Honda ST1300 - now this is interesting...

Over the last few months I have been looking at adding another bike to the stable, swinging wildly from buying something newish (the BMW K1600 GT being the frontrunner) to buying something old and in need of restoration that would be both an interesting project and also suitable for taking over European touring duties when I decide the time has come to turn my trusty ZZR into a fettling project. There are a few things that need doing to it (head bearings, fork rebuild, new sprockets etc) that I fancy having a crack at myself, but inevitably that means it'll be off the road for err... ages.

After a bit of searching I found a 2002 Honda ST1300 Pan European with 100K on the clock for less than £2K that was more-or-less mechanically sound but in need of some TLC. It looked like an interesting proposition until I popped onto the Honda website to see what sort of finance options they were offering on a new one.

And for a deposit of roughly what I was prepared to pay for a 13 year old bike, and a monthly repayment (fixed at 0%) that is more than covered by the saving I'll make in nursery fees when my youngest son starts school in September, I could buy a brand new 2015 model. A considerably better deal than the BMW guys were offering when I spoke to them a few weeks ago!

So now I'm tempted by the shiny red Honda, with a few extras. My knowledge of them is limited to the few owners I've shared channel crossing with, who generally have nothing but good things to say about them (expensive servicing seems to be the recurring gripe). It ticks a few of my touring boxes (shaft drive, good range and decent fuel economy, comfortable, plenty powerful enough and with loads of storage) but if anyone has any other experiences or information to share I'd be really grateful.

I could conceivably make this years trip to Basel on a brand new bike and then take the spanners to the ZZR when I get back!

Something about being a death trap at high speeds, I seem to recall... Isn't the ST1100 the one with a well earned following and a slightly more solid reputation?

ZZR might not need to be off the road as long as you're anticipating, forks and sprockets aren't too bad, as long as you don't forget any tools or parts you should be able to do them over a weekend. Fingers crossed bearings aren't much worse... I say fingers crossed because mine need doing

Reverse gears are for cars

I would test ride both the Honda and BMW you have mentioned before you make your mind up.

A friend of mine has the BMW with electric everything and some nice aftermarket exhausts on it. I can't remember what they are, but they sound awesome!

For me, the GT every time.

Reverse gears are for cars

Does the ST1300 have a reverse gear? I thought that was just the Goldwing - or am I getting confused?

I would test ride both the Honda and BMW you have mentioned before you make your mind up.

A friend of mine has the BMW with electric everything and some nice aftermarket exhausts on it. I can't remember what they are, but they sound awesome!

For me, the GT every time.

I was hoping you wouldn't say that! I'd have taken the BMW in a heartbeat if the finance option had been a bit better. Perhaps I'll start the hunt for a decent second hand one...

Coulda sworn I saw someone post in another thread recently saying that BMW had some great 0% deals going at the moment, may have imagined it though

Coulda sworn I saw someone post in another thread recently saying that BMW had some great 0% deals going at the moment, may have imagined it though

It was around 6% when I spoke to my local BMW dealer a few weeks ago. The deposit and monthly repayments are in line with Honda, but the final payment is considerably higher. I need to check their mileage allowance too, 'cos I'd have burned the BMW allowance half way through the term!

Yipes! Not so good about the mileage! They know what kind of bike they're selling, right?

To be fair, I think it was on the F650 forum that I saw someone talk about 0% finance. Could well be just the low end models that are covered. BMW giving out cigarettes to kids in the playground at lunchtime so they can sell them at a hefty markup outside the school gate next week

i have heard the k1600 is prone to getting blown around in windy conditions on motorways due to size of it catching the wind worse than a lot of the others

ZZR might not need to be off the road as long as you're anticipating, forks and sprockets aren't too bad, as long as you don't forget any tools or parts you should be able to do them over a weekend.

Ha! That's a bit optimistic for me mate! Most forms of DIY for me are like the arrow in the philosophical paradox that never reaches its target: it gets halfway to being done, then half of the remaining half way, then half of that half and so on, getting incrementally closer to completion without ever actually getting there. I am also inordinately fond of distractions, diversions, tangents - in fact anything that falls short of actually getting the job done. Having a project bike that can be tinkered with at leisure is one thing, but if I start dismantling my main bike without a back-up I'll be bike-less for months!

Trust me, if I can do it (on an excessively complicated BMW, at that) then a blind retarded monkey with parkinsons could do it

But I get where you're coming from, there's something nice about being able to work on a bike at leisure. Having my old 125 to pootle around on while fixing up my big bike was always nice, there's a lot more pressure to fix things quickly when the BMW breaks down now that I don't have a second bike any more.

Hmm. So now I'm thinking I should tackle the head bearings, forks and other little fettling jobs on my ZZR next month ready for my trip to Basel, and get a knackered old Honda as a little restoration project to keep me sane through the worst of the winter weather. That's the economically sound option, as I can spend as much or as little as I want, when I want, on the restoration, rather than be tied in to a monthly contract on a newer bike.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be quite so sensible, but we have staff in the lab who need paying every month, so I'm having to be a tad less profligate. Not totally so though - I fully intend to buy an Abba Sky Lift for the sheer hell of hoisting my bike in the air at funny angles and wheeling it round the workshop.

the st must be a fairly good bike as a lot of the uk police forces choose them over anything else

I think the stability problem on the pan was a big fuss about an extreme problem - speedes over 120 with a heavy load on. I love the BMW myself, its 100k lighter than the pan. (thats the 1200rt though)

Yeah, as I say I've spoken to a few owners on the Eurotunnel, and they all seem very happy with them. Nice looking bikes!

I think the stability problem on the pan was a big fuss about an extreme problem - speedes over 120 with a heavy load on. I love the BMW myself, its 100k lighter than the pan. (thats the 1200rt though)

I should be alright then, because I never go above 69.9 mph. Ever.

Funny thing though, speed. I ride down to Folkestone at 70 mph, bored to tears. Then I hit the French motorways at 80 mph and think "Ah, this is more like it." Then after half an hour I'm back to being bored again.

Interesting info regarding the high speed weave. I'm certainly up for fettling a used and abused example and seeing how well I can live with it. I love the ZZR, but there are so many other bikes out there I'd like to try!

Decision made, and deposit paid on suitably knackered old Honda ST1300.

Hope you enjoy it more than half an hour then! Your garage big enough for all these bikes then?

Hope you enjoy it more than half an hour then! Your garage big enough for all these bikes then?

It is indeed - in fact there's a distinctly Electra Glide shaped space at the far end...

Anyway, here is a shot of the old girl. Mechanically pretty good, paintwork knackered, 98K on the clock and in need of some TLC. Sounds like a perfect little project to me.

Ooh pink! Didn't know they made them in that colour!

Looks comfy, my Mrs would love me to get a bike like that!

Looking at buying a st1300 with 70k miles. How did you go with this one after you bought it?

the st must be a fairly good bike as a lot of the uk police forces choose them over anything else

... or perhaps not.

It's just the fully loaded bikes that have the issue, some still use send pans, this thread is old.

Out of interest [mention]MarkW[/mention] What happened to the St