I'm looking at changing bikes! I think it is ST1300 time

[george formby]

Good call. Enjoy. Spent a bit of time on a mates ST1300 & a lot of time on an ST1100. They reward good riding. Just ask the UK cops before they overloaded them.

[Mo NZ]

Happy days indeed.

[STJim]

We might have to sort out something, maybe even a ride out to Raglan or wherever?

There is often an informal meeting on a Saturday morning at the Verandah café at Hamilton lake if you are interested. Send me a pm with your cell number.

[MarkH]

Well, I've had a decent bit of riding today on my new machine.
Rode to Hamilton and got a nice new WoF (no charge for that) and also got them to put a relay in for the Hot Grips - damn things were still on when I turned the key off, not having that shit.
Then I rode to Auckland (nice day, couldn't not go for a decent ride) and grabbed a Give E-55 Tech top box from MotoMail - it looks GREAT on my Charcoal coloured bike!

The bike came with a 42l (I think) top box and I really wanted a bigger one, this one is real nice:


It is good having a 55 litre box which lets me put in more than just a helmet, it'd be good for doing a run to the wholesalers for a decent amount of piss!

[nzspokes]

Well, I've had a decent bit of riding today on my new machine.
Rode to Hamilton and got a nice new WoF (no charge for that) and also got them to put a relay in for the Hot Grips - damn things were still on when I turned the key off, not having that shit.
Then I rode to Auckland (nice day, couldn't not go for a decent ride) and grabbed a Give E-55 Tech top box from MotoMail - it looks GREAT on my Charcoal coloured bike!

The bike came with a 42l (I think) top box and I really wanted a bigger one, this one is real nice:

Ive got one of those boxes. Great things. I had a crash with my Bandit with it on. Bike slid and the box held most of that side off the road. Bike sadly was a write off but the box is now on my Hornet. It happly stays there to double the open road speed limit. Tested on a racetrack of course. The Chinese one I bought to start with dissipated somewhere around Beachlands....

[MarkH]

I was just updating my profile on ADVrider forums and noticed that in 2008 when I set up that account I filled in the "Dream Bike" field with "ST1300".
How does it feel to now be ridding my dream bike? Fuckin' awesome!

I did about 380km today and this ST is definitely a lot better for that distance than my RF was (for me).
There is plenty of power when I want it, but it seems to use less gas than the RF900 did, not bad for a heavier bike, maybe the newer tech and EFI making the difference.

I was fucking with the clock, trip meter and FCD and somehow I've got it showing my fuel consumption display in l/100km, I'm having trouble changing it back to km/l.
Does anyone know the trick to doing this?
The owners manual says to hold the FCD button for 2s, but that isn't changing it.

[MarkH]

I was fucking with the clock, trip meter and FCD and somehow I've got it showing my fuel consumption display in l/100km, I'm having trouble changing it back to km/l.
Does anyone know the trick to doing this?
The owners manual says to hold the FCD button for 2s, but that isn't changing it.

Nevermind, downloaded a different owners manual (2006 police bike) and it explained it properly. Need to set FCD to not display FC and then hold the FCD button for 2 sec.

For those that want to see what my bike looks like:

[Wingnut]

Nevermind, downloaded a different owners manual (2006 police bike) and it explained it properly. Need to set FCD to not display FC and then hold the FCD button for 2 sec.

For those that want to see what my bike looks like:

Good shit man. Bike looks mint. Enjoy that new bike period. Looks like it may be an extended duration going by your comments so far...

[allycatz]

We have just bought an ST1300 as of 8 weeks ago. Initially love it but its a very different ride than our GSX1400 which we still have. The new bike is fully kitted out with panniers and topbox and Ive found its quite claustrophobic sitting on the back compared to the 1400 ( that could be a Honda thing tho as Ive found pillion seating less on a CB1300) My partners boys have nick named it the scooter and refuse to even sit on it. It is a quieter bike a tad whiny but you get used to it. The one big issue we are finding is the space between footpegs. I have to keep my feet well back on the pegs and make sure they are not on the pegs when my partner parks/moves the bike or thers not enough space to manouvre without getting feet mixed up (I dont have big feet eiither) We plan on doing a longer trip on it next month and will see how it goes otherwise it will be back to a Hyabusa.

[MarkH]

Status Update:
After ~4 weeks I've now put over 2,000 kms on the bike and here are my thoughts:

I'm loving the bike and really glad I bought it.

I thought it would be good and it is as good as I thought it would be . . . actually it is a bit better than I thought it would be:
I didn't expect to get better fuel economy but I can go to work & back for a week on $48 where the RF900R cost $60.
The electric screen is so damn good, more useful than I thought it would be - down for hot daytime, up for cold mornings, lowered a bit if it is foggy and the screen mists over. It really is great that I can adjust the screen while riding to suit what I need at that minute.
I was expecting the extra weight to be a bit of a disadvantage, but really I don't even feel that weight while riding.
I didn't realise how good the low speed manoeuvrability would be - it is better than my RF900R was for low speed U-turns and carpark riding.

I don't mind the sound, it actually sounds quite good when I'm giving it some juice.

Overall it meets or exceeds my expectations and I'm planning on running up a whole heap of kms on it.

[insane1]

well done sir would have looked really hard at one of those, if Richard at botany Honda had a good one may just have bought a new one instead of the vfr 1200 but all goodman happy miles t come.

[6ft5]

Good for you man, looked at the ST1300 also but didn't like the forward position, leaning on the wrists. Settled for the Triumph Tiger 1050 SE instead. Best of luck and may see you on the road one of these days

[george formby]

We have just bought an ST1300 as of 8 weeks ago. Initially love it but its a very different ride than our GSX1400 which we still have. The new bike is fully kitted out with panniers and topbox and Ive found its quite claustrophobic sitting on the back compared to the 1400 ( that could be a Honda thing tho as Ive found pillion seating less on a CB1300) My partners boys have nick named it the scooter and refuse to even sit on it. It is a quieter bike a tad whiny but you get used to it. The one big issue we are finding is the space between footpegs. I have to keep my feet well back on the pegs and make sure they are not on the pegs when my partner parks/moves the bike or thers not enough space to manouvre without getting feet mixed up (I dont have big feet eiither) We plan on doing a longer trip on it next month and will see how it goes otherwise it will be back to a Hyabusa.

Interestin. My mate part ex'd his ST 1300 against a new Hayabusa. After a decent two up test ride. The pillion said yes!
I've mainly ridden ST's solo, two up was a blat to the bar so does not count. The more miles I did in a day the better I liked the bike.
Looking forward to a decent fang on the new Suzuki.

I have to admit to liking big days & the ST had me happily looking over the horizon. My current bike pulls the same trick but with far less authority.
Proper mile munchers.
Again, enjoy.