anyone thinking on moving on from st1300

I have a 2007 with 240,000 on it and not thinking of doing any move soon.

I'm still riding an 1100 (and loving it) - I may consider moving TO the ST1300!

Clutch

Clutch Cargo said:

I'm still riding an 1100 (and loving it) - I may consider moving TO the ST1300!

Clutch

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Why? ... How can you beat "(and loving it)" !

2007 ST1300 95,000 miles. And I will keep the ST as long as possible but have added a GL1800 for two up trips, primarily because of the comfort for the passenger. I prefer the ST1300 for one up trips and back and forth to work.

So I will keep it as long as it remains reliable.

These VFR800 Interceptors are pretty tempting as a bike to move on to from the ST... approx 100 horsepower and 500 lbs.

For the last couple of years I have been on the lookout for something lighter to tour on, but having tried virtually every other tourer on the market I've not found anything that has the all round capability of the ST1300... my wife, a long-time and long-suffering pillion says that nothing else came close for pillion comfort.

So here we are, the Pan's now 7 yrs old and has 34000 miles on the clock, and off to France, Italy and Greece again this year!

jfheath said:

I had this written for my club magazine in May 2014 - wondering what my next bike would be. My previous bike was an St1300A6, had 70,000miles on the clock and was 7 years old. Prior to that I had owned two different ST1100s

No effort in reproducing this. Since writing, I have discovered that indeed the engine is tuned or mapped differently on the newer models than it was on the A6 that I had previously. Much better.
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This has been a long time in planning. There is no way that I could afford to buy a brand new motorcycle having stopped working 3 years ago if we hadn?t planned for it, but I don?t think that we expected to do it so soon. Our old Pan had 70,000 miles on the clock, we had had it for 7 years and it was just beginning to cost us money to keep it running. Doing the servicing myself, I knew all of the things that were going to need attention and how the cost would eat into the fund that we had set aside for a new bike. There was nothing wrong with the current bike and would easily last us a few more years, but in the meantime, the price of new bikes would go up, and the amount available to spend would diminish. The time was right.

But which bike ? We have owned 3 Pans up to now - a 1996 ST1100, a 2000 ST1100ABS and a 2006 ST1300A, and we have covered a total of about 170,000 miles on them. I?ve loved every one of them, and they suit us, but there isn?t a hint that a new model form Honda will be replacing it any time soon.
Then RIDE magazine produced an excellent comparison of the 6 top tourers available in their October 2013 edition. I read it carefully and then over the next couple of weeks I read it over and over again. Some of the stuff they say about the Pan seem to be unnecessarily negative and offhand and the comments are not consistent with my experience, and I dismiss them. Some of the stuff said about the other bikes may be of the same subjective standard, so I am wary of believing everything that I read. Nevertheless it is an interesting comparison which helps me to make up my mind.

I go and look at a few bikes, get some facts and figures, go and sit on them in showrooms. I?m not interested in a test ride at the moment, I?m more interested in the luggage capacity, the leg room, where the handlebars and footrests fall. That sort of thing.

So one of the most likely contenders for a new bike, the FJR, falls at the first hurdle. It seems Yamaha have built a tourer on which you must not use panniers and top box at the same time. I don?t care how good it feels, or how capable a bike it is, if it cannot carry our luggage, it is of no use to me.
Of course, I have my prejudices and some bigoted opinions about certain things. For example, I cannot believe in the reliability of those single sided swinging arms that are used on some tourers. They make it very easy to remove the rear wheel, but I cannot see how this offsets the extra load that I reckon must be exerted on the rear bearings, compared to having a conventional swing arm and axle. Knowledge of two people who have had these bearings fail on them simply reinforces my prejudices. So that removes another two bikes from my list of candidates.

I also don?t like the idea of fly-by-wire on a motorbike. I think of the recorded phone conversation with that poor family in the Toyota Lexus, desperately trying to get their car to stop. There were reports at the time that a software error prevented the brakes from being operated if the accelerator was still pressed - why would you want to brake if your foot was on the accelerator - is the logic that I assume was in the programmer?s mind. I have no way of knowing if that is true, but Toyota did recall cars for a sticking accelerator pedal. I?m sorry, but if I?m negotiating a particularly tricky hairpin, balancing the lean of the bike with the throttle, I don?t want anybody?s software deciding whether or not it is going to apply or reduce the power, and by how much. The comments from test rides about the jerky nature of some of the bikes with fly by wire throttles only serve to reinforce my prejudices.

