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As my profile shows, I have a 1999 Honda ST1100 ABS with 105,000 kilometers on the clock and according to all three previous owners with the same owner from 2003 until I bought the bike in May 2025 this year, no repairs have been made to the shock absorbers.
I have only ridden the bike 250 kilometers but what I noticed at good speed in a right turn with a dump after the winter was most likely the center support hit the asphalt and the rear shock absorber did not behave as expected, no visible external leaks on the rear shock absorber.
I have been working on the bike for a while now with service work and a backlog of maintenance, new errors appear during disassembly cleaning repair. Now the latest discovery is a leak on the left front shock absorber. Considering the age of the bike, kilometers driven and no known previous repairs to the shock absorbers, it is time to do something here.
I'm thinking of replacing the rear shock absorber with a new complete shock absorber or possibly overhauling the original Showa shock absorber if someone can do it, lots of info here on the st-owners forum.
I'm not sure about the front but I see new springs with oil being sold as a kit, I've overhauled front shock absorbers on motorcycles from the 70s so all the gaskets and seals must of course be replaced. When I look at the split drawing of the front shock absorbers I'm unsure of what I have to order to overhaul and what is nice or sensible to bring in terms of parts.
What is recommended to change to get the bike ready for new trips on the road, not thinking about the most expensive or best thing to get, just want a bike in good condition?
I have only ridden the bike 250 kilometers but what I noticed at good speed in a right turn with a dump after the winter was most likely the center support hit the asphalt and the rear shock absorber did not behave as expected, no visible external leaks on the rear shock absorber.
I have been working on the bike for a while now with service work and a backlog of maintenance, new errors appear during disassembly cleaning repair. Now the latest discovery is a leak on the left front shock absorber. Considering the age of the bike, kilometers driven and no known previous repairs to the shock absorbers, it is time to do something here.
I'm thinking of replacing the rear shock absorber with a new complete shock absorber or possibly overhauling the original Showa shock absorber if someone can do it, lots of info here on the st-owners forum.
I'm not sure about the front but I see new springs with oil being sold as a kit, I've overhauled front shock absorbers on motorcycles from the 70s so all the gaskets and seals must of course be replaced. When I look at the split drawing of the front shock absorbers I'm unsure of what I have to order to overhaul and what is nice or sensible to bring in terms of parts.
What is recommended to change to get the bike ready for new trips on the road, not thinking about the most expensive or best thing to get, just want a bike in good condition?
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