Bought a totalled ST last year. Here's its STory.

[dorkpunch]

Alright, so last year I bought a totaled /01 ST1100 from an inmate over on ADVRider. I posted the "build" there, but I've had a couple people suggest that I post it here too. If y'all don't like it, let me know and I'll quit posting. A

Also hoping to meet / ride with some fellow ST'ers, but we'll get to that later. The Hog Catchers story:

Picked up this '01 ST1100 today from rapidoxidationman. Nice guy, glad I drove all the way up there! He had a bit of a face plant on it...

Some of his pics:

The story of his wreck: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=579768

I had originally talked to him about buying his bike a couple of years ago but at the time couldnt' afford it and didnt have a place to put it. Have a place, and recently sold a vehicle (

) and needed another project. ALMOST as bad as I need another hole in my head.

And so it begins- the resurrection of rapidoxidationmans ST.

Drove about 2 hours to get there, looked it over, put a battery in, fired it up, and rode it about 25 feet. Good enough! Got most of the parts (think I may have forgot a bag of nuts and bolts?!) and trundled on home.

Loaded and ready for the ride home:

After I aired up the front tire and took it for a little spin:

Seems to run great. Has a little bit of noise coming from the right rear valve cover where it took a hit when it was wrecked. There appears to be a vacuum ??? line above the exhaust header that is cracked, may be coming from that? Looks like its in fairly decent shape all things considered. Going to have to pick up a new foot peg, brake lever, and that cracked metal line, whatever it is. Planning on getting it road legal as quick as possible- naked sport bike style, then cleaning up all the exposed bits and scratched / bent / broken stuff.

 

[dorkpunch]

I guess I should also mention that the bike is "done", and I've put about 8,000 miles on it since it was wrecked. Hoping for a LOT more over the next couple of years!

 

[dorkpunch]

Talked with the dmv ladies today. They said just do the work and bring in all of the paperwork.at the same time, as opposed to submit the salvage title, then apply for the repaired title when its done. means i will be bolting on a headlight, signals, and mirrors this week to make it street legal even though they dont inspect the bike when i take the paperwork in. Parts on their way too.

. In the meantime, it looks like my garage barfed up an ST.

 

[dorkpunch]

Technically, its "street legal" in Idaho... There are about 4 different definitions of that though. I believe that all a bike needs to be on the road is a headlight and tail light. If you want to get out on the freeway, you need signals, mirrors, horn, etc. No signals or mirrors yet, but like I said, technically street legal. Straightened a few bent bits and cleaned a bit of dust off too, lots of scuffs and scratches but I think its definitely going to be a decent rideable bike!

Met with the ladies at the DMV again today and got all the paperwork squared up. Most of the parts showed up over the weekend- got a new footpeg and brake lever installed. Its registered, plated, and insured- just need to take it for a shakedown run to see how it handles, hoping for no signs of a bent frame.

PARTS!

Well there's good news and bad news. Took it for its "maiden"... The good news is it goes down the road just fine- no shimmys, shakes, wobbles, or noises (that I can tell, wind is kinda noisy). The bad news- this bike is pretty darn fast. Does the ton easily and feels like it's plonking along at a low rate of speed while doing it.

Lots to do still, but its rideable and legal!

Not sure if theres something wrong with the front brake or they just suck? Could be I'm just used to a much lighter supermoto bike... but it doesnt really like stopping all that quick. That and the whine of the timing belts (?) could get really annoying. Other than that, it may be a keeper. For a while.

Had an idea, so I made a quick mock up.

Kinda ugly, but it covers up the back side of the gauges and the top side of the headlight. Might knock one out of sheet metal real quick tomorrow and just see how it works for now, still waiting on a few more odds and ends to show up before I figure out how to mount the headlight and windshield... Also epoxyed up the broken tab on the instrument cluster today but havent taken any pics of it yet.

So I made a "windshield" for it out of some scrap, turned out so-so. Rode it the 7 miles to school this morning and took the long way home, for a grand total of 40 miles on the beast. Never missed a beat.

The ugly windshield:

Got home and decided to get busy. Stripped everything off of the front of the bike.

Lots of electrics to try and stash, but I've got a couple of ideas.

Pile of parts:

Monkeyed around with my windshield for a bit, and got it sort of set where I think it needs to go. Not sure I like it- it's WAY to big. I'll use it for now but I think I may end up getting a smaller style like the picture I posted above.

I was hoping I could clamp it on to the upright part of the handlebars, but their way too fat. Not much real estate on the bars, so here's what I came up with. I will get a longer bolt, put a great big fender washer on it with bushing underneath so the bolt will still tighten up on the handlebar clamps, but the washer will hold the windshield mount down.

I *was* planning on putting a trailtech Vapor on it, but this windshield has so much room the stock instrument panel will fit fine! Going to have to make some sort of cover for the back side of it though...

So here's the plan at the moment- subject to change about as fast as a fart in a hurricane. Fab up a bracket that will clamp to the forks, hold the headlight, signals, loose electrics, AND dash.

