New st1100 owner

Hello fellow riders , i have two questions being a new st1100 rider. 1st , Changing gears from first to second is smooth but only below 2000 rpm. If i rev it higher 3-4000 rpm its quite crunchy sounding or its a miss shift? 2nd , Has anyone installed Heli Bars themselves? Thanks.

Can't help with the Heli Bars as I ride and enjoy std fitment.
The ST does have a gear change which causes some issues. On upshifts try pre loading the lever. By that I mean apply light pressure with your foot in an upward direction until slight resistance is felt. Then change as normal. It does make it smoother.
I recently started riding in a new pair of boots and because of the newness I couldn't feel the lever so well and as a result was preloading more and smoother shift resulted.
Give it a whirl.
Upt'North.

Welcome from Texas. Regarding Helibars, I would think that most owners here install them themselves. I don't know what model ST1100 you have (hint: put it in your profile), but if it's non-abs, you can probably get them on without extended lines. If you have a 1996 or later ABS (ABSII), you'll most likely need at least an extended brake hose.

Hi, My 91 ST shifts a little rough 1st to 2nd too. I use 30mm bar mounts from Ebay , Not as nice as Heli Bars , but waayy cheaper.
I'm happy with them, Work with stock hoses.

Welcome to the group. On the shifting try going to full synthetic at the next oil change. As for the brand, ask the question & grab some popcorn and enjoy.

Many seem to have the same issue with the 1st to 2nd gear shift.

Preloading, as above, can help or a slight pause and a little blip of the throttle can do the trick. I also find pulling in the clutch at the end of the lever can result in cleaner shifts overall. Other things to look re shifting in general would be low fluid, fluid that needs to be changed, air in the system or the clutch lever pivot bushing that is worn.

FieSTa45 said:

Welcome to the group. On the shifting try going to full synthetic at the next oil change. As for the brand, ask the question & grab some popcorn and enjoy.

Click to expand...

Actually, after @40K of running synthetic I find it to occur less after having switched back to dino oil! I'm still thinking it's more lazy foot though

I had a 91 ST1100 and installed heli bars along with a significant bar riser. Several if not all of the hoses and cables were routed behind the triple tree to accommodate this set-up.

Welcome to the group Mike

How many miles on your 91?

Regarding smoothness or Crunchy-ness:
The more you ride an ST1100 the better the shifting gets, oil changes help a lot. After a 300 mile ride with lots of shifting they shift perfectly.
They simply need to get their juices flowing.

It would be a good Idea to check and lube the shift mechanism which is under the engine, a lot of Crunchy possibilities there.

By the way since there are variations from model to model it would be best if you have the year and model of your bike in your Profile.

Try "pre-loading" the shift lever before making the 1-2 shift. That helps a lot. Not necessary for the other shifts. In the past, others also have reported this helps.

Hi there thanks for the info. I have 151,000 kilometers , a little high i think? but its in such good shape.