Why do you Ride an ST, tell us why!

[Streak]

Why do you Ride an ST, tell us why!



Why do you Ride a Honda ST? Tell us why you bought one, and why you have kept it!

If you have had both the ST1100 & ST1300 tell us why!

Post a photo of your bike while you are telling us all about it

[Streak]

Well i will get it started.

I had never really heard of either of the ST models, i was quite content with my 1100 V-Star, until Teela came into my life, and I moved to Toowoomba, back in 2011 right about the time of the floods, my Very Nice V-Star, unfortunately was washed away in the flood water, so i had to go shopping for another bike




it was then that Teela put up her hand and asked me if there was something that was more comfortable for her to come with me (as the V-Star was sadly lacking in the pillion department, and i had about 5 grand to spend 

So i went looking at a more touring orientated bike, so i looked at the Suzuki V-Strom 650 (to small), the BMW R1100RS (had one, decided wanted something different), Kawasaki 1000 GTR (was like riding a Tank) and the ST1100

initially i was warned off the ST1100 for being an "old mans bike" and being very plain......(i know, they had no idea)

i found the Yahoo chat group, and this bunch of crazy blokes, like, Brock, Diesel, Skip, Orsm (Brian), Barry to name a few, and they gave me some excellent advice as to what the ST1100 was really like, so after test riding a couple of different ST's i bought a 1996 Black ST1100 with 62,000km on it sight unseen from a fellow in Rockhampton.



even had it delivered to Tipsys place, also he was sight unseen!



she underwent a few changes over the years, the Farkles to many to list



but it was the best bike i had ever owned, and it was certainly no "old mans bike" it was very comfortable, it handled well going up and down a mountain, it did the big highway stretches in its stride, fuel economy was something to behold (just ask diesel haha), it was simple to service and maintain, for dollar value, i cannot see why people looking for an entry level touring bike would ever look past one



after 3 years, 2 national rallys, a wedding, and 30,000km, i had the opportunity to upgrade to the ST1300, and it was not an easy choice, i really had to think about it, i actually did not sell the ST1100 until i had done about 5,000km on the ST1300 (2 weeks and a national rally trip)

I found a 2006 White ST1300 with 64,000km on the clock, which i bought for $7,500, it was a non commissioned police bike, so had all the mods without having done the work







i have completed around 10,000km on the ST1300 and i am really happy with the change, it feels lighter, the electric screen is a big Winner! the ST1300 is not as economical as my ST1100, but it is definitively a 10 year newer bike, with all the add on's really make it a good purchase, with my farkling/improvements still happening so the bike has a few changes to under go yet.

Now people ask me which is the better bike the ST1300 or the ST1100, i find them quite an equal of each other, if i still had the ST1100 i would not be upset at all, the 2 points that make the 1300 a better bike for me is the Electric Screen and the sleeker look.

just my thoughts of course 

[alans1100]

Why did I buy an ST?  To replace my second CX500 with something newer.



I can certainly blame this on the finance company as they wouldn't come to the party on used BMW K1200LT that I saw in the dealership when we went down to look at a new R1200RT in May 2006. I've always wanted a Goldwing but the price for a new one was always going to be more than I could afford and the used Beemer equivalent would have done the trick for us. More importantly the purplish colour met with Heather's approval.

Went to see a new one

P1010293 by Alan, on Flickr

and saw this one

P1010286 by Alan, on Flickr

and ended up with her (Third time lucky). Photo taken after riding her home from Bendigo, Vic.

2006-05-25ST1100AtHome by Alan, on Flickr

All we needed to do was find another bike at price within what the finance company allowed and I found a blue 1999 ST1100 for sale in Bendigo for $13500 with only 11,500 k on the clock. I first heard about the 1100 when the ABS model was introduced here in 1995 and from the little I'd heard about it would be one of a handful of bikes suitable for long distance riding over here just on the 28 litre tank alone and if I could ever find one at the right price I'd get one.

