Are ST1300s a mixed bag or are they sliced bread?

[SouthEastArizona]

I live in Podunk where an 06 ST1300 has come up for sale. There are few interesting bikes
that ever hit the classifieds around here and I only have until the weekend before I have to view
and possibly commit to buying it. The price is about $1K lower than most that I see anywhere
and the mileage is under 35K. Photos look okay & the guy only put a few hundred miles on it before
his wife made him sell it. Sounds odd. It is hella hot here this time of year, so maybe he took her
riding and she, the wife, overheated with the engine & the fairings. I will pry a bit when I view the bike.

Anyway, my concerns are two-fold. I read some owner reviews from Europe and the US that say
their bikes have over 100K and zero issues. Then I read the occasional posts on here, owners with
bikes that that have well under 30K miles and have leaks, thermostat problems, I think maybe a bad water pump.
Are the vast majority of the ST1300s (2006) stone-axe reliable or not?

Secondly, my other two bikes have given me problems getting parts with the world supply chain
issues. One is an OEM part and the other is a German made aftermarket part. Are there reports
of ST1300 OEM parts that are difficult to find or are no longer being made? I don't want to have
to search junk yards to get parts.

(Me, I won't be riding this in the heat. I will wait for a different time of year and cool parts of days, so
that aspect doesn't worry me.)

Thank you.

 

[okckeith]

I have a 07 that I bought new in 07 with around 106,000 miles on it. I have had zero problems with it. Several here have a lot more miles on there bikes with very few problems. I bought a 2017 Triumph Trophy SE to replaced my ST. It had 11,000 miles on it. Will it be as reliable as the ST? Time will tell.

 

[Lodi]

Super reliable, end of story. Some body plastics may be difficult to replace, but good availability of parts otherwise.

 

[Upt' North]

Welcome from Northumberland, England.
Reliable? There's are only two certainties in life, death and taxes, but Honda's come a close third. Check its been properly maintained, buy it, ride it.
And you've got Larry on your doorstep if you need him. Nuff said.
Upt'North.

 

[MaxPete]

Many people complain about the heat on the bike - but I never found it be an issue and riding my '07 ST was great and my part of Canada is also "hella hot" during the summer. I guess some people are more sensitive than others.

As for reliability, the only major issues with the ST1300 seem to be:

• the clutch slave cylinder (CSC) on a number of bikes have failed recently; but the parts are not expensive (around $100-120 I think) and while the job is a tad awkward but not horrendous and it only take a couple of hours to swap out the CSC which is located on the read end of the engine/transmission assembly, right above the centrestand pivot point. I wrote an article on the task which many folks have found helpful in getting it done.
• the secondary brake master cylinder (SMC) on bikes with linked brakes can also fail - but again, the fix is not expensive or too difficult and there is lots of expertise on this forum to help.

NOTE: that secondary master cylinder of which I speak is mounted on the fork leg - and it is not the master cylinder on the handlebar. Again, there are one or more excellent articles on fixing this issue on the forum.

Other than those two issues (which the '06 you are considering may not even have) the Honda ST1300 is about as reliable as a pile of rocks - and I wouldn't worry about that issue in considering a buy.

These bikes make great tourers, they're fast, have guts to burn and handle great - plus they're comfortable once you get them farkled the way you want.

Pete

 

[Larry Fine]

South, welcome to the forum.

You just happen to live in the same state as one of our ST gurus. I suggest contacting him:

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/conversations/add?to=Igofar

 

[SMSW]

If you maintain the bike, it will be reliable. If you don't you can expect things to go south. Example: The SMC has tiny passages for the brake fluid, and if you do not flush the system regularly (some guys do it yearly, Honda says every other year), you will have to replace it sooner than later. If you neglect the clutch flushing, goop will build up in the slave cylinder and require replacement. Pre '08 1300's seem to have a glitch in the ECU that might require replacement. This is not a guaranteed failure, but a fair number of owners have experienced this problem.

Leaks can be fixed with a screwdriver or by replacing the clamps (coolant gets changed every 2 years according to Honda, YMMV). Thermostats fail in cars. if you want a trouble free ride get a horse - no parts to replace...oops, shoes. Maybe a camel is more trouble free.

 

[ToddC]

Buy the bike..!!

And welcome from WA STate!
T

 

[RobbieAG]

If the bike has been maintained you should be fine, otherwise you may have some work to do. I had to replace the thermostat and rear brake disc when I bought my 2005 in 2015 with 61k miles. The price was right so I didn't mind. Replacing the thermostat is not that big of a job. You'll do a lot better if you're comfortable working on it yourself. Having to pay a dealer to work on it could be cost prohibitive, and there are not many dealers that are familiar with these bikes. Having help from this forum and a factory service manual are invaluable. I don't think parts will be a problem as the bike was sold to the public mostly unchanged until 2012. They sold it to police departments until as late as 2017 I believe. The only other major part I've replaced which wouldn't be considered standard maintenance is the windscreen adjuster. The linked brakes are kind of a PITA but staying on top of maintenance and following procedures laid out by members here will keep things working properly.

 

[v8-7]

Be sure the abs light doesn't come on during a test ride . Take the bike over 4500 rpm multiple times during the test ride .
That can mean a lot of thing, but if it is the ABS code, ( 43 ? ) , that may mean a new ecu @ $1000 or so , Good used ones are hard to find.