 

[Cunados]

Very interesting, I am envious of your abilities. Welcome to the site.

 

[dorkpunch]

Thanks to whoever moved the thread to the appropriate spot. I looked, but there are like 5 bazillion categories on this board!

More on the bike.

New Sealed beam replacement showed up so I got it mounted in the headlight frame. Pretty slick, and only cost about $20 including an H4 bulb!

Got busy with some sketchup and came up with a plan based on the metal I have and my drawings of what I needed.

Cut the bits up:

And tacked them all together.

Looks spot on as far as fit goes!

Now to finish weld it up.. Think I've got the TIG figured out enough to give it a try. Also need to measure up and make the instrument mounts- Tonight and tomorrow's project.

Rats. Didn't work out as good as I had hoped.

Made up another bracket based on a few measurements. Looked okay.

Built a jig to hold things in place while I welded everything up so the dash holes would all line up. Pretty simple.

Made a couple of brackets:

Bolted them to the jig:

Welded a couple of supports on (going to have to make them a little stronger):

Removed the jig, and viola.

This is what my bracket is replacing...

With the dash mounted:

So... It looked good, but I'm way off on my measurements.

The upper bracket needs to be a LOT closer in to the ignition switch and the whole dash needs to be tilted back a lot more.

Back to the drawing board.

So I gave up on that one, and started over with a slightly different plan. Here's what I ended up with. Lots easier to make, not as many goofy angles, and fits just about perfectly.

Slapped some paint on it:

Some test fitting.

Seems to fit great. Need to get something better than some cut up rubber hose to go between the fork leg and the bracket, and some better hose clamps, then its on to figuring out where to put all the stinkin wires.

 

[Superzuki]

Amazing!!!
Do you plan to re-do the full fairing or make a sort of a Streetfighter out of it?

 

[Jrnyer]

Wow, this is a great read. Can't wait for chapter 2,3,4,5,6,ect.
Oh, and welcome aboard

 

[dorkpunch]

Amazing!!!
Do you plan to re-do the full fairing or make a sort of a Streetfighter out of it?

Its "naked"... No fairings, and I have a small and a big windshield. Be patient, more coming!

 

[dorkpunch]

Little more work tonight on figuring out the rats nest of wiring. Started with this:

Mounted the three relays(?) to my new bracket using zip ties. Bent, twisted, overlapped, etc to get the rest of the wires where I need them-

The bank angle sensor will be bolted to the bracket, I just need to drill and tap a few holes. Should I be worried about having the bank angle sensor on the forks? Will sudden movements of the front wheel set it off? Gonna have to test that...

Still had these three things to deal with. Computer? CDI? Not sure, but the two smaller boxes will fit inside this nice hole behind the headseat, and the bigger one will attach nicely to the little cover (not shown here)

The cover in place.

I need to figure out how to mount the two smaller boxes inside, but the bigger one will probably be mounted right to the plastic cover the way you see it in the last picture.

Getting closer!


Spent some time on it today (SCHOOLS OUT!!!!). Got everything mounted, replaced the rubber hose with some flat rubber trimmed to the right size, put some stainless hose clamps on it, bolted everything down, wired the blinkers, mounted the electrics, and rolled it out for some un-cluttered pictures.

I'm missing the little side to side adjustment screw, so the headlight isn't pointing the right direction...

Think I will eventually make a cover to go between the "gastank" and the head to hide all that junk...

If you look close you can see how I mounted the bank angle sensor. Came out pretty clean looking!

Next step- build a cover for the back of the instrument panel and put the windshield on. At least now its rideable!


Spent some time on it today (SCHOOLS OUT!!!!). Got everything mounted, replaced the rubber hose with some flat rubber trimmed to the right size, put some stainless hose clamps on it, bolted everything down, wired the blinkers, mounted the electrics, and rolled it out for some un-cluttered pictures.

I'm missing the little side to side adjustment screw, so the headlight isn't pointing the right direction...

Think I will eventually make a cover to go between the "gastank" and the head to hide all that junk...

If you look close you can see how I mounted the bank angle sensor. Came out pretty clean looking!

Next step- build a cover for the back of the instrument panel and put the windshield on. At least now its rideable!

 

[dorkpunch]

So I got the windshield mounted... I don't really like it. It's too big. I may try and trim a little off on the lower parts by the forks, but I'll be looking for something a little smaller.

Built some brackets for the upper windshield mounts:

Put 'em on:

Looks pretty clean from the cockpit!

Stuck an old numberplate from a dual sport headlight over the back of the gauges...

Mounted the bar-end mirrors:

And there you have it. Lots of little things to do, but its RIDEABLE!!!

Time for a test ride!

8hrs, 216 miles, ran like a top. I can set the throttle lock at 80, take both hands off the bars, and go for miles. I'd say the frame ain't tweaked.

Bike ran great. We road from Blackfoot up to Mesa Falls with a few stops and detours on the way.

Didnt take a whole lot of pics, but here are a few. Lower falls:

Strange mix...

Vulcan 1500. Passes everything but a gas station.

Mrs. Punch.