This one had to be mine, the price was right, she was as if near new and the owner had been trying to sell her for three months with no luck. She thought, yes a girl aged 45 (at the time) had her for five years before she realised she was to big for her to ride. (her words) thought I was joking when I rang up about her. A couple days later we were on the bus from Adelaide to Bendigo railway station where we were met by the owner and taken to her place. About an hour later we were on the bike heading for the caravan park for the night. It wasn't until I turned the key and saw all the pretty warning lights (ABS/TCS) that I had the 1100A (advertised as an 1100) after all.

The long distance ability was the main reason for buying her. The standard side cases also meant we didn't have to look for other ways of carrying gear. We all ready had a trailer so first up was a tow bar so we could tow it.

I've kept her because she does what she was bought to do with a minimum of fuss and even looks good doing it; though the girl is in need of a make over.

Doing what she does best and in her element.

08 - Stopped at Burra (4) by Alan, on Flickr

I first saw a red 1300 in 2007 in Karratha while mine was getting new tyres fitted. In April 2010 I saw a new black one in the dealer at Rockingham and if I didn't have the 1100 I might have bought it had I been looking for another bike.

[Streak]

Thanks Alan, that was a great story!

[alans1100]

Thanks Alan, that was a great story!

Thanks, as was yours.

You only just got in first.......your post wasn't up when I started mine but it came up during a preview. I was only going to put the ST and trailer picture up until I saw your post. I knew where the Beemer pics were but do you think I could find the ST one that I put up.

[pault]

cause I still can
done 380,000 km in  8 years. everyday is a little bit of magic

[Streak]

cause I still can
done 380,000 km in  8 years. everyday is a little bit of magic

Tell us the story on how you came to buy yours, and why you kept it, we would all love to read about it!

[StinkyPete]

The ST had always been on my dream bike list, but was an unobtainable dream and the best I could do was a Yamaha XS650, which I bought for $2,500 and sent some time restoring, before riding it around Tassie.   I sold the XS and went to a second hand Yamaha XJR1300 (the big naked) and did a lot of touring on that bike, but the ST was always in the back of my mind.    In 2009 and while touring the east coast and FNQ, I broke the frame on the XJR while in Cairns.   At 3,000km from home, to say my options were limited is an understatement.  My choices in Cairns were limited to a Harley, the then fairly new GTR1400 or an ST1300.  The short story is that I traded the repaired XJR on my dream, a demo 2008 ST1300, and continued my journey to Townsville, Mt Isa, Tennant Creek, Darwin and back home to Adelaide.   A few farkles and 90,000km later, it's a wonderful touring machine and has proved 100% reliable.

You can read my full story of that eventful trip at  http://halfwayroundwithpete.blogspot.com.au/
 

[STeveo]

Went looking for an older Goldwing 1100 when Wendy came back to my life as the FT500 struggled two up. Found the prices asked for Goldwings were beyond my budget, and happened across ST's while net looking. Found my blue one in Newcastle for $3800 with new tyres, 4 months rego and only 101,000Km. Only things I did to it in the 3 1/2 years and 48,000Km were fork seals, tyres, headlight bulbs x 2, a higher windscreen and regular servicing of oils, plugs, filters, etc. Regularly did about 20Km/lt (best of 23.4), and around 16,000Km on the Dunlop Roadsmart 11 tyres.
Such a great machine for covering the country and easy to own and maintain.
Such a loss to see it burn. 

[HunterTodd]

Mine is a boring as Batpoo compared to the other stories.

I was a dirt bike rider as a young 'un and had a friend whose dad owned a motorcycle shop in the Shire in Sydney. I rode quite a lot on dirt, never on the road well legally anyway but I got a hankering for big Jap bikes while I was hanging around my mates Dad's shop. The one and only time I ever rode a road bike was a Kwaka 9 which was a demo bike at the shop.

My mate brought it around one arvo and asked if I wanted a ride.  (children stick your fingers in your ears!)