 

[SouthEastArizona]

Thanks for the information & the welcome, everybody. I am still back & forth on whether I want to
buy it. I concluded late last night that it is a crap shoot and that I should be prepared with ratchet
straps & handlebar loops when I travel. I don't have that many years left of riding anyway & my other
bike isn't good for more than about 300--400 miles a day, and not more than two or three of those in
a row. Longer days & more of them consecutively is what I figure the ST1300 buys me, once I buy it.
The test ride is one of those pay before you ride affairs, so I will be heading to the bank this afternoon.
Again, thank you.

 

[Sadlsor]

I'm usually late, but welcome in here.
You've got @Igofar nearby as mentioned, and that is a huge value for any ST owner.
Essentially, this bike's issues are more from sitting around in some garage, much more often than from putting mega-miles on 'em.
So don't buy it if you won't ride it!

 

[TerryS]

I had enough confidence in the basic reliability of the 1300 that I flew 1000km in March to pick-up a new/old 2005 with 110,000km on it. It hasn't disappointed me. As stated above, the weakest spot of the 1300 would be the linked-brakes/secondary master cylinder but that is not a design flaw, more like a maintenance sensitive spot that if neglected will cause issues down the road somewhere. The engineering of the rest of the bike errs on the "massively overbuilt to cover big distances easily" end of the scale. These are not fragile machines.

 

[Hondafarian]

I was in the same boat as you last year after finding an '07 with 64k miles on it and absolutely no maintenance records. The owner had aged out of riding and apparently was not a paperwork kinda guy. He had done iron butt style rides and it appeared in immaculate condition so I knew there must have been a fair amount of maintenance performed in the past. If I were to do it again, I would have tested the SMC and maybe taken the lids off the clutch and brake master cylinder reservoirs and checked the condition of the fluid. It's not a deal killer but it gives you some leverage for negotiation.

Don't become emotionally entangled in the thought of buying this bike. Be ready to walk away if you sense any red flags. More will come along if you pass on this one. If you do buy it, do the simple maintenance items like oil and filter change, spark plugs, etc to become acquainted with the bike but leave the finesse items to the bike whisperer you're fortunate enough to have right up the road from you. He can teach you the proper techniques for the future. That's what I would do in your position.

Please keep us posted on the outcomes!

 

[Sadlsor]

These are not fragile machines.

Indeed.
There is a very good reason (many, actually) that the ST, in BOTH displacements, was a regular favorite in the Iron Butt Rally, particularly during its production run.
You will still see several ST entrants in the bi-annual, transcontinental event.
(Other than the roll-the-dice risktakers on the then-newly-designed and failure prone big bearing final drive'd BMWs, and the intentional Hopeless Class entries, no one purposely sets out on this expensive 10-day ride on a known unreliable motorcycle.)

 

[SouthEastArizona]

The seller states clearly in the ad--and shows photos of the tire date codes--that the tires are 5 & 6 years old.
(There are no photos of the tire treads.)
So are these sensitive maintenance issues purely use/wear concerns or TIME/use concerns?
Should I run away now?

 

[Sheriff41]

No reason to run away but you may want to replace the tires if you do buy the bike. My bike had 6 year old tires when I bought it but since the previous owner kept the bike in a garage I was fine riding on them for a short period until the tires I ordered were delivered.

 

[TerryS]

The seller states clearly in the ad--and shows photos of the tire date codes--that the tires are 5 & 6 years old.
(There are no photos of the tire treads.)
So are these sensitive maintenance issues purely use/wear concerns or TIME/use concerns?
Should I run away now?

 

[Sidekick]

The seller states clearly in the ad--and shows photos of the tire date codes--that the tires are 5 & 6 years old.
(There are no photos of the tire treads.)
So are these sensitive maintenance issues purely use/wear concerns or TIME/use concerns?
Should I run away now?

5 & 6 years old is close to the end of life for tires, it's not worth the risk.
Replacing them could be also a good opportunity to check a lot of things on the bike.
You can replace them by yourself, very few tools are needed beside balancing beads and duct tape!

 

[Chris09]

Ran into a mechanic in south east vancouver, had his 98,000 km 06 parked outside, he's on the forum but says doesn't log in too often, I asked him about some of the more common issues and he's had none of them, he was planning a wednesday night sea to sky rip with a sport bike buddy, wonder sometimes how much environment has to do on some of these problematic components, but, he's a mechanic, you know he'll ride a horrible bike to the bitter end, for the rest of us it's a what you don't know world I think.
I gleefully blindly blissfully rode around on mine for the first season, trusting honda quality, low milage, clean looks, smooth rotors and the integrity of the stranger who sold it to me, but that wasn't smart, in hindsight, I think it's the bike you wanna buy for next year, remove the covers, see what's in there, read the site, get some of the assistance / guidance, order a few parts maybe, post a few pics and explore the collective experience of all of the well intentioned contributors here, make sure you've got [or understand what you don't got] a good understanding of how the brakes, and different things work before you take it out; oh, and, even though it weighs 730 wet and has a low forward COG, it does I think have a tendancy to lend to itself to a bit of hubris in the handling department, just my opinion.