How would you describe the ST1300 Power Plant?

[Ricochet]

I've been quite fascinated with the V4 in the ST1300. My entire riding life I've been riding V-Twin Motorcycles ranging from 800-1800cc's. I've only owned 1 4 cyl bike in my life but it was a 33 year old CB900F that I sold after I fixed it up to make a small profit.

Im having a hard time describing what its like to ride a V4 bike.. to me, the feel of the bike is almost "Electric" in the sense that if you give throttle, the bike moves forward very smoothly and linearly. The fact its so smooth and quiet kind of adds to that description as well.

Out of curiosity, how do people spend most of their time cruising on the ST at every usual speed, I find that the bike usually is happiest in the 3-4K rpm range, which to me always seemed high (again coming from a V-twin where cruising at 1800rpm is not unusual)

I've been trying to do a little reading on I4 vs V4 and I think the general agreement is that the I4's make more torque and HP in the higher RPM range while the V4 makes linear torque throughout the range, which translates into more usable power from any range in the RPM guage..

I also have a Rocket 3 Roader (2300cc) that makes 160lbs of torque, I have yet to ever stall it when accelerating off the line!

 

[Redfish]

Electric is the best description I could give the ST1300 motor. Electric is the word that I heard from every one of my friends that rode it.

I would not get too hung up on which engine configuration behaves which way. Bore diameter vs. stroke length, compression, valve sizes and types, in short many factors contribute to an engine's power characteristics.

The V-Twin? Harley and Ducati both run a V-Twin and those engines could not behave more differently.

The V-Max, the Interceptor (in all its sizes) and Honda's current MotoGP bike all run V-4s and they are all top end biased. It does not look like the RC213V is down on the top end.

Throw in modern electronics and engineers can do some wonderful things with an engine.

 

[Blitzen]

Flat torque, minimal vibration, smooth acceleration, turbine whine, just think of it as the electric jet...

 

[wcleland]

Top Heavy

 

[SupraSabre]

As one Cruiser guy described my ..."That bike is fast!" This was after I continued to leave him in the dust, from light to light...

Yeah, I know that it's not as fast as the FJR or Kawi, but for me, it's plenty fast!

 

[mean13]

Gotta have that bass. :tb1:

 

[Don B]

My ST1300A is the first Honda V4 I've owned. Is it basically derived from the original V45 Sabre from the 1980's?
My first V4 experience was my GV1400 Suzuki Cavalcade, I thought it was strong for a big touring bike, not sure how it matched up with the GL1200 from that era. I test rode the Wing once before I had the Suzy, but my wife was riding pillion, so didn't give it a true performance test, if you know what I mean. I rode the Cavalcade solo 99% of the time, but never to its limits, as I rode it in a leisurely manner most of the time. Pretty well knew how quick it was, but never had any desire to to explore it's upper limits.

 

[kiltman]

My ST1300A is the first Honda V4 I've owned. Is it basically derived from the original V45 Sabre from the 1980's?
My first V4 experience was my GV1400 Suzuki Cavalcade, I thought it was strong for a big touring bike, not sure how it matched up with the GL1200 from that era. I test rode the Wing once before I had the Suzy, but my wife was riding pillion, so didn't give it a true performance test, if you know what I mean. I rode the Cavalcade solo 99% of the time, but never to its limits, as I rode it in a leisurely manner most of the time. Pretty well knew how quick it was, but never had any desire to to explore it's upper limits.

I owned a GL1200 just prior to my current ST1100. The Madura was plenty awsome, much quicker than the ST. pass anything but a gas station! That motor would have done wonders in a sport touring configuration, but in the cruiser mode the engine was wasted.
I'm getting used to my ST, it's smooth, dependable and I can ride it for hours...days...months.....years!

 

[drrod]

A few years ago, I had the need to get 600 miles as fast as possible. 8 hrs is what it took. It took just a little over 2 hours to go from Billings to Sidney, Mt.
I spent most of that time on the limiter, indicating around 240kph. The bike never once felt close to being stressed. Everytime I dropped down in speed a bit it just dialed it back up when called on. I am sure that there are other bikes/motors could have done the same but that trip convinced me that the motor/chassis combo was a serious long distance machine!! Dead stable and smooth. No drama.

Rod

 

[Don B]

Are you saying the ST will pull to the rev limiter in 5th? I've never had the desire or the opportunity to try that, but never guessed that the ST would have the power to do that.

 

[ST Gui]

Jack of all trades master of none and having a near bullet-proof motor.

 

[drrod]

Are you saying the ST will pull to the rev limiter in 5th? I've never had the desire or the opportunity to try that, but never guessed that the ST would have the power to do that.

Yes. With a tailwind it would bounce on the limiter for miles at a time. IIRC the tach was at about 8400. Honestly cant say I was spending a lot of attention to the gauges. Road gets a little narrow at that speed. Luckily there was virtually no traffic on I84 at 6 am.

Rod

 

[BendBill]

Between the balance, and the precision in shifting--and my settling into the shady side of 60's--I've been taking it mellow on back country roads this last year. The V4, coupled with the smooth clutch, makes for pleasant sailing through mountain passes and river canyons.

And then the other day. . . . just to clear the cobwebs, I dialed it up to between 5 and 8k several times throughout the day.

And . . . dayum, but that engine is a whole different experience at warp speeds. Fast. Still smooth, but it makes the world blur quickly.

 

[dduelin]

Yes. With a tailwind it would bounce on the limiter for miles at a time. IIRC the tach was at about 8400. Honestly cant say I was spending a lot of attention to the gauges. Road gets a little narrow at that speed. Luckily there was virtually no traffic on I84 at 6 am.

Rod

My ST will not pull to the limiter in 5th. The electronic rev limiter stutters the engine at about 9250 rpm. Top speed is about 8400-8500 rpm with the tach needle just inside the red zone.



Sochiro Honda was supposed to have believed the V4 was the optimal engine configuration for a motorcycle but I could not find the reference without access to my bookshelf. It's reasonably compact and has perfect primary balance. With the addition of a pair of counterbalance shafts in the ST1300 rotating opposite to the crankshaft it has nearly perfect primary and secondary balance to remove almost all vibrations. However the market did not agree in the 1980s and the company was forced to continue to develop more popular inline fours along with the V4.

 

[Bones]

Smooooooth

 

[GTEdge]

I had an old sabre (the import adjusted 700). Kinda miss her.

The v4 is what attracted me to the ST1100.

Silky.

 

[Bravo616]

That V4 is silky smooth and as stated in another post; bullet proof. I would have no problems putting 500K miles on one and still take a trip around the world. However in terms of traveling at MACH speeds with your hair on fire, nothing compares to the K1600 inline 6. The exhausts note alone is worth the price of admission. Take a test drive ensure you have a checkbook with you. :burnout

 

[RCS]

The V4 motor as it is matched to the transmission, throttle body, and software mapping on the ST1300 delivers a tractor like pull that is deceivingly fast and can go 0-60mph in about 3 seconds. It is not a fast rev motor with a distinctive power band like a race bike.

The same motor can probably perform differently with different mapping, transmission, and throttle body.

 

[dduelin]

I've done 144 tops GPS on mine, 142-143 is the usual but the tach is no where near the rev limiter of 9250-9300 rpm. It will hit the electronic limiter in 4th and lower gears but not in 5th.

 

[SteveST1300]

My first V4 was a V65 Magna next was the ST great motor mine has done 140 indicated on my GPS.