Home, safe and sound!

So a few things I need to take care of- the leaky fork seals leak pretty darn bad. I'm only getting 40 mpg, which is low as I understand it... Could have something to do with the wicked headwind on the way home though. Looks goofy with only one sidecase, but I ordered a lid to replace the broken one so that should fix that. My windshield is slightly askew- again, stupid nasty winds...

 

[SupraSabre]

Welcome to the site!

1. Project bikes can be fun to work on!
2. Trying to replace stock parts can be VERY Expensive!
3. It feels great when you get a project bike on the road!

Congrats!

 

[dorkpunch]

This finally showed up today!

To replace this:

I'm no longer lopsided.

Got a windscreen for a 919 hornet. Cheapo Chinese knock-off, shipped direct from China. Windscreen isn't too bad, I actually think it's great, but the mounting hardware is a joke.

Kind of hard to see, but the screws are WAY to small and they are countersunk!? screws in a flat slot.

Also, the holes in the windshield are WAY too big for the nuts on the back. I plan on making my own bracket that will move the windshield back and tip it down a bit more.

First order of bidness- some flat black on the back of the gauges.

Installed windshield...

The cool part is that my big windshield will still fit overtop of this one- so I can pop it back on if I'm going for a longer ride, bad weather, whatever.

Still need to build the little side panels over the valve covers, but that probably aint gonna happen till I'm back in school.

 

[dorkpunch]

Gettin ready for a road trip. We are going to ride it down to Utardia for a day or two, plan on going through Logan cause the roads fun, then visiting some family on both ends of the valley. Jacked it up and took the old tires off.

While I was at it, I pulled the forks and put some new seals in.

All done! Looks good in its new shoes!

Whew. 520 miles in the last 3 days, temps at just under 100 degrees the entire time. The night before we left I made a rear rack realllll quick- took maybe a half an hour. Worked great, but its a tad flimsy. Need to make another one out of some thicker metal.

Also made a real quick gps mount:

Worked GREAT for over 500 miles, other than at high speeds the wind wants to pull the charger out of the new plug I put in:

Fun trip.

Got home to this:

 

[Illinois]

Nice project Dorkpunch. Larger screen kinda gives it a Road Warrior flavor. :yes:

 

[dorkpunch]

Did an oil change today and swapped the air filter out too. Turns out someone moddified an automotive filter by making a rubber spacer out of some fuel line to make it tall enough. Looks like it sealed great, no sign of any dust on the wrong side of the filter.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

And about 3,000 miles worth of riding:

Road it all over the NW corner of the continent- Alberta, BC, WA, ID, and UT. Made it to Glacier / Going to the Sun Hwy FINALLY. It was AWESOME. Getting ready to do some maintenance in the next month or two to get ready for summer.

Pics from last summer:

You might have noticed I said *almost* trouble free. After a longish day on the road, I got to my destination. The next morning I had a little puddle of coolant on the ground... Looked like it was coming from the back side by the alternator. Kinda hard to see though so I took it apart a bit.

Turns out it was a loose hose clamp up near the rad cap- the coolant was running down the hose and dripping between the cylinders. When I would lean it over on the side stand, the puddle would run out the back corner. Tightened the clamp up and it was good for another 1,500 miles, but it's leaking again. Plan on replacing the hose and the clamp, along with maybe a new rear tire and fixing the goofy windshield mounts. The windshield cracked on both sides right above the mounts (you get what you pay for) but thats fine for me- I was planning on making a whole new piece anyways.

 

[dorkpunch]

Remember my cheapo windshield off fleebay last year? It had these idiotic mounts that didn't line up with ANYTHING and hardware that was 4 sizes too small for any of the holes.

Time to do something about that.

Here's what we're replacing.

Made it maybe 300 miles before the windshield cracked last year. Went another 2200 miles, still hasn't fallen all the way off, but I dug the bike out last night and figured it was time to do something about it.

Make some goofy shapes.

Add some channels for a little more strength.

Punch some holes.

Rivet 'em on.

There you go!

And here's where we're starting the season off at.

Hoping to top 60k but I doubt that'll happen... probably make it to 56 or so.

Finally tested out an idear I've had for side covers.

Cardboard mock ups.



Cutting and bending. I love working with aluminum- soooo eassssyyy to bend. Now if only I was good at it.

Test fit. Not quite what I had pictured, but it will work. I think on this side I'll have to make an "inner" cover to hide just a bit more, probably paint it flat black.







Little more pounding and shaping done. Man, I wish I had an english wheel..





The hard part is going to be mounting them.

 

[Mark]

Great rebuild!

I know you're giving us pictures from the whole rebuild; but, you might want to change the brake and clutch fluid a bit more often!
Just sayin...

 

[TripleJ]

Nice work! That bike looks badass the way it is, I'm not so sure you need those covers. Keep us posted!

 

[superdiver]

amazing ingenuity! Great job! Looking at the picture of you and the mrs on it, you have GOT TO BE A BIG GUY!. I have the same bike and i look like a dwarf on it compared to you!