yamaha FJR, which I really didn?t like so the choices for me before buying the ST1300 was the ST1300 or a Concourse 14.
After I did an awesome road trip through Arizona with my wife last year I saw a few ST1300?s cruising through beautiful Zion National Park. I finally had a chance to look at one close up and thought it is a really sweet looking bike and I wanted to see if it would be a good fit for me and my wife for touring. I also have a Triumph Rocket III that I?ve been riding for a couple of years trying that out as a bike that I can enjoy myself and take my wife on it for nice rides.
My wife and I stats: I am 5?11, 210lbs, Wife about 5?9 190 lbs.
Current Thoughts: I really love the ST1300 for its smoothness, fuel mileage and good looks. I?ve taken it on a number of long rides adding up to a few thousand kilometers and now that Ive had a good taste of what it?s all about, these are my concerns. My wife says that she gets sore and tired legs on the Honda because she has nowhere to move around. She says that her feet can?t move forward because they?ll be on my legs, and can?t move back because of the hard bags. Very little space between the driver and the back rest so her butt can?t move forward or back to adjust. I also find that after a few hours, my legs are very tired and Im DYING to stretch them out forward like on a cruiser with highway bars, even for a moment or 2.. But nowhere to put feet. I Also find that even though I do have handlebar risers, I am still leaning forward too much, and my crotch is pressed up hard against the gas tank, really squishing my berries.
I guess if I had to get to the point of this post, is there anything that can be done to help with comfort for both of us over the long term? I can accept that maybe the ST1300 is not the perfect touring bike I hoped it would be, but I can?t afford something like a BMW K1600 or a Triumph Trophy.. and even then, those bikes may not be any more roomier for 2 large people like me and my wife. I am wondering if I may need to look into something more like a Full Bagger cruiser in the future with very large hard bags, cruise control, floor boards for the wife ETC?
Overall other then that, I think the ST1300 has a great powerband that has no problem moving 2 people at all. But for all intents and purposes, for a bike that?s meant to be ridden for hundreds of miles it kind of gets really uncomfortable quicker then I would like over a cruiser. It all comes down to having space to move around. The brakes on the ST1300 are the best I've ever used on any bike as far as how strong they feel which I love the best.
Anyone else here own 2 bikes or has experience with other Sport Touring bikes that have more room or adjustability for the passenger and driver?
I thought I'd like to chat about the ST1300 with you guys for a bit now that I've had it for a few months.
I am very new to the ?Sport Touring? type of scene, I?ve always been a cruiser guy since before I even was old enough to legally own a motorcycle. 20 years later I decided I wanted to dip into the Sport Touring group and see what its all about. Previously the only other Sport Tourer I?ve rode for more then a few hours was a Yamaha FJR, which I really didn?t like so the choices for me before buying the ST1300 was the ST1300 or a Concourse 14.
After I did an awesome road trip through Arizona with my wife last year I saw a few ST1300?s cruising through beautiful Zion National Park. I finally had a chance to look at one close up and thought it is a really sweet looking bike and I wanted to see if it would be a good fit for me and my wife for touring. I also have a Triumph Rocket III that I?ve been riding for a couple of years trying that out as a bike that I can enjoy myself and take my wife on it for nice rides.
My wife and I stats: I am 5?11, 210lbs, Wife about 5?9 190 lbs.
Current Thoughts: I really love the ST1300 for its smoothness, fuel mileage and good looks. I?ve taken it on a number of long rides adding up to a few thousand kilometers and now that Ive had a good taste of what it?s all about, these are my concerns. My wife says that she gets sore and tired legs on the Honda because she has nowhere to move around. She says that her feet can?t move forward because they?ll be on my legs, and can?t move back because of the hard bags. Very little space between the driver and the back rest so her butt can?t move forward or back to adjust. I also find that after a few hours, my legs are very tired and Im DYING to stretch them out forward like on a cruiser with highway bars, even for a moment or 2.. But nowhere to put feet. I Also find that even though I do have handlebar risers, I am still leaning forward too much, and my crotch is pressed up hard against the gas tank, really squishing my berries.
I guess if I had to get to the point of this post, is there anything that can be done to help with comfort for both of us over the long term? I can accept that maybe the ST1300 is not the perfect touring bike I hoped it would be, but I can?t afford something like a BMW K1600 or a Triumph Trophy.. and even then, those bikes may not be any more roomier for 2 large people like me and my wife. I am wondering if I may need to look into something more like a Full Bagger cruiser in the future with very large hard bags, cruise control, floor boards for the wife ETC?
Overall other then that, I think the ST1300 has a great powerband that has no problem moving 2 people at all. But for all intents and purposes, for a bike that?s meant to be ridden for hundreds of miles it kind of gets really uncomfortable quicker then I would like over a cruiser. It all comes down to having space to move around. The brakes on the ST1300 are the best I've ever used on any bike as far as how strong they feel which I love the best.
Anyone else here own 2 bikes or has experience with other Sport Touring bikes that have more room or adjustability for the passenger and driver?
