sell or keep 1100?

[Phunter103]

Hello all, I have my ST11 up for sale up here, but I'm trying to get somebody's take on it.

It's a 91 ST11 with 56k on it, I love the bike and it rides great, but the stuff that needs to be fixed for creature comforts seems like it is just going to cost more than I'd like to spend

We all know how hard it is to find parts for the 1100's. I need mirrors

I need the choke adjusted (I literally have to reach into the faring to move it the last 1/4 inch to get it to start in cool weather)

It isn't extremely reliable in terms of starting cold (my 05 Suzuki C50 which has been stolen 3 times and recovered has been more reliable)

I need a right side bag.

The shifter needs to be greased or something since it sticks in neutral sometimes.

Just trying to see if I should just cut ties and get something else or fix it and just swallow the cost?

I've got my eyes set on a 05 1300 Police edition, so I may stay in the ST family.

 

[kiltman]

The reality is there’s far too much wrong with the 91 ST, To bring it up to running and a dependable machine would require some investment in time and money. It probably still has the original 28 amp alternator and that would be the number one project to do if one was to keep it. I’m afraid the price you are asking is far too much for the condition it is in. A more realistic price is in the $500 range.
You would be better off investing your time and effort in another machine. Instead of a police model 1300 I would look at a regular 1300 with ABS post 2007 possibly.
I wish you the best in your decision process.

 

[Uncle Phil]

As Kiltman said, the bike is not worth much for the simple fact most folks don't want a 20+ year old motorcycle unless it is considered a 'classic' - and unfortunately for you the ST1100 is not. With missing bodywork and mirror and a 28 amp alternator, it's pretty worthless regardless of the miles. I own 7 ST1100s - 4 daily runners and 3 parts bikes and I wouldn't probably get $2,000 for all seven of them - and one has a really nice custom paint job. As I often say, they are worthless to everybody except me. You might consider looking for a later model ST1100 (preferably 96 and ABSII) and keep your old one for parts. The ST1300 is becoming long in tooth and the parts will start drying it for it one day. And a police bike that has been used by the police is usually badly abused because of the nature of their work. But, it ain't my monkey and it ain't my circus, so good luck on what ever you decide to do.

 

[SMSW]

A lot of decommissioned P bikes were used hard and maintained poorly. Some members have posted pictures of how the police gear was removed from the bike - usually by cutting the wiring harness and leaving the wires dangling. Unless a particular bike received TLC by the officer in charge, or a subsequent owner, you might find you have more problems on your hands and more expensive repairs to make than your 1100.

I own 7 ST1100s - 4 daily runners and 3 parts bikes and I wouldn't probably get $2,000 for all seven of them

Nonsense, Phil. The provenance alone is worth that much. Look what Steve McQueen's Great Escape bike sold for at auction. Well, there was only one such bike, and there are 7 UP bikes.....

 

[red one]

Your bike is older than mine so its a tough one but if it were mine I would part ways with it. On my 22 year old cycle Mirrors would be high cost if I could find one. Bags are gonna be costly to find one and paint it. The choke issue may be not that costly. I'm thinking 2K at one time would be my limit.

 

[Oldbikefixr]

I have a 1991 1100 (bought in August of 2015) and a 2006 1300 from my little brother. My wife prefers the backseat ride on the 1100 so we kept it.
My main hobby since the mid '60's has been restoring old Hondas so refurbishment of the 1100 wasn't a daunting task. Total part cost exceeded what I paid for the bike in 2015. Much of that was my OCD...if I couldn't repair, polish, re-plate or repaint something that bothered me it got replaced with new. First year in the US market has some collector's appeal so I'm happy with it. Kept the original alternator and electrics for the same reason, originality. It starts, runs and handles like new and still goes on trips due to my wife's preference.
Guess I'm saying the keep vs sell decision of any old machinery is easy.......If it's a burden of any sort, time/space/$$/tools/frustration, then part with it by all means. For me digging into an old bike and returning it to new or near so is cheaper than therapy.

 

[Chris09]

I might pour through some of the forum and get a sense of what you might be in for even with a 13, I've got mine opened up to the TB assembly [just waiting for a radiator hose] and there are a lot of parts and systems in these bikes, there's a lot of components and small parts to lay about and maintain track of to get at stuff is what I guess I would emphasis.
I got mine at around 20,000 miles and very clean which I thought was perfect; it's a Honda, and I bought the best and newest low miler one that I'd seen around for some time and maybe in the two years since. Aside from a minor leak - leaking T Stat to Radiator hose everything's been nearly perfect over my 4,000 mile period.
Gratefully there are members on this site that make owning and maintaining these bikes possible in the first place, and practical in the second. I think everything is covered on this forum including errors in factory manuals.
There are other bikes that lend themselves more easily to dismantling and reassembly and accessing stuff when you need to.