Strongly considering buying a very nice ST1100 …

increasing

increasing

Joined
Feb 28, 2025
Messages
53
Location
Oslo, Norway
Bike
R1250 GSA
Strongly considering buying a very nice ST1100 with newer tires, the right color, the right year model with ABSll, two owners but one the last 24 years who have performed maintenance himselves, not ridden in winter with salty roads. Equipment is heated grips, throttle lock, top box and high windshield.

Minus must be no documented service history, not replaced timing belt, he has a small trailer for it, it has passed 100,000 kilometers, see some rust spots on the center support exhaust and rear swing. It hasn't been used for a year.

I will carry out maintenance and repairs myself in my own garage and this will be a bike where I have to check everything and then I have to buy parts and necessary materials with fluids etc.

Will this be an all-consuming expensive project ... I do not think so but maintenance, mods and inspection must be carried out.
 

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That looks nice, what I can see of it.

Main things for me would be
i The state of the swing arm nearest the forward end of the wheel. Needs tapping to discover the eaten away metal. But the rust it has looks surface.
ii The abs system. Does the abs light come on with ignition and go out once it is rolling
Iii Timing belt needs changing at or before 90,000 miles. So 100,000 km is 62,500 miles - so a bit to go yet -assuming they dont deteriorate with age as well as mileage.
 
The few things I can say about timing belts is as follows: mine looked new as is the experience with many people when I did mine about eight years ago. If it matters, my brother just changed the timing belt in his Acura TL (2001 model year) and when he did this, the belt actually looked like it was in very good condition despite age and mileage (120,000 miles). Having said that, I probably would put aside some money to buy parts to do that job if I were to buy a used ST 1100 when I didn’t know its history, including changing the hoses, elbows, and the timing belt. It may be overkill, but you don’t want to get stranded someplace. If it is effectively a throwaway bike and you’re not paying much for it, you can roll the dice, but I’m not recommending that in the least.
 
increasing said:
The advantage compared to newer bikes will be that there is a large supply of used parts / parts bikes.
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This was a fairly low production bike in its time so there aren't many spare parts bikes and used parts out there. It was more popular in Europe than in the US, so your parts situation may be better than it is here, but I'd be surprised if there is a "large supply" anywhere in the world.
 
@jfheath The ABS lights came on when I turned on the ignition, started it and rolled it out of the garage, then the lights were off. Stopped the engine, turned on the ignition, the ABS lights came on, started the engine and the lights went off without driving. It seems to be in order... If I buy it, I will anyway replace the timing belt with the water pump and idler pulley during the summer now and get an overview of the overall condition.
 
I would try and source the parts first, before buying the bike, to make sure you can find them.
You’re probably also going to need to completely rebuild all the brake calipers and seals, all the rubber bits in the carbs, and replace the clutch slave cylinder.
Good luck with the project.
 
Igofar said:
I would try and source the parts first, before buying the bike, to make sure you can find them.
You’re probably also going to need to completely rebuild all the brake calipers and seals, all the rubber bits in the carbs, and replace the clutch slave cylinder.
Good luck with the project.
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Thanks for your honest feedback.

I have restored several motorcycles from the 70s that are then around 50 years old and everything has to be overhauled as you describe, you can't skip anything as it will be very quickly additional work before you are out of the garage.

But this is a motorcycle that is 26 years old with just over 100,000 kilometers that have been in use until last year. You mention the clutch slave cylinder, the reason I couldn't test drive it but had to come back was that the clutch was completely dead with no resistance.

To me it looked like the clutch fluid reservoir was empty and that's how it felt when I tested the clutch. The owner wasn't aware of this so I had to put it in gear to prove that it wasn't working. When he first realized it he wanted to bleed the clutch before the test drive and I decided to come back.
 
The brake lever was stuck with normal grip 1/3 in and the same on the brake pedal. But I will get answers to a lot of questions after an hour of test driving.

There are many reasons why I will not buy this even though I really want to. This is the third ST1100 I am looking at, I also have a handful that I have dropped after phone conversations.
 
jfheath said:
The clutch slave is a relatively easy replace job on the 1100.

Oem caliper pistons and seals are still readily obtainable - I just did one in January.
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As you write, it is an easy job with cheap available parts that I have already checked. I also understand that things can go wrong on an old bike, but service maintenance preventive work can give me a very good motorcycle along with pleasant days in the garage in winter :)
 
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