I didn't have a license but with the bravado and stupidity of youth I jumped on. The biggest bike I had ridden to the point was my Suzuki 250 Savage.


Long story short. I scared myself poo less in a drag race with a Torana SLR 5000 and from that point thought road bikes were not for me.

But I never lost the hankering for a big road bike.

About 25 years ago I was walking past a Beemer dealer and instantly fell in love with the Beemer R1100RT sports tourer. Newly married, as much as I wanted it I couldn't justify the expense.

About 15 years ago I was working in a diary so I got my license and bought an old XL 250 Honda to ride to and from the milking and to chase the cows.

I never lost the desire to own a Beemer.

Life goes on and just when you think nothing is ever going to happen to you, I found I had a brain tumor. During the struggle to recover from that my Dad passed away.

After that I decided life's too short for regrets so I decided to buy a Beemer with the small inheritance my Dad left me.

The amount of money I had to spend would buy me a mid 2000's R1150RT.  I negotiated to buy a "too good to be true" one in Brisbane.  When the guy insisted I send a 50% deposit sight unseen I smelled a rat and dropped it. 

Disappointed at missing out on the bike and having no other ones on the market near me I researched sport tourers in other brands and came up with the ST1300, There was three in my price range for sale in Newcastle, I looked at all three and bought one of those.

I remember the day I got it. I told the guy, who lived right in the centre of Newcastle, that I would be around at 7:00 am on a Sunday to pick it up because I didn't want much traffic around when I rode it for the first time to my home out past Maitland.

Well I think even sinner in Newcastle chose to repent in church that Sunday morning because I no sooner pulled onto Hunter street and I found myself in bumper to bumper traffic! I hadn't ridden in 15 years at that point!

I have had my struggles with the girl but I can say this past week was a watershed for me. A long running issue I had with it has finally been solved and I made peace with the way she handles on the ground.

I had a real blast figuratively and literally!!
 

[Shiney]

I have been riding since I was 13 and over the years I found that I had gone from riding for fun to only riding as a means of transport.

I was riding a Honda Shadow 750 ACE when I realized what had happened and decided that I wanted to enjoy riding again. So I started going out on the bike for fun and started to take the wife (Carrol) out with me.



We rode around all over the place but after a while found the 750 was lacking in power when fully loaded and 2 up.

So I started looking at getting a bigger bike and after doing a bit of research I came to the conclusion that Sports Touring bikes ticked all the boxes for me.
I read all the comparisons and came to the conclusion that the ST was the best bike in the field (it did everything well and had no issues)

Shortly after this decision I was talking to the local fish & chip shop guy who said he could be persuaded to sell me his ST1100 as he had 2 bikes and couldn't afford both any more. I asked him why he was selling the ST and he said he had spent to much on his sports bike to sell it (Over $10000).

I was amazed he would sell the ST as had be telling me about the how good it was for as long as I had known him. He would go on about how brilliant it was over long distances and how it could just as easily be ridden through the twisties. (He really loved the ST)

So I brought it from him the next week.



I rode the Big11 around for a few months including a trip with Carrol to Moree, NSW (The longest ride we had ever been on)
I joined OzSTOC in December 2011 and was invited to the Christmas BBQ.
When leaving home for the BBQ I accidentally knocked Carrol's helmet off the back seat and broke the visor.

We had a great day out anyway and got to meet a few of the awesome members that make up this club.



Anyway a couple of weeks later I went to a bike shop to get a new visor for Carrol's Helmet and while there I spotted a beautiful blue ST1300 and decided to take it for a test ride (Just to see what it was like.

I found the 1300 was so easy to lean over I almost dropped it on the first corner the handling was awesome, I loved the electric windshield and the sporty look.

Anyway I loved it so much that instead of buying a new visor I left with a new bike (I traded the ST1100 and my car to get it) And I got Carrol a new helmet.




Since then I have added a few farkles and gone on a number of ST adventures, loving the ST all the way.



Cheers
Shiney