Low low mile 1990. Should I?

jmo1son

jmo1son

Joined
Oct 1, 2022
Messages
4
Age
47
Location
Santa rosa Ca
Hello, new to the group. I have the opportunity to purchase a 1990 st with only 3500 miles. I think I'm letting the whole alternator thing get in my head. I mean, I should buy this right? Lol. Price is right around 2k. Thing is cherry except for one of the mirror housings is cracked. My other option is a 2004 st1300 with 35k for around $4000. Has Corbin heated seats and grips. Let me know what you guys think? Thank you
 
Alternater is real ......after a few miles and extra accessories.
Lots of things to be looked at on bikes this old. You need to look closely.
T
 
jmo1son said:
Hello, new to the group. I have the opportunity to purchase a 1990 st with only 3500 miles. I think I'm letting the whole alternator thing get in my head. I mean, I should buy this right? Lol. Price is right around 2k. Thing is cherry except for one of the mirror housings is cracked. My other option is a 2004 st1300 with 35k for around $4000. Has Corbin heated seats and grips. Let me know what you guys think? Thank you
Click to expand...

If it is the rather rare silver model, it might be worth a good look. Black model, not so much.
 
Welcome to the forum from Cornwall UK! See the article on Buying a Used ST1100 by clicking on the Articles heading at top of the page, then ST1100 then the relevant Article. Some very good advice there.
 
suspiciously LOW mileage for a 32 year motorcycle!!! I wouldn't buy it! speedometers are easy to replace.
 
Not much money for a quality vehicle, and probably a fair price if mileage is real and things are properly functioning, but if you really want an ST, I think I'd rather spend a few hundred more for a '96 or newer in similar condition even with 50-80k miles especially with proof of maintenance. Just getting broken in, as my old man would say.
Either way, unless you are buying one from someone who actually does the regular maintenance, you still need to consider all of the of the same components like cooling lines and the brake system which go bad with age or lack of maintenance.
 
Its a museum piece not a daily driver. Try finding the mirror. If the alternator doesn't fail they leak oil or the case cracks/corrodes. If you ride it like a Harley you will be fine ( around the block or to the bar :rofl1: ) I wouldn't trust it touring unless I went thru the the entire bike which can get very expensive.
 
The ST1100 motor will run forever so when buying used the mileage isn't all that important anyway unless its well into the 6 digit range. With 3500 miles in 30 years its seen about 100 miles a year actually on the road, I'm wondering how many rubber seals are going to be old, brittle, and leaking once its ridden any reasonable amount of time.

I think Al hit the nail on the head with the museum piece comment, if you're buying it to ride this is probably not the best option out there. For something this age you want to buy from someone who rides it regularly, and does their own maintenance so you don't have to wonder what kind of problems are lurking under all that plastic.
 
That thing is CLEAN. Id offer him $1500 and laugh all the way to the DMV to register it. Alternator upgrade is a known project, with many, many done. No big deal. Of course I'm an 1100 fan as I commute on my "museum piece", and it hasn't missed a beat, ever.
 
Nice bike - I would buy it only if it was a screaming deal though. A bike that age, if you plan on riding it, will need some work. All hoses should be replaced, coolant too. All fluids changed including brake and clutch fluids. The brake and clutch master and slave cylinders may need new seals. I would also change the o-rings on the coolant elbows under the carbs. Chances are the carbs will need to be cleaned and the carb rubber manifolds changed as well. Tires will need to be replaced as well. Fork seal will probably need to be replaced soon too. It may be worth it to do all of this if you can do it yourself. You would have a really sweet original ST that would essentially be like brand new.
 
bdalameda said:
...All hoses should be replaced, coolant too. All fluids changed including brake and clutch fluids. The brake and clutch master and slave cylinders may need new seals. I would also change the o-rings on the coolant elbows under the carbs. Chances are the carbs will need to be cleaned and the carb rubber manifolds changed as well. Tires will need to be replaced as well. Fork seal will probably need to be replaced soon too.
Click to expand...
The above is a very wise & thorough assessment. What needs to be understood is that there are a lot of items on vehicles that are calendar life limited, not mileage limited. This is because these components, most of which are rubber, perish over time. There is a greater risk of rubber components perishing on a vehicle that has not been used than on a vehicle that gets regular use, simply because the fluids on an unused vehicle don't get changed at regular intervals. This bike is 30 years old, brake & clutch fluids should be changed every 2 years, but it is doubtful that this bike has had 15 brake and clutch fluid changes.

My suggestion is that you research the cost of buying all the parts mentioned in @bdalameda 's post, then, if you are willing to spend an enjoyable winter in the garage replacing all those components (plus a battery) and cleaning out all the old fluid systems (fuel, brake, clutch, oil, coolant), then go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, pass on it.

Apropos of that, I once went to assess a DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft that was 40 years old but only had 800 hours flight time on it (between 30,000 an 40,000 hours would have been normal for that age of plane). Even though it had been stored in a hangar in a desert climate all of its life, and it looked like it had just left the end of the production line, my estimate was that it would cost slightly over $1,000,000 to make it airworthy again. None of the components on it had reached their cycle or flight hours limit, but every single component that was calender life limited was time-expired, and the engines required full overhauls because of concerns about internal corrosion that may have developed.

Having said all that, once the money was spent, the plane was literally "good as new"... but the money had to be spent first.

Michael
 
A lot of assumptions have been made about this 1100. Only you know what the current owner has to say about it and how it’s been stored. While it’s true that rubber and plastic parts deteriorate with time and environment, it’s possible this isn’t necessarily the case with this bike. If you can take it for a long test ride then carefully observe for leaks etc afterwards, that could give you an idea. Replacing everything in one go sounds expensive. Replacing bits as they perish is time consuming as, yet one more time you’ll have to remove the Tupperware. Trust me that gets old very quickly.
Here are my original (not mentioned by anyone else) thoughts/questions regarding the 1100 vs 1300 question (yes I currently own both):
1100, carbs, 1300 fuel injection. Do you really want to buy into carbs in this E5, E10, E? World?
No one mentioned the timing belt. 90,000 miles is the recommended, but no time limit is given. Do you really want to drive a rubber belt that old on an interference engine? Or are you up to changing it immediately?
This 1100 doesn’t have ABS. Does the 1300? If so, does it work? Older bike ABS is notorious for failing.
1100 screen fixed. 1300 electric (mostly). This is a valuable upgrade.
1100 has traction control (probably) 1300 does not.
1300 has more power, 1300 is lighter, 1300 has lower gearing, both are under geared (they both need taller gears or a sixth above 5th and not just 6 ratios squeezed into the space of the current 5. )
28Amp alternator vs ??? For 1300.
Spare parts: some parts for the 1100 are hard/impossible to get now. That’s enough for now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom