Honda ST1300 Section > Suspension ST1300

front suspension

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Down Under:

I'm a compulsive suspension tinkerer.  I spent a fortune trying to improve the ST's front end.  I made some in roads but it was a painful journey where the end result wasn't that spectacular.  I'll spare you the details but I found the design of the forks to be very basic and there is a limit to what you can do to make it better.

If your happy with the quality of the ride I'd leave it alone and just replace the springs with an OEM set or aftermarket with the same rate depending upon cost.  If you go with OEM springs you'll be able to drop them straight in, fresh oil, seals and give yourself an easy job.  Sometimes aftermarket springs aren't always an exact fit length wise and there's a bit of mucking around working out spacer lengths etc to get the spring preload right.

I can't comment on progressive springs as to whether they'll improve the ride or not.  I've never had great results with progressive springs in other bikes but it depends on the individual and what sort of riding you do. 

Biggles:
For your average sports touring rider, the ST1300 (and to a lesser extent 1100) suspension is adequate for the twisties.
No doubt there are lots of superior riders who are ST owners and want more, but I hope they would be smart enough to realise they need a dedicated sports bike to achieve serious cornering performance.

redrider:
are the st1300 standard fork springs a progressive wound spring?

STroppy:
I forgot to add the link to my above post . . Here it is http://www.ikonsuspension.com/

lryder:
Hi,

Im just about to update (review after a few thousand klms) my original post after fitting Race tec (RT) front and Nitron R3 rear, when I read this post. Im 120kg. Frankly I consider the ST suspension very poor in standard guise, particularly the rear - well for my weight anyway. I do like to push along pretty quick at times, particularly around corners - so I need it to perform 1 and 2 up. Maybe if you were 60-70kg you may get away with it standard. If your a bit heaver, the bike simply rests on the 63mm air gap as the under rated spring cant cope. 

For me - RT 1200 constant rate springs gave the correct sag and ground clearance in corners. Has 13 mm preload, 5 wt oil, 130 mm air gap, with the standard sports RT gold valve (4 large shims each leg). For me works a real treat. You can see the forks working hard, rather the front end riding over undulations.

For what its worth..

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