Hello! New owner in Minnesota 'inherited' an ST1100 ABS; knows nothing!

[RiverGuy42]

Hi all, GREAT site!

It's been almost 50 years since I last owned a motorcycle (I crashed the Honda CB175 my dad gave me in 1975, fixed it and rode it a couple thousand miles and then quit). Now I have become the 'accidental' owner of another Honda, so I suppose this is my second motorcycle accident...

I was laid off this summer after 43 years in high-tech industry and at 65 years old decided to start up a marine electrical/electronics business, and I needed a used trailer down at the marina. The best trailer I could find on craigslist came with a 'Candy Glory Red' 1992 ST1100 ABS inside with 72,070 miles on it. Most of the plastic fairings/cowling had been removed for a planned custom paint job, and the guy who sold it to me bought it as a work-in-process from it's former owner in 2020, who had become disabled and had to abandon his North American touring dreams. Long story, I'll save it for another post.

The interim owner told me it ran great when he got it but now he could no longer get it started. In parts and pieces it took up most of the space in the trailer so I started putting it back together. Then I discovered the reason it wouldn't start was because the kill switch was off (!!!!). The first time I heard it run I was pretty blown away. Looking through the service records that came with the bike I found the phone number for the previous 'real' owner, called him up and he talked my ear off for an hour praising the bike and explaining what he'd done to it, including spending $1,500 at the local Honda dealer having everything done that they said needed doing (work was done at 72,042 miles) before he took it apart to begin re-painting it.

In my spare time (which has been scarce this summer) I got it's clothes back on, enlisted a Harley fanatic marina-mate to test ride it, then rode it around the marina myself a little. Now I'm totally smitten with it...but my wife is decidedly NOT. Nuff said...

Winter is approaching and I will either need to find a place to store it (no space in my garage) or sell/trade it.

As it was sitting unused in the trailer from November 2019 to July 2023, I'm sure it might need additional attention (carb synchronization?). I pumped out the old gas, put in fresh 93 octane non-oxy 'boat gasoline', changed the oil, replaced a stuck thermostat, and will put in a new battery this weekend.

So...I'm needing to make a decision before the snow flys up here. Any thoughts/opinions will be very much appreciated!

 

[Upt' North]

Welcome River Guy, from Northumberland, England.
Looks like a nice early Pan.
Only you know if you're gonna ride it, if you do you'll be smitten, they're addictive.
Good luck with your decision making.
The original top boxes can be quite sort after if the fittings and locks are in good order.
Upt.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

You wrote that it came with the trailer, so either you paid nothing for it or close to it.
It looks to be in really good shape with some nice additions included.
Most of the maintenance was done before you got it.
You got it running. You didn't state, but it sounds like it is running well.
All it sounds like you need to do is to flush the brake and clutch fluids as a preventative measure. Maybe the coolant as well if you didn't do so when you changed the thermostat.
Sounds like all it needs now is a little tweaking here and there and it is good to go for thousands of miles to come.

If you don't think that you will become a biker again, or at least not with this bike, there isn't much thought needed- time to sell it.
If you have any interest at all, it hasn't cost you enough to be concerned about. Put it away for the winter and decide next spring after doing some miles on it and giving yourself a fair chance to decide. If you like it and decide to keep it, it sounds like you fell in to a heck of a good deal- ride it like you stole it!

Have a look through the below;
Maintenance Items Needed for a New (old) Bike

 

[RiverGuy42]

Welcome River Guy, from Northumberland, England.
Looks like a nice early Pan.
Only you know if you're gonna ride it, if you do you'll be smitten, they're addictive.
Good luck with your decision making.
The original top boxes can be quite sort after if the fittings and locks are in good order.
Upt.

Yes, the Honda top box is in excellent shape, locks working great and I finally deciphered the complicated stacking order of the rubber, plastic and metal washers. Former owner was meticulous in keeping all the original hardware sorted and organized, but it did take awhile to figure that one out...

Thanks!

 

[SMSW]

Nothing to say, you already admitted to being smit by the bike. Since it was essentially free (you bought the trailer and it happened to be inside) it's a no contest keeper. This forum is inhabited by a niche group that loves the 1100 and 1300 ST's. I'll warn you now, you won't find many objective opinions on what to do w/ the bike, but give it a chance to really grab your heart. Keep it for the winter and ride it next year. For the winter, put a battery tender on the battery, add stabil to a full gas tank (there are opinions on the usefulness of stabil), run the bike a bit, change the oil and put it in the trailer.

You might find this interesting.... https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/maintenance-items-needed-for-a-new-old-bike.176679/

Edit, Andrew beat me to the link....

