Honda ST1300 Reviews - Page 3 of 4

Nothing has gone wrong.

This bike is a 2004, sold new in 2006. I purchased this blue model in the summer of 2007. The bike is stock.

At first, after being snowed by its features, I began to notice the one thing that really bothers me. The front forks offer no compliance to road surfaces and offer quite a choppy ride. Now this has proven fine in the twisties, but this is more of a touring bike and I would like a smoother ride. My BMW was a beautifully handling bike and in comparison this Honda is a truck.

Also, it annoys me that heated grips and power adapters don't come stock on this level of motorcycle.

I tried to sell it, but no interest. Guess what, after a 1,000 miles I am beginning to enjoy the smooth deceptive motor and the unending torque it provides. The handling is growing on me too, and if only the forks were smoother I think I might love it.

The seat does begin to burn after an hour, but no one took a cast of my butt before building the stocker.

After all, I think this may be the best sport tourer out there.

There was a recall, re an electrical connector and a check of the rear brake bypass proportioning valve. On my bike the electrical part was done and a "check" of the valve revealed no faults.

This bike is easy to service, I do a lot of my own and this one is simple to do a minor service {oil, filter and if you wish the rear end oil}. Per Honda the work is done on the center stand. It takes but 4 qts. of oil. I did learn a trick; whilst changing the oil the bike should be placed on a large baking sheet to catch any oil spilled when the filter is removed. It will run down the left leg of the center stand.

There is a small plastic cover that has to be removed to access the oil fill. If you are at it and have an extra set of plugs handy, remove the same cover on both sides and there are all four plugs easily gotten to.

Ridden with some restraint, it will return 50 mpg to you.

For a bike that weighs in at over 600 lbs, it handles well, and as I mentioned, economy is good; I frequently get in the 40s around town.

Highway mileage depends upon one's right hand; on a trip to Daytona Beach one year, the speeds were high and so was consumption. Another trip to Two Wheels Only, economy was improved on largely due to the lower speeds.

The stock seat is something that needs to be improved on, and I will. Fit and finish is what is to be expected of Honda, mine is Pearl Dark Blue..