First ST1300 Iron Butt - ST-Owners.com Forums

1downfourup · 10-21-2005, 03:40 PM

I've done some longer rides in short times on other motorcycles (Harleys and vintage BMWs), but this is the first one on a Honda ST1300 and the first one I will register with the IBA. I did a combined Bun Burner 1500 and SaddleSore 1000 in one trip from northern New Hampshire to Northern Florida... a total of 1517 miles. I must say, the ST1300... after some ergonomics work... fared very well. I have Helibars, Steed Sticks (highway pegs), a Russell seat, a topbox with a Givi rack, an XM radio to helmet speakers, heated grip wraps, heated vest, Aerostich Darien, an assortment of gloves, and Oxtar boots. Even though I left in the rain in temperatures in the high 30s, I was quite comfortable. I left mid-day, spent one short night in Scranton PA and did the remainder the next day (departing Scranton at 1:53 AM), making it in well under the required times. I stopped only for gasoline every 250 miles. The Russell seat was absolutely wonderful! No shifting in the seat the whole way. At 61 years old, my hips would start to bother me a little from the same seating postion and the Steed Sticks helped this. One comment about the Steed Sticks. You really need a backrest to take advantage of them. When you stretch your legs forward, you need back support for comfort. My Russell does NOT have a backrest but I made do by strapping a rolled sleeping bag on my passenger seat to give me a backrest and that worked. For the future, I will send my seat back to Russell and add a backrest (or better yet I will ride out and do a one-day ride in with them). Because I was doing a lot of riding after dark, I removed my tinted face shield from my Arai and put in the clear one with a shade band at the top. I did not bother to switch them back and forth during the ride... it is a pain to do that... but I would have liked the tinted one during the day. XM radio is great for the long ride...well worth having it. I was surprised at the speed of traffic moving with me. Everyone around me was doing 80 mph plus... so of course I had to blend with traffic and not be a danger. The bike handles well on the slab at those speeds. I was worried about deer in the dark, but the only hazardous deer were the carcasses left by the trucks in the middle of the road... and the tire treads left in the road by the trucks. In one place, in the dark, I pulled out to pass a truck and there was a whole dead deer right in front of me when I pulled out. My heart missed a few beats as I dodged it! The Darien suit was comfortable in the northcountry in the cold... and surprisingly comfortable in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida whre temperatures were in the high 80's. It seemed to insulate me from the heat. The ST1300 was a pleasant surprise and I arrived at my destination feeling no worse for the wear. I would have tried the Gold Bun Burner (1500 in 24 hours) but the IBA requires lesser rides be registered before you try an "extreme" ride. No doubt the ST would handle that ride in comfort, too. Now... a Gold Wing...
1downfourup

STeve1300 · 10-21-2005, 04:02 PM

Congratulations!

Kempo-STer · 10-21-2005, 04:22 PM

Congrats MAN!!!
Good stuff..Sorry I missed you at NHfcSTOC..
Hope to see/meet you next season..

Todd

sttourer · 10-21-2005, 05:24 PM

Congratulations! Welcome to the other side.

Regarding the deer incident, I've had the exact same experience. It was around 11:30pm and I was down to the last 50 miles of a day run from Charlotte to OKC. A huge deer carcus came out from under a semi that was ahead of me. Fortunately I make it a habit to ride either left or right in my lane. Had I been centered that night, it would probably have been the end of me.

Thanks for the great write-up!

Pat

nurseBob · 10-21-2005, 09:12 PM

Congratulations!
I'm looking forward to getting some LD rides in too; it's encouraging to hear about good experiences. Thanks for sharing your trip.

1downfourup · 10-22-2005, 05:01 AM

Hey GRN...
Nearly three feet of snow on Mt. Washington and here I am waiting for a hurricane when I could be skiing... or burning up pavement trying to keep up with you to get to the Stow country store pastries. Remember, only one woman and only one house is good, but you can never have too many motorcycles... and when you pick out your new house, make sure it has lots of heated garages cause only one garage is not enough.
1downfourup

EdsST · 10-24-2005, 08:55 PM

Congrats - sounds like a good ride

Jeff F · 10-25-2005, 08:16 AM

I noticed the same backrest need with the Steed Sticks.

Instead of a conventional backrest I was thinking about the rack that mounts the topbox over the pillion seat. The topbox then becomes my backrest and also eliminates the high speed stability issues as well, (although I can't say I've had much of a problem with this). I think I'd like this look better rather than a backrest sticking up between the seats. Cheaper maybe too(?)

Anybody know where can I get info on the rack? Can't seem to find it now.

Anyone here doing this?

TIA

Congrats 1down... on the ride

Jeff F · 10-25-2005, 08:38 AM

Well that figures

- as soon as I post that I found the thread that I think will answer my questions. The pics posted near the end look great IMO

