HELM Inc, Factory authorized Owner and Service Information - Real, NEW OEM Service Manuals

[STRider]

I want to put out a plug for helm_inc_motorcycle selling OEM service manuals on ebay.

I went looking for the ST1300 OEM factory service manual, and as you might expect, the price, condition and suitability of what you'll find is all over the map.

Search for "ST1300 service manual" and you be flooded with overpriced, grimy, out-of-date copies. But one seller on ebay stood out. 1335 reviews, 100% positive feedback.

The image in the listing is a generic placeholder. I sent the seller a question asking to get a picture of the cover and in reply got "I am sorry I do not have pics to provide you. You might want to check with your local dealer for this info." Not terribly confidence inspiring. Well, ebay claimed a "get the item you ordered or your money back." So I ordered it. The post-sale communication wasn't the greatest. A shipping label was generated but the manual didn't get in transit for nearly two weeks. Then shipper changed between purchase confirmation and delivery as well well.

However... the manual arrived today in all its plastic wrapped glory. The real McCoy. And from what I can tell, a bargain at $70.95 -- in my hands!

 

[ST Gui]

Congratulations on your find! Helm Inc has had a website for a number of years and previously listed the ST1300A service manual for $65. Now I only see a parts catalog for the ST and I wouldn't trust it. Or at least I'd verify it with an online source.

They may have had to look under a pile of other manuals to find yours. I doubt they printed one up for your order though there are publish on demand sites.

There's a list here with corrections to the factory manual that you might want to check out. I don't know where it is.

 

[Whooshka]

Not helpful, poor communication, and shipping delays? And you want to give them a plug?

You are a better man than I.

 

[beemerphile]

You are a better man than I.

Richer too. I'd take a slightly grimy one for half the money. At my shop, it will soon be grimy anyway.

 

[caldercay]

Not helpful, poor communication, and shipping delays? And you want to give them a plug?

I agree 100%.

And did you read the description in the screenshot? "2003-2017 ST" ... then further, it only shows "2003-2006", which got me curious, so I searched for "st1300" and the following turned up.

A slight contradiction - one is 2003-2006 and then 2004-2007. I bought a manual to cover my 2003 - I need to go dig it out and see the years it covers.

 

[Shawn K]

Search for "ST1300 service manual" and you be flooded with overpriced, grimy, out-of-date copies.

I don't know about you, but the "grimy" copy I bought was $40 shipped (I wouldn't call it "overpriced"), and since it was for my year of ST1300 I don't see how it can be "out of date" unless Honda snuck into my garage in the middle of the night and made structural changes to my bike without me knowing it.

Based on your description of the seller, though, I think you're being charitable by giving them a plug. I know you certainly haven't convinced me to buy anything from them.

 

[SMSW]

I don't know about you, but the "grimy" copy I bought was $40 shipped (I wouldn't call the "overpriced"), and since it was for my year of ST1300 I don't see how it can be "out of date" unless Honda snuck into my garage in the middle of the night and made structural changes to my bike without me knowing it.

Better lock the doors BEFORE the horse gets stolen. Or mechanically changed.

 

[ArTravlR]

I bought the Service Manual and the Parts Catalog for all three of my bikes from Helm. So easy to look up the part #. I know I can use one online but,,,,. Very valuable (IMHO) required reference while fiddling with my bikes. Be sure to select the correct year range as Honda will make subtle differences over the product production run.

 

[Nexus]

Not helpful, poor communication, and shipping delays? And you want to give them a plug?

You are a better man than I.

If it was shipped USPS, then the delay is unsurprising. I was at the post office yesterday to get a money order (of which they had none left), and the lady before me was complaining to the employee that a package she had dropped off 3 weeks earlier had not yet been scanned!

 

[Shawn K]

From the screenshot in the OP's first post, it appears that it was sent via USPS Media Mail.

Many years ago (in what feels like a whole 'nuther lifetime), I worked for a contractor whose main client was the US Postal Service. During that time, I got to see the inner workings of a lot of USPS distribution centers. During that time, I learned that Media Mail is about the worst way to send a package.

On the shipping docks of every USPS distribution center, there's a back corner reserved for Media Mail. In that corner is a large, wheeled industrial bin (the kind that looks like the large laundry bins that you see in prison movies). That bin can hold 1000 pounds or more of assorted mail crap. The way that Media Mail works is that the bin will sit there until either:

A) The bin is full and can no longer hold content, or
B) It sits there long enough that it starts getting someone's attention

Only at that point will the bin be put on a truck to go to another distribution center, but Media Mail will always be pushed to the side if the truck has space for more "valuable" packages.

So basically, the reason that Media Mail is so cheap is because it's considered "only if" freight - as in "We'll send Media Mail only if we don't have anything to send that made us more money." As such, Medial Mail packages can get to their destination pretty quickly, or can take forever. It all depends on the blowing of the winds, phases of the moon, whether someone remembered to look over at the Media Mail bin... you name it. It's cheap because it's the mail equivalent of buying a train ticket on the baggage car.

I wouldn't buy anything that would be shipped via Media Mail, and I wouldn't send anything via Medial Mail unless I was specifically trying to get revenge or anger someone.

 

[paulcb]

I've never even heard of Media Mail.

 

[caldercay]

wheeled industrial bin (the kind that looks like the large laundry bins that you see in prison movies)

I've never seen a prison movie, but I spent time in the military : )

 

[ST Gui]

I've never even heard of Media Mail.

Media Mail is the current name for a category of books film CDs DVDs and other specifically qualifying material formerly known as Book Rate and Special 4th Class Rate.

It used to get a huge discount compared to any other class of mail thanks got Ben Franklin. It still gets a discount so people tend to stuff non-qualifying items in Media Mail so as to save money. As such it's often subject to postal inspection.

 

[Shawn K]

I've never seen a prison movie, but I spent time in the military : )

I've never been in the military, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!