Mileage at Failure?

Is there a current component failure at mileage thread?

I have an 05 with 90,000 miles on it. Although I've been very particular with maintenance, I'm beginning to feel uncertain about taking long trips on it. I know the common perception is (or at least was)... you'll get tired of it before it breaks, I am wondering if this topic has been surveyed in the recent past.

Sorry if my searching skills aren't up to snuff.

I believe that there are some STs on the board with well over 100,000 miles.
They are very reliable motorcycles when properly maintained.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In fact, I think there are some that have more than 300,000 miles and I'm pretty sure that at least one ST1100 that has racked up more than 400,000 miles (which is around 700,000 km).

That really is remarkable for such a complex machine which has such high performance capabilities.

Pete

What Pete said


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I sort of had the same concerns. My 06 just turned over 100,000 recently. I have been wondering about the trust issue on a high mileage bike, considering I ride all over the country. I considered buying a low mile used ST, since no one is building anything I would want more, but in the end after having had many Honda products, I figured the motor was good for 200K at least, so I had a bunch of preventive maintenance done at 100K. Oil, filter, final drive fluid, air cleaner, spark plugs, f&R wheel bearings and seals, front fork seals and oil, steering head bearings re-greased, clutch and brake fluids replaced, coolant flushed and replaced, front and rear brake pads, front and rear tires. Mechanic (who I trust) said everything looked good and it should go a long ways further. I love my ST and hope it goes another 100K, but if something does go wrong on a trip I have AAA plus, there are Honda dealers everywhere, and I also carry the RAN list from this board with members in every state willing to help.

PopJack said:

Is there a current component failure at mileage thread?

I have an 05 with 90,000 miles on it. Although I've been very particular with maintenance, I'm beginning to feel uncertain about taking long trips on it. I know the common perception is (or at least was)... you'll get tired of it before it breaks, I am wondering if this topic has been surveyed in the recent past.

Sorry if my searching skills aren't up to snuff.

Click to expand...

I'm a relative new ST fan, having my 1991 ST1100 for just over two years and my 2006 St1300 for a whopping ten days now. I went through my 1991 thoroughly right after I bought it and found little wrong that needed any attention at all. I intend to do the same with the 2006 as soon as all my filters arrive. Both bikes are low mileage. The 1991 now has about 21000 miles but was a 20 year garage queen, which is why I searched for age related problems. The 2006 just turned 15400 miles, but it is 11 years old. Both bikes were garaged.

I have come to these conclusions.
Get a Honda service manual. Clymer manuals are good. Haynes manuals tend to abbreviate. Do all your scheduled maintenance per the Honda books. Use the recommended lubricants.
Keep your filters clean or replaced.
Keep your battery charged. Be cautious as it nears its warranted life span.
Inspect the charging system wiring and connectors for signs of corrosion, overheating and arcing on a regular basis. Fix the problem promptly if you encounter any of these conditions.
Keep your tire pressure normal and be aware of your tire's age and condition. Replace if anything suspicious in the wear pattern should appear.
Be diligent about corrosion, especially on anything electrical or wiring related.
Use the proper tools, including JIS screwdrivers.
Look for fluid leaks at the fuel, water and hydraulic lines. Fix anything that looks moist or cracked.
If you are a good wrench, do your own maintenance and upgrades. If not, it's worth the $$ to have a skilled ST mechanic do it for you. There are Youtube videos available for most any maintenance you would want to
attempt yourself.
Driving style will the greatest impact on the life of tires, brakes and clutches, and fuel mileage if that concerns you much.
Don't shortcut or cheap-lane fluids or maintenance.
Look under her skirt (plasticwork) regularly and keep it all clean.

I have noted nothing that stands out as a common maintenance/reliability problem. Lack of proper maintenance and illegally using tools are the biggest causes of problems with any motorcycle.

These bikes are aging so remain critical and suspicious and......ride.

Everything on these bikes is way overbuilt, which means not much gets stressed out and they last a very long time. 150K is not unusual. Check the mileage awards and you'll get done idea how far STs can be pushed.

--Mark

Well, I've got one ST1100 with over 154,000 miles on it, one with over 113,000 miles on it, and one with over 97,000 miles on it.
I would not be concerned at all to jump on any one of the three and ride cross the United States to California like I did this summer on the 97,000+ miles one.
I'm planning on taking the 113,000+ miles one up to Canada next summer to Nova Scotia and hopefully Newfoundland.

Uncle Phil said:

Well, I've got one ST1100 with over 154,000 miles on it, one with over 113,000 miles on it, and one with over 97,000 miles on it.
I would not be concerned at all to jump on any one of the three and ride cross the United States to California like I did this summer on the 97,000+ miles one.
I'm planning on taking the 113,000+ miles one up to Canada next summer to Nova Scotia and hopefully Newfoundland.

Click to expand...

And I might add, his bikes do not live an easy "ridden only to church on Sunday, by a little old lady" sort of existence. Testament to the value of good maintenance habits in combination with solid design and build.

ibike2havefun said:

And I might add, his bikes do not live an easy "ridden only to church on Sunday, by a little old lady" sort of existence. Testament to the value of good maintenance habits in combination with solid design and build.

