Honda ST1300

2005 Honda ST1300

2005 Honda ST1300

This was all my brother, Dave's fault.

Dave had started talking about buying an ST1300 when they first came out. I was not really that impressed with them after looking at them and seeing them as a SPORTtouring bike instead of a sportTOURING bike. Or in other words, a sportbike that was made for the curves that they added saddlebags to. I just couldn’t see this as a bike made for long distance trips. The bars were just too low for me and I just felt like I was on a crotch rocket, since I like to sit upright more then it could offer.

Then one day in October 2005 I was minding my own business and I get a call from him.

The conversation went something like this:
Dave: "Guess what I'm looking at right now?"
Me: "I don't know, surprise me."
Dave: "I'm looking at a 2005 Honda ST1300."
Me: "That's nice."
Dave: "No, you don't understand, it's sitting in my driveway!"
Chris: (is hearing my conversation with him) "Gee thanks Dave!"

After I hung up, Chris told me that she is sure I was going to buy one now. I told her "...nah, I couldn't justify it." But of course that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. After a few days, I started looking at TraderOnline and eBay for new STs. Then after a few more days, I started calling on the ads from TraderOnline that advertised having 2004 ST1300s (I really liked the 2004 Blue) and of course, because how late in the season it was, nobody had any. Then I found that most of the dealers didn't have any 2005 ST1300s either, including the local dealers. Then they told me they couldn't get any until some time in January or February when the 2006s (Color was Black) came out. Then someone told me about LA Cycle (or I saw them in TraderOnline - just not sure). So I called LA Cycle in Inglewood, and they told me they could get me a new 2005 for $13,299 out the door! Hummm!

This got me really thinking, because this was $3,100 cheaper then what my brother paid! Hummm… So I started counting how much this bike would cost me if I was to sell my other bikes. (I had to promise Chris I would sell them to buy the ST.) So, I figured the $3,100, then if I got maybe $5,200 for selling the V65 Sabre and the V45 Sabre, plus I would save around $2,000 from putting that into the V65 Sabre like I was planning, and believe me I had a list of stuff! ;-) So, after all of that, $3,100 + $5,200 = $8,300 from what Dave paid. So, I would pay just about $8,000 and then save $2,000 … so about $6,000, which gave me the "justification" for buying it.

So I told LA Cycle that I would be there the day after Thanksgiving to pick it up. When picking it up, I also bought the extended warranty and total out the door was $13,824.

Update October 2006

It has been 11 months since I bought the ST and I’m enjoying this bike much more than I ever thought I could. I am really pleased that I bought the ST. A month ago, Dave and I went on a week long ride of about 2,600 miles in 8 days! What a ride! I didn’t even have TB like the little three day ride I did just six months before! That kind of riding is just something I could have never done on my V65 Sabre nor the V45 Sabre. Nor on the Stock Saddle of the ST!

Update December 2007

It is two years and a month from purchase and I have ridden this bike to Sacramento several times, rode it out to Arizona in the middle of a heat wave (115 for over an hour and a half) and many other destinations putting many miles on my ST and I just love the bike. It allows me to make trips that I only dreamed of before buying it...

Update December 2008

It is three years and a month from purchase and what a year! Started out bad, my mother-in-law was sick for the first part of the year. Then in April I was hit and knocked off the ST1300. It caused $8,500 worth of damage to the bike alone! Then my Mother-in-law passed away on June 15^th (Chris’s and my 34th Wedding Anniversary) and we had her Memorial Service the day I was leaving for the ST WeSTOC gathering in Taos New Mexico.

Byron (another member of the ST-Owners Group) and I rode out to Dodge City Kansas on our way to Taos. We put on almost 3,700 miles through nine states on that ride. Our ST1300s (he has a 2006 ST1300) did great!

Update November 2009

I just turned over 72,000 miles (It's sitting at 72,001 in the garage right now) and this bike is just so fantastic! I just continue to enjoy this bike, even though most of my riding now is commuting. The traffic into San Diego every morning is nuts and with the bike I can get around most of it!

Update March 2011

I have over 109,000 miles now and it is still going strong! I am going to take a week off sometime in May so i can replace the waterpump seal and while I have the cover off, I'll replace the clutch too. Not that it really needs it, but since I have one sitting around with less then 10K on it, might as well. I continue to enjoy riding this bike and even though most of my riding right now is commuting, it makes the commute bearable!

Update February 2012

The ST1300 continues to be strong, even after 140,000 miles. Since replacing the waterpump seal and the clutch last May, I haven't had to do too much more maintenance, other then oil changes. I'll be replacing the tires in about a month and a half, at that time I'm thinking of rebuilding the brake calipers. I'm really surprised that this bike continues to run like it does. I've never riden a bike like this before, so it is somewhat new to me.

I just continue to love riding this bike!

Update November 2013

I'm sad to report that I no longer own the '05 ST1300. Well, not really, I'm happy I don't because, I found a 2010 ST1300 with low miles and decide that the '04 could do commuting duties and the '10 would be my long distance bike. The '05 had 174,300 miles on it and I just didn't want to spend the time on the maintenance on it. So, my son Justin was more than happy to buy it off of me. He had been wanting it ever since I bought it, and he wouldn't be able to afford a low mileage ST1300, so this was perfect for him. He came down at the end of June (2013), and we rode up to Oregon together, picking up my brother Dave along the way (Whole trip story is in my Motorcycle adventures.)

It was a great bike and I'm sure Justin will keep it on the road for many more miles to come.

Issues I've had:

At 17,000 my thermostat decided to do what many others have done, froze open. I decided to just replace it myself, which I did.

Ihad a coolant leak that started at 30,000 miles that just didn't want to stop. So I replaced the thermostat housing and most of the hoses. And that seems to have gotten it!

Another issue was the alternator burning up in December of 2008 (fixed under the extended warranty) when I attached my heated gear to it...just couldn't take it I guess.

At 116K I replaced the waterpump (again - the dealship replaced it when my alternator went out)
I also pulled the clutch at 116K, I didn't realize how worn it was. Made a big difference.
I also had to replace the windshield motor assembly and the rear shock. The wind shield motor was covered by Honda, the rear shock I bought off eBay.
Due to the padding on the bottom going bad on my tankbag, I had replaced a year ago last Christmas, my gas tank is all scratched up, so I bought one off ebay for $100 + shipping. It's in better shape then mine. But I never did replace it, so I have a '05 gas tank sitting in my garage waitinfor something....
I also managed to pickup a spare set of front rotors for $100, they went on my spare (from the crash) rim.

My ST1300

To check out my Farkles, click on the picture below.