Purchase decision... 2009 ST1300PA

Purchase decision... 2009 ST1300PA (Bought the PC800 instead)

Found a 2009 St1300PA with less than 3,000 miles on it.
Ex-Police bike from Eureka California.
A couple minor scratches/cracks, but everything else looks great.
All police lights/badges/paraphernalia has been removed.
Been in storage for a while, but seriously... less than 3,000 miles on the odometer.

They want $7995 at a local dealership. It's been there a few weeks now.

I love finding older bikes with zero miles on them, and this one is haunting my sleep.

Ugh...

Thoughts anyone?

Good find, but check the clutch. Police bikes are very hard on clutches [emoji15]

If they roasted a clutch in less than 3000 miles... they should all be in squad cars with automatics.

Looks like a good deal. Do you NEED another bike or have money to burn? Or, are you thinking if flipping it? I like the color and the crash bars. Does it come with a siren, that'd seal the deal.

If it sat for a while, I would pass on it. IMO, 3k or 30k doesn't make much difference on an ST1300. Personally, I would prefer a 30k bike that has been ridden and serviced properly to a 3k police bike that's been in storage, especially at $8K. I think you can find a relatively low mileage, good condition ST1300 ABS for $6.5k or so.

paulcb said:

If it sat for a while, I would pass on it. IMO, 3k or 30k doesn't make much difference on an ST1300. Personally, I would prefer a 30k bike that has been ridden and serviced properly to a 3k police bike that's been in storage, especially at $8K. I think you can find a relatively low mileage, good condition ST1300 ABS for $6.5k or so.

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+1

ToddC

I don't know if I agree, because I would also be tempted with it only having 3K. Just like I was for my 2012 that had been sitting at the dealership for over a year with a few test rides on it (right at 16 miles on it). I just like new things, not something that has been ridden for 10 to 20K miles before I buy it. I don't care how well someone has taken care of it, it's not NEW(er)!

Now, before I take my trip in August, I need to replace most of the fluids and I'm replacing the tires, "just because" they are at least four years old, and I'm talking about a bike with just over 1,500 miles. But, that wouldn't stop me from buying said bike, because it didn't stop me, and I paid $12K for it.

Back in what I believe was 1995 I bought a 1991 Honda CBR1000F that was four model years old, but had no miles on it... found it at a dealer showroom in Sacramento.
Loved the "New" part... but also loved the discounted price even more.

Some time near that... I bought two Honda Fat Cat's for $1500 each... new, old stock.
Kept and rode them for a couple years... sold them for $1500 each. If I had them today, in ANY condition, they would be worth... wait for it... $1500 each. (Discontinued - cult status - hunters love them).

I too, "just like new things."

I'll have to agree with SupraSabre on this. Change all the fluids, including coolant, check all the hose clamps you can reach, put in fresh gas, charge the battery and ride it like you stole it. I can't remember now if the OEM hose clamps are the spring type clamps or not, but if they are, don't change them - yet. Tires would be a judgment call, IMHO. If they have the tread you expect to see with 3K on them and there are no visible signs of aging it would be a calculated risk whether you decide to replace them.

I bought a new zero miles 2009 in December 2013 and it still runs like a top. This one already has front and rear tip-over bars installed- you are already two farkles ahead of the game. Go for it and enjoy the ride.

Andrew Shadow said:

... you are already two farkles ahead of the game. Go for it and enjoy the ride.

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I haven't even made them an offer yet, and I have at least a dozen farkle bookmarks in my current browser!

Not to mention I sold off all my old Helmets, Jackets, Radios, etc... when my kids came along.
Now they are old enough to ride themselves and that got me lookin'.

Newer is not new. Kept in storage is not the same as kept in a dealership. Mechanical things like to be used. I'd also ask, why would a police bike have only 3,000 miles on it? If any bike would rack up miles, it would be a police bike... they probably do that in a few weeks or less. Seems odd they would get rid of a good bike after such a short time, unless it had problems.

Only knowing what you posted, I'd still pass, especially at $8k.

Seems like a lot of money for a used bike that may need reconditioning....it's not the same as the other posters who bought new old stock and got a factory warranty....and a police bike only seats one and the conversion for a passenger is not easy...maybe you're ok with that....also, I'd check closely how all the police stuff was removed, like wiring harnesses effed up.....but if it's your dream bike go for it.......2cents.......ff

I don't ride two-up, so not too concerned about the passenger issue.
You bring up a good point though about the decommissioning of the Police equip.
The guys at this dealership build hundreds of Police bikes (they showed me 5 in progress in their shop at the time - very nice).
But having said that... I don't believe they were the folks that took this bike back to its civilian state.
I'll have to ask a few more questions before I make any kind of offer.

There is another bike (also an ST1300PA) in the area that is a 2007 with 31,000 miles, similarly farkled out with some additional accessories and some spare parts, and great service records.
He wants $6850. Perhaps I'll take a drive to go see that one also.

I can only add one more thing... don't be in a rush to buy. I see good ST13s at reasonable prices come up all the time, especially if you're willing to travel a bit to get one.

Good luck and welcome to STOC!

Flew to North Carolina and drove back my last Corvette... so I'm always willing to swap "distance," for "deal."
Thanx.

SupraSabre said:

I don't know if I agree, because I would also be tempted with it only having 3K. Just like I was for my 2012 that had been sitting at the dealership for over a year with a few test rides on it (right at 16 miles on it). I just like new things, not something that has been ridden for 10 to 20K miles before I buy it. I don't care how well someone has taken care of it, it's not NEW(er)!

Now, before I take my trip in August, I need to replace most of the fluids and I'm replacing the tires, "just because" they are at least four years old, and I'm talking about a bike with just over 1,500 miles. But, that wouldn't stop me from buying said bike, because it didn't stop me, and I paid $12K for it.

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Similar situation for me. In early 2013 Honda Australia had quite a few (too many) ST1300's sitting on dealership floors (I don't know why they weren't selling). The recommended retail price was AU$24,990. Honda were about to release the Goldwing F6 at around AU$25,000, so the ST's were discounted to AU$14,990 - at the current conversion rate that's US$11,042.

My ST has 2011 build / compliance plate. Guess who was, and still is, a happy chappy buying a new ST1300 with 10km on the odometer?

PS. New ST's have not been available in AUS since August 2103 (I think I got the last one), until early 2016 when a Toowoomba QLD dealer found three. Apparently these were side aside by Honda AUS for the QLD police, and the Police decided they weren't needed, two have been sold and now only one is left at around AU$18,000, or US$13,260. How does that compare to USA / CA?

JMartin said:

Flew to North Carolina and drove back my last Corvette... so I'm always willing to swap "distance," for "deal."
Thanx.

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How about St. Louis?

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/mcy/5537921896.html

paulcb said:

How about St. Louis?

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/mcy/5537921896.html

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Haven't owned Black since my 1978 TransAm (Smokey and the Bandit car).
But thanx.

A couple things you should know about used service bikes....
First when they remove them from service they don't care about the bike and take cutters and simply cut off all of the lights, sirens, horns, flashers, radio's ,etc. You will quite often find damaged wiring harness everywhere.
Second, you will find that they have ALWAYS been laid down on their crashbars, even when practicing, which often damages the aluminum threads in the frame beyond repair.
The battery and alternator are often toast because of all the equipment.
You will most likely need coolant system and thermostat service.
You want to check the rims for dents and damage regardless of mileage.
Departments normally take bikes out of service at 40k miles.
My money says the bike was crashed and sold at an auction, somebody thought it was cool looking bought it discovered its condition and issues and cut bait and ran, trading it in on another bike!

Buyer beware!