Click to expand...

Now, you know i ride like an old man ...

Uncle Phil said:

Now, you know i ride like an old man ...

Click to expand...

If you do, I've never seen it......

Sent using Tapatalk

Uncle Phil said:

Now, you know i ride like an old man ...

Click to expand...

With a wide open right wrist!!!

When I undertook a cross country trip FL to CA my ST had 139,000 IIRC. If I had the time to do it again or something like it I'd leave tomorrow at 174,000.

I did maintenance by Honda's recommendations up to 150,000 miles with the exception of stretching valve checks to 20 to 24,000 miles and air cleaners the same. Oil, coolant, FD lube, brake fluid flushes, spark plugs usually at or maybe before recommended mileage. Now I'm stretching the valve checks to 32,000 miles. One exhaust needed shimming at 86,000 and 4 others were close enough to spec I moved them to loose side of spec. They have been stable since 106,000.

The things that broke or I did outside of recommended service were a sticking thermostat at 22,000, a set of driven flange bearings at 96,000, tapered roller bearings in the head stock close after that, rear wheel bearings at 100,000, an alternator at 106,000. When I went under the throttle bodies to R & R the alternator I replaced all the coolant hoses. Proactively changed the fuel pump and filter out at 120,000. I change fork oil at 15,000-20,000 miles and rebuilt the fork at 72,000 miles. No seeps or leaks but I did it anyway. The hand levers get cleaned and lubed maybe every other major service and the turn signal switch and engine start switch have been cleaned and lubed three or four times. The original clutch pivot pin galled and needed replacing around 70,000 miles along with the rubber boot. I changed the original shock at 75,000 for a Race Tech rebuilt one. For a while I had a Hagon shock but two of them leaked in short order. The third set of rubber drive cushions are in the final drive and I replace the O rings in the FD a couple times.

I think that's it.

the only predictable failure item I'm aware of on the 1100 (40A alternator version) is the coolant hoses under the carbs, which after 15+ years are a breakdown waiting to happen. Is there any similar thing on the 1300?

BTW, I rode my '97 up to Oregon for the eclipse in Aug, was a little concerned that at 20 years and 110k miles some little item was going to fail and leave me stranded, but all went well. 2300 miles in about 3.5 riding days without any problems, with zero oil consumption for those 2300 miles.

Thanks for that great service history Dave. Now I have a plan to put another 140,000 miles on STella!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is a topic that I find interesting as all three of my bikes are getting on a bit (90 ST11 111,000km, 99 VFR800 100,000km, 97 VTR1000 80,000km).

All of them have shown signs of aging rubber coolant hoses, sloppy rubber cush-drives, worn clutch fiber discs, notched steering head bearings and occasional wheel bearings, and the performance of suspension components like shocks is finite. I do tend to over-maintain and so the bikes do get disassembled and rebuilt fairly often, and I am a bit anal about fluid changes and greasing, but I have not found any parts that seem to be fundamentally deficient or wearing out. The engine internals that I have inspected on all three (VFR and VTR clutches, cam/valve gear on all three) look like new, and the driveline components on my ST11 that I pulled apart last week (painting and greasing) were pristine also.

My only real concern on my ST1100 is the fuel pump as I have a 2nd hand one of uncertain parentage; I have a back-up Airtex that I plan to carry on a long trip next year. Like UP, I would not hesitate to get on any of my bikes and head off into the wilds. The ST would be my comfort choice of course...

The only things that have actually failed on any of my three STs:

Speedo cable failed on '91 ST1100 at 30k, my own fault for not greasing.
Shocks, all worn out at 50k miles.
Front wheel bearings, failed on my '95 ST1100 at 52K miles
Driven hub bearings failed on my ST1300 at about 30k miles
Steering head bearings, 95 ST1100 notched at 70k miles
Steering head bearings, ST1300 slightly rough at 93k miles
AGM batteries, ST1300, all bad after four years max.

Never had a rear wheel bearing fail but replace at 100k miles just for PM. Ditto for hoses.

Uncle Phil said:

Well, I've got one ST1100 with over 154,000 miles on it, one with over 113,000 miles on it, and one with over 97,000 miles on it.
I would not be concerned at all to jump on any one of the three and ride cross the United States to California like I did this summer on the 97,000+ miles one.
I'm planning on taking the 113,000+ miles one up to Canada next summer to Nova Scotia and hopefully Newfoundland.

Click to expand...

Uncle Phil :

Ever have a problem with a u-joint or alternator failure ? There was an article somewhere about a GL1500 with over 500K miles on it and those were the only repeat problems the owner had with his bike.

There is a chap in Winnipeg with a 2003 ST1300. I met him last spring and he has over 750,000 km on his bike. He bought another 2003 to have as a spare when this one fails. He rides all over the country at a moments notice. I think he had to change a water pump once.

Jim Van said:

Uncle Phil :

Ever have a problem with a u-joint or alternator failure ? There was an article somewhere about a GL1500 with over 500K miles on it and those were the only repeat problems the owner had with his bike.

Click to expand...

Not so far on any of the three ST1100s.