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/show...highlight=rack

10-21-2005, 03:40 PM	#1
1downfourup Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NH and FL Age: 66 Posts: 37	First ST1300 Iron Butt I've done some longer rides in short times on other motorcycles (Harleys and vintage BMWs), but this is the first one on a Honda ST1300 and the first one I will register with the IBA. I did a combined Bun Burner 1500 and SaddleSore 1000 in one trip from northern New Hampshire to Northern Florida... a total of 1517 miles. I must say, the ST1300... after some ergonomics work... fared very well. I have Helibars, Steed Sticks (highway pegs), a Russell seat, a topbox with a Givi rack, an XM radio to helmet speakers, heated grip wraps, heated vest, Aerostich Darien, an assortment of gloves, and Oxtar boots. Even though I left in the rain in temperatures in the high 30s, I was quite comfortable. I left mid-day, spent one short night in Scranton PA and did the remainder the next day (departing Scranton at 1:53 AM), making it in well under the required times. I stopped only for gasoline every 250 miles. The Russell seat was absolutely wonderful! No shifting in the seat the whole way. At 61 years old, my hips would start to bother me a little from the same seating postion and the Steed Sticks helped this. One comment about the Steed Sticks. You really need a backrest to take advantage of them. When you stretch your legs forward, you need back support for comfort. My Russell does NOT have a backrest but I made do by strapping a rolled sleeping bag on my passenger seat to give me a backrest and that worked. For the future, I will send my seat back to Russell and add a backrest (or better yet I will ride out and do a one-day ride in with them). Because I was doing a lot of riding after dark, I removed my tinted face shield from my Arai and put in the clear one with a shade band at the top. I did not bother to switch them back and forth during the ride... it is a pain to do that... but I would have liked the tinted one during the day. XM radio is great for the long ride...well worth having it. I was surprised at the speed of traffic moving with me. Everyone around me was doing 80 mph plus... so of course I had to blend with traffic and not be a danger. The bike handles well on the slab at those speeds. I was worried about deer in the dark, but the only hazardous deer were the carcasses left by the trucks in the middle of the road... and the tire treads left in the road by the trucks. In one place, in the dark, I pulled out to pass a truck and there was a whole dead deer right in front of me when I pulled out. My heart missed a few beats as I dodged it! The Darien suit was comfortable in the northcountry in the cold... and surprisingly comfortable in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida whre temperatures were in the high 80's. It seemed to insulate me from the heat. The ST1300 was a pleasant surprise and I arrived at my destination feeling no worse for the wear. I would have tried the Gold Bun Burner (1500 in 24 hours) but the IBA requires lesser rides be registered before you try an "extreme" ride. No doubt the ST would handle that ride in comfort, too. Now... a Gold Wing... 1downfourup

10-21-2005, 04:02 PM	#2
STeve1300 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kewaskum Wisconsin Age: 51 Posts: 1,734 Tip Overs: 3 Total Awards: 1	Congratulations!
	_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _________________ Steve Schwan 2005 ST1300 STOC #5549 "I'm not lost... I'm recalculating" (Steve1300 at CT STOC 2007)

10-21-2005, 04:22 PM	#3
Kempo-STer Event Coordinator Join Date: May 2005 Location: Hebron, CT Age: 41 Posts: 3,994 Tip Overs: 5	Congrats MAN!!! Good stuff..Sorry I missed you at NHfcSTOC.. Hope to see/meet you next season.. Todd
	Negativity is Easy.. Being a positive force and helping others takes courage and fortitude. Ride ON!

10-21-2005, 09:12 PM	#5
nurseBob Bike: '05 ST1300 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saint Helena, CA Age: 60 Posts: 379 Tip Overs: 2 Total Awards: 1	Congratulations! I'm looking forward to getting some LD rides in too; it's encouraging to hear about good experiences. Thanks for sharing your trip.
	1st Year Mileage (5/05 - 5/06): 32,303 Mileage as of 10/07/2008: 86,247 "We take each breath as if it is our last, and hope that the air is sweet."

10-24-2005, 08:55 PM	#7
EdsST Site Supporter Bike: ST1300A Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Panama City, FL Posts: 384 Tip Overs: 1 Total Awards: 2	Congrats - sounds like a good ride
	Ed Williams Panama City, FL STOC #1307 STX #621 Iron Butt #7060 05 ST1300A

10-21-2005, 05:24 PM	#4
sttourer Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Okrahoma Posts: 464	Congratulations! Welcome to the other side. Regarding the deer incident, I've had the exact same experience. It was around 11:30pm and I was down to the last 50 miles of a day run from Charlotte to OKC. A huge deer carcus came out from under a semi that was ahead of me. Fortunately I make it a habit to ride either left or right in my lane. Had I been centered that night, it would probably have been the end of me. Thanks for the great write-up! Pat

10-22-2005, 05:01 AM	#6
1downfourup Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: NH and FL Age: 66 Posts: 37	Hey GRN... Nearly three feet of snow on Mt. Washington and here I am waiting for a hurricane when I could be skiing... or burning up pavement trying to keep up with you to get to the Stow country store pastries. Remember, only one woman and only one house is good, but you can never have too many motorcycles... and when you pick out your new house, make sure it has lots of heated garages cause only one garage is not enough. 1downfourup

10-25-2005, 08:16 AM	#8
Jeff F Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: London Ontario, sort of Age: 52 Posts: 742 Tip Overs: 1 2010 Miles: 011309	Backrest option I noticed the same backrest need with the Steed Sticks. Instead of a conventional backrest I was thinking about the rack that mounts the topbox over the pillion seat. The topbox then becomes my backrest and also eliminates the high speed stability issues as well, (although I can't say I've had much of a problem with this). I think I'd like this look better rather than a backrest sticking up between the seats. Cheaper maybe too(?) Anybody know where can I get info on the rack? Can't seem to find it now. Anyone here doing this? TIA Congrats 1down... on the ride

10-25-2005, 08:38 AM	#9
Jeff F Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: London Ontario, sort of Age: 52 Posts: 742 Tip Overs: 1 2010 Miles: 011309	Found it Well that figures - as soon as I post that I found the thread that I think will answer my questions. The pics posted near the end look great IMO http://www.st-owners.com/forums/show...highlight=rack

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