So basically, that was it. All of the contenders had been crossed off my list. Only the Pan remained. Yes, it has its little foibles, its basically the same bike of 12 years ago but that doesn?t make it a bad bike. On the contrary, in fact.

I wonder about the decision I am about to make. What if Honda bring out a new Pan European in 2014/2015? How would I feel having committed my money for my last ever bike to one which hasn?t changed since 2009 ? I went through the list of possible modifications for any new contender, thinking of the recent VFR, the variable valve timing, the dual clutch and the electronic bells and whistles on other bikes. If a new bike came out, would I want to buy it ? Would I still be able to do my own servicing ?

I decided not. So I bought myself my 4th Honda Pan European - a brand new 2013-built ST1300. In my book, there?s still nothing that comes close. It has some modifications from my previous ST1300A6. The speed sensor disc is different, as are the front brake calipers and front brake lever; the SMC on the front left caliper has been modified. The side panels have fill-ins, and the hydraulic fluid reservoirs have plastic floats. It feels different - more positive, more planted on the road. The engine doesn?t ?pink? like my ST1300A6 did from new when hot and under load, and the brakes seem to have more bite.

Its nice to see in the ?Rider Power? survey that the 12 year old ST1300 and the 25 year old ST1100 came 3rd and 4th in the Touring bike section respectively, and both of them feature in the top 10 bikes overall.

(Written April - May 2014))

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Great read, thanks for sharing!!

The ST was my first bike and I still think it looks stunning. To this day I consider it to be a cracker and continues to look good when compared to much more modern bikes. Are there things that niggle; of course. Do I ponder others; of course. With very few exceptions most of the niggles have been/can be cured by farkling. The answer to the pondering is to stop trolling Cycle Trader (like crack cocaine!). San Diego Dan mentions the VFR and that's my second love. It's an amazing bike, but for those of us N. of 50 it does require some serious mods, or keeping a bloody good Chiropractor on speed dial. For camparison purposes I describe the ST as the 2-wheel equivalent of a Bentley Continental GT, while the VFR is a Dodge Viper. Both go fast, but only one goes fast for comfortably long periods of time.

jfheath said:

Our old Pan had 70,000 miles on the clock, we had had it for 7 years and it was just beginning to cost us money to keep it running.

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Huh?? Most would say it just got broke in. First valve check is around then, right? :

jfheath said:

I was spending more and more time in the garage dealing with odd jobs, and looking at what needed doing next. Bearings, disk rotors, smc, fork seals, rear suspension, steering bearings, clutch further down the line

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Yea, this is my issue, time spent in maintenance on an older bike. My St is almost 9 years. Right now maintenance costs are low compared to a new bike, even with SMC and quartet harness replacements. It's the down time, my time, and not riding time that gets to me. I just don't enjoy maintenance. At first I was relying on the shop, but they literally broke things. I really enjoyed her when she was young though.

I'll say this though, you can get fantastic support from this forum.

Still have the ST after 12 years, but it is for sale. Great bike but I am ready for something different for a Sport Tourer.
Looking at the R1200RS, but I am kind of tense about BMWs.
Also the new FJR but am not crazy about in line engines on MCs.
If the ST does not sell soon, I will just keep it.

Reginald said:

Yea, this is my issue, time spent in maintenance on an older bike. My St is almost 9 years. Right now maintenance costs are low compared to a new bike, even with SMC and quartet harness replacements. It's the down time, my time, and not riding time that gets to me. I just don't enjoy maintenance. At first I was relying on the shop, but they literally broke things. I really enjoyed her when she was young though.

I'll say this though, you can get fantastic support from this forum.

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That's one of the reasons I have three ST1100s in my garage - if one is ill, I don't have to be in a hurry to tinker with it. I just wait until the weather's unpleasant and then take a look at it. I've got close to 20,000 miles on ST1300 rentals and over 300,000 miles on ST1100s. I have no plan to move 'up' as my ST1100s do everything I need them to do and are way more capable motorcycle than I am capable rider. ;-) One of these days I will get around to finishing my ST1100 adjustable windshield project ...