 

[RiverGuy42]

You wrote that it came with the trailer, so either you paid nothing for it or close to it.
It looks to be in really good shape with some nice additions included.
Most of the maintenance was done before you got it.
You got it running. You didn't state, but it sounds like it is running well.
All it sounds like you need to do is to flush the brake and clutch fluids as a preventative measure. Maybe the coolant as well if you didn't do so when you changed the thermostat.
Sounds like all it needs now is a little tweaking here and there and it is good to go for thousands of miles to come.

If you don't think that you will become a biker again, or at least not with this bike, there isn't much thought needed- time to sell it.
If you have any interest at all, it hasn't cost you enough to be concerned about. Put it away for the winter and decide next spring after doing some miles on it and giving yourself a fair chance to decide. If you like it and decide to keep it, it sounds like you fell in to a heck of a good deal- ride it like you stole it!

Have a look through the below;
Maintenance Items Needed for a New (old) Bike

Thanks, yes it seems like there were a lot of things added -- apparently the old 28 amp alternators were weak, this one has a 40 amp upgrade. Also halogen headlights, handlebar risers, two seats (original and upgrade) and two windscreens (short and tall).

Re: "time to sell it..." or "Put it away for the winter and decide next spring..."

Sadly, no place to store it unless I rent something. As far as selling it, the JD Power (NADA) numbers look crazy-high. Any thoughts on what it might be worth?

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Well, while not ideal, you wouldn't be the first to prep a motorcycle for winter, cover it with a tarp, and leave it like that until spring if there is no other storage choice available. At least it gives you another option to keep the motorcycle if you want to give it a better try next spring.

As far as selling it, the JD Power (NADA) numbers look crazy-high. Any thoughts on what it might be worth?

I don't know how they came up with that figure, but you will never get anywhere near $7,000.00 no matter how excellent it is. It would probably be a hard sell to get that much for a new old stock with 0 miles on it. The sad unfortunate truth is that these motorcycles, regardless of how great that we think they are, are not in high demand. Most people have never heard of them and don't even know what they are. Consequently they do not command big dollars. Most that are in really good shape seem to sell in the $2,500.00 to $3,500.00 range.

 

[RiverGuy42]

Well, while not ideal, you wouldn't be the first to prep a motorcycle for winter, cover it with a tarp, and leave it like that until spring if there is no other storage choice available. At least it gives you another option to keep the motorcycle if you want to give it a better try next spring.

I don't know how they came up with that figure, but you will never get anywhere near $7,000.00 no matter how excellent it is. It would probably be a hard sell to get that much for a new old stock with 0 miles on it. The sad unfortunate truth is that these motorcycles, regardless of how great that we think they are, are not in high demand. Most people have never heard of them and don't even know what they are. Consequently they do not command big dollars. Most that are in really good shape seem to sell in the $2,500.00 to $3,500.00 range.

Thank you, those numbers sound much more sane. Talking to some friends/neighbors here in Minnesota, the concensus seems to be that I should put it into a storage unit and put it on the market in springtime...covering it with a tarp and leaving it outside is out of the question. I appreciate your advice!

 

[RiverGuy42]

Thanks to everyone!

As smitten as I am with it, I have too many toys/hobbies/avocations (mostly boating related), and don't have time to become infatuated with a motorcycle, especially as my wife would have no interest in it -- we spend most of our spare time on the water and at present we own three boats here and in Florida and she loves them all. I could easily become obsessed with making this thing perfect and could certainly get addicted to riding -- but it needs to go to someone who has the time to appreciate, maintain and ride it for what it's worth.

I'll stop back in the spring and post a for sale ad here.

Again, thanks to all!

 

[Bikeric]

Welcome from Cornwall UK! Nice looking bike you have there.

 

[red one]

I'd keep it if its running right. Rent a storage unit and keep it there for the winter.

 

[Sunday Rider]

Store and then ride it again in Springtime. Lots of time to decide and get really hooked on this fabulous looking specimen. Good luck with your decision. That’s the best trailer deal ever.
There might be a guy from Tennessee that might be interested by then or before maybe.

 

[Ron]

Keep it and sell it in the Spring? Do some math.

I would say a fair (seller and buyer are satisfied) selling price will be $1800-$2200 if it runs good and is as nice in person as in pictures. That's now and will be in the Spring.

How much will it cost to "winterize" it? You have a boating background so you're probably familiar with that.

How much will it cost to store it for 6-8 months?

How much meat is left on the bone? I would try to sell it now. Let the other guy pay to winterize and store it.