ST1300

[TINK_imp]

Yikes! Honda still has the ST1300 on their web site? http://powersports.honda.com/2012/st1300.aspx

The last year for U.S. production was 2012! So why is Honda still advertising a 5 year old bike on their web site?

I continue to have a love hate relationship with my 2009 ST1300.

The love; when I get out on the open road and burn up 500, 700, 1,000 miles in a single day.
For me, there is no finer touring bike made.

The hate; it's HEAVY, 730 lbs according to Honda's web site. It's a PITA to work on, especially removing the fairings with the 20 or so different fasteners that require a template to assure I get the right fastener back into the right hole.

From time to time I think about selling 'The Elephant', but she's worth a fraction of what I payed for her. Better to keep her around for the occasional road trip, which are few and far between.

Your thoughts on this perplexing (to me) motorcycle...

[Lord Popgun]

You pretty much summed it up for me Tink. The main thing I wish it had is electronic cruise control.

[Cormanus]

They must have lots left over.

The CTX1300 that was supposed to replace the ST was not all that successful was it? That said, it's still on sale in Australia. For my taste, it lacked the appeal of the ST as a fully faired, powerful and well-equipped touring machine. I really enjoyed my week on one in the US in 2015 and, if I could have more than one bikes, I'd think seriously about one for long-distance riding. I agree, though, it was a very heavy brute of a thing. I also didn't like the screen which I simply could not get low enough to stop it generating ridiculous turbulence at my neck which made the bike noisier to ride than the 1100 with no screen. The need for the fastening template seems a silly thing to me and one that you'd have thought Honda would have fixed years ago.

[the Ferret]

I love my ST1300. Should turn over 90,000 miles next week. Taking it in for another rear tire this morning. For being as heavy as it is, it does an admirable job on the curvy roads and a superb job on the straight ones. The adjustable windshield is genius. I keep a 5" shorter shield for summer riding where I get nothing but clean air. In the other 3 seasons the adjustable windshield for me is great. I love it so much been thinking about picking up a low mileage used one for when this one wears out, but the thing is they are tough to wear out. There are guys on the ST forum with 200-300,000 miles on their STs in which case this one will probably out last me.

It does has it's faults, mainly the ones you mentioned, weight, and body work with a plethora of fasteners. I rather change the oil 10 times on the CB than once on the ST. What a pain. However at 90,000 miles it has never needed a valve adjusted, and all it has needed in the drive train is 5.2 oz of 80 wt oil once a year. 90,000 miles would be at least a gazillion chain oilings, adjustments and 3 sets of chains and sprockets on the CB. I rode my ST to the Pacific Ocean and back from Ohio in 11 days. 5500 miles. On average 500 miles a day for 11 days straight. Got home and rode it out to dinner with my wife. Took the next day off to catch up on laundry and put gear away and was back riding the following day. It is a very comfortable motorcycle.

The ST is a sport tourer with an emphasis on tourer and in that role it is hard to beat. I do wish it had cruise control. I put heated grips on mine and with muffs over the grips, and my heated jacket liner, I can ride all winter long.

My understanding is the only new ST 1300s Honda has are the P models (police). You can't get a new civilian version, I have asked.

I'm glad I don't have to have just one bike. I love my CB too, but if I could only have one bike it would be a hard choice between the CB and the ST. Both great motorcycles.

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/riding%20pics%20Dec%208-9%202015%20008_zpsu6qqr4ff.jpg.html]

[TINK_imp]

I guess my current dilemma is that I only have space for 4 bikes in my garage. The R100S, CB1100, and VFR800 are set in stone and I will never (never say "never") sell any of them. So the ST1300 is looking like the likely candidate for excommunication.

Lately I've been seriously thinking about the Suzuki SV650. I owned a Wee-Strom DL650 and loved the motor. As much as I enjoyed the Wee I'm not really an adventure bike kind of guy. I would prefer a dedicated street chassis with 17" rubber, which the SV650 is.

[redbirds_imp]

No one mentioned heat as a complaint. My ST1300 was a pure misery to ride on a summer day. Even at highway speeds, the heat from the radiator and headers was excessive. The small storage compartment in the fairing would become so hot that nothing could be stored in it. On a winter day with wide open highway and many miles to travel it was a delight.

[LongRanger_imp]

Honda killed the ST1300 in 2012? I had no idea. What a shame. My dealer is selling new '14 Interceptor Deluxes for $7995 out the door, no fees, no freight. It's a great deal on a great bike and very tempting, though it'd be too similar to my F800GT to justify.

I've not ridden the reintroduced 2017 SV650, but I owned a '00 SV and an '01 SV-S back in the day. Tremendous motorcycles and a terrific bang-for-the-buck.

[curlyjoe_imp]

I picked up as used '08 ST at the end of July last year that had 17.8K miles on it. It now has 26K miles on it and I agree with everything Ferret said as it complements my CB quite well. Electronic cruise control requires ride by wire technology so I pretty sure that's not an option for the ST.

I rode out to Bennington VT last Saturday to meet some ST guys for lunch and the weather was in the low 50s with light rain and fog in the morning. I did not get wet or cold at all (no rain gear) and the ST handled great on the wet roads. If I had to get rid of one bike, I'm not sure which one it would be. The ST is heavy maneuvering in and out of my garage but once I get moving, the weight is not noticeable at all to me. As Cormanus mentioned, the wind noise is significant but I wear foam earplugs so it's not an issue for me.

Ferret, where did you get the screen that's 5 inches shorter? I do most of my riding with the screen in the lowest position, and the wind hits me in the visor, so it would be nice to have a shorter screen.

I'm assuming the ST is still on the website because Honda plans to come out with another version of the bike sometime in the future.

[the Ferret]

CJ I bought a stock used windshield on the ST forum and cut it down myself. The nice part is with the 7" sweep, even with a cut down shield I can get it high enough to give me good protection if I need to.

I almost always wear mc specific pants like on this mornings 30 mile ride to the shop and back for a new rear tire, but on this afternoons ride of 52 miles with my wife passenger, I wore blue jeans. It was 84 degrees and I didn't notice any heat at all. Not saying I have never noticed the heat, because I have, usually when it is over 90 (but then I'm hot on the CB too) it's just with mc pants it's not an issue, and I have ridden in 105 degrees bumper to bumper traffic between San Fran and Sacramento on a Friday afternoon without lane splitting lol. I was hot because of the heat, but not because of the bike. On the flip side, with a heated jacket liner the muffs and heated grips, I have also ridden it at -1 (below zero) due to the great wind protection of the fairing and shield.

My wife won't ride anything BUT the ST. She won't ride on the CB. She's not comfortable on it, not cushy enough, wide enough or have enough room to suit her. She would probably like to ride on the back of a Goldwing but I don't really want to ride on the front lol

[Cormanus]

Honda killed the ST1300 in 2012? I had no idea. What a shame. My dealer is selling new '14 Interceptor Deluxes for $7995 out the door, no fees, no freight. It's a great deal on a great bike and very tempting, though it'd be too similar to my F800GT to justify.

I've not ridden the reintroduced 2017 SV650, but I owned a '00 SV and an '01 SV-S back in the day. Tremendous motorcycles and a terrific bang-for-the-buck.

According to Wikipedia they were manufactured until 2013. They are no longer available in Japan which I suspect means they're done. Honda USA must have a few hanging around if they're still being sold.