Uncle Phil said:

That's one of the reasons I have three ST1100s in my garage - if one is ill, I don't have to be in a hurry to tinker with it. I just wait until the weather's unpleasant and then take a look at it. I've got close to 20,000 miles on ST1300 rentals and over 300,000 miles on ST1100s. I have no plan to move 'up' as my ST1100s do everything I need them to do and are way more capable motorcycle than I am capable rider. ;-) One of these days I will get around to finishing my ST1100 adjustable windshield project ...

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Having multiple bikes has it's ups and downs. The good thing, you should always have a bike to ride, the not so good thing, you always have a bike to work on! 4:

SupraSabre said:

Having multiple bikes has it's ups and downs. The good thing, you should always have a bike to ride, the not so good thing, you always have a bike to work on! 4:

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So far, my ST1100s just keep on trucking - usually just oil and 'tars'. I did have to correct a few things on one of them after I got it back from a 100,000 mile service at a dealer. At 100,000 miles I get the timing belt changed, valves checked, all fluids changed (brakes, forks, rear, etc.), all hoses changed, spark plugs replaced and the carbs synced. If I spend more time riding them rather that tinkering with them, they seem to do a lot better for me. ;-) And riding them regularly does them (and me) a lot of good.

Uncle Phil said:

So far, my ST1100s just keep on trucking - usually just oil and 'tars'. I did have to correct a few things on one of them after I got it back from a 100,000 mile service at a dealer. At 100,000 miles I get the timing belt changed, valves checked, all fluids changed (brakes, forks, rear, etc.), all hoses changed, spark plugs replaced and the carbs synced. If I spend more time riding them rather that tinkering with them, they seem to do a lot better for me. ;-) And riding them regularly does them (and me) a lot of good.

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Very true!

But, I have the 2010 on the operating table right now. I'm getting close to getting it back on the road. But then I have to tear into the '04#2 and get it ready to be sold. Then I have to tear into the 2012 and install the FARKLEs on it that I remove from the '04#2. Once I get the '04#2 sold, I'll start on the '04#1. I need to replace the waterpump and the rear seals. And then sell it!

It would cost me way too much to pay a shop to do all that! Once I get back down to just two bikes (the 2012 & 2010), then I hope not to be banging my knuckles as much! :

I'm envious of you folks that only change oil and tires on old ST's. I'm waiting on silicone 3.5mm vacuum hose, impact driver, and new Garmin, then I'll replace the 5 way T hoses, clean up my ground, and re-condition and re-reconnect my quartet harness. I've got a new power socket, right front fairing pocket, and Hitachi connectors on hand. Had to get the new pocket because the shop put the old socket hole at the very bottom of the pocket and the new powerlet socket won't seal (no water allowed in electronics pocket!).

All this maintenance seriously makes me consider a new brand bike so I can get reliable shop support!

Reginald said:

...so I can get reliable shop support!

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I think they call that an Oxymoron!

SupraSabre said:

I think they call that an Oxymoron!

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You don't think it's possible? I have a almost flawless Mazda car shop that takes care of the little details. Why not a motorcycle shop?

The '07 ST13, with 100K +, has fit to a T, and done everything that I've tried to put it through, real well, including 2 up rides.
Long Distance riding = Very comfortable for me. The GL1800 might top it there, but I'd NEVER own a bike that heavy. LOL
I'd trade it in on something better, if it was out there.
What bike is best?? Just ride what U like & Like what U ride. That simple.

SupraSabre said:

Very true!

But, I have the 2010 on the operating table right now. I'm getting close to getting it back on the road. But then I have to tear into the '04#2 and get it ready to be sold. Then I have to tear into the 2012 and install the FARKLEs on it that I remove from the '04#2. Once I get the '04#2 sold, I'll start on the '04#1. I need to replace the waterpump and the rear seals. And then sell it!

It would cost me way too much to pay a shop to do all that! Once I get back down to just two bikes (the 2012 & 2010), then I hope not to be banging my knuckles as much! :

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Maybe you should switch to ST1100s ....