ST1300 Anyone?

I am interested in a ST1300 used. I have seen a 04 and a 07. The 04 has 30k on in for $5,900 and the 07 has less than 3k on it for $9,500. Both have custom extras (seats, etc.).

Anyone own one and if so, what should I be looking out for (both good and bad)?

Thanks in advance.

James

I have not had one, but friend when I lived in Germany last time had one.

This I know:

High speed stability issues

Engine heat on you

Heavy

Complicated

Drag/clearance issue going over curbs

Cams have to come out for valve adjustment

Buffeting.



Fresh and new, typical Honda quality. Used, expensive repair?


John Grinsel


John Grinsel

There perfectly fine bikes, that why they sell so many of them.

Here is the best advise i have ever seen on buying a used bike, hes talking about a H-d but it certainly applies to any motorcycle.

$4K in upgrades = Zero.
Not meaningless...there's a lot to be learned here, but value=$0, really.

Unless that person has similar tastes as you, "upgrades" (also known as "people crapping up a bike with trash") will DETRACT from what I pay for a bike. There's a TON of pure garbage out there for bikes and a huge percentage of people think that just because it bolts onto their bike, they need to bolt it onto their bike. Not good.

I'll spend more if I know it hasn't been molested.

"Custom Paint"...? It's been wrecked. Custom paint falls under the "$4K in extras" category and is a bigger red flag than "Prior restraining order". Custom Paint = Wreck. Always. Make sure that's not an "upgrade".

4K miles? 2009? Never down? That's either just long enough to get comfortable on it, wreck it, get scared of it, get it fixed (for $4k), and sell it, or all the buddies sold their bikes and moved on to something else. My point is...that's a prime candidate for a wrecked-and-rebuilt. Usually the higher mileage first-owner scoots are the ones that aren't wrecked, because the owners know how to ride and it's not their first rodeo. Run the VIN at all the local dealers' service departments, and make sure it hasn't been in for a wreck repair.

Right now, there's a ton of used HD's for sale out there. If this seller isn't really flexible, move on. I'd expect to pay no more than between 12K and 13K without argument, based on things like extended warranty (depending on when it was sold, it's just coming out of the factory two-year warranty), whether the accessories are genuine Harley (still taste-dependent) or aftermarket trash, if the engine has any performance work done (and done right, by a dealer, as opposed to Home Boy down the street), etc.

In other words, is the stuff that's been done to it the same stuff that the buyer specifically was hoping to buy?
So many people get all moist about the accessories ("It's got everything chromed out!! I didn't care if it had chrome or not, but since it does, I'm going to get excited about it!") that they forget about what they're actually buying.

I was also interested by the ST1300, but was scared off by stories about the stability issues. The high speed stability issues were, at one time, serious enough that the British police took their ST1300s out of service for awhile. Apparently, the problem is not consistent...one bike will have it and another will not. It's characterized by a weave or wobble at certain speeds.

Quite a few US police depts are starting to switch over to the ST1300 from the BMW due to lower service costs. I don't know whether they've experienced the same problems...perhaps Honda has resolved them.

There appears to be a pretty good-sized group of ST1100/ST1300 riders, so I'm guessing you might be able to ask more specific questions of them, such as the speed weave, over there. Here are links to some forums where you might be able to obtain additional info:

http://www.st1300.us.com/

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/index.php

I talked with an ST1100 rider a few weeks ago at a lunch break. He knew about the ST1300 speed weave issue, but said that the ST1100s did not have the same problem. YMMV...good luck on your research.

I think I want to see how the Honda crossover does (DN-01?) - motorcycle with automatic transmission which you can shift if you want to play. New they seem a bit pricy. So a perfect excuse to enjoy and learn on my SW.

I bought one on thurday!
05 with 10,000 miles had the imported Honda line topbox and a clearview shield. They gave me 2,200 for my 04 reflex with 9,500 miles on it made it 6100 out the door.
Managed to put about 250 miles on over the week end. Veary impressed wih the weather and wind protection, the ride and handaling were fantastic.

Danny