GGely
Site Supporter
I rolled over 220,000km yesterday, which was really cool. Riding home from a visit to the office and, carefully watched it go from 219,999 to 220,000 really slooowwwwllly... Snails move faster... Water boils faster... The planets align faster... Anyway, the odometer finally tripped over to 220,000 and that's when I decided to move on from the ST1100.
As background only, this particular bike has had three owners, including me. When I took her on, she had 210,766. So I, owner #3, have only put 9,234km on her. In my defense, the other two didn't have a pandemic replete with multiple lockdowns and a job that interfered with riding. One of the gentlemen before me did replace the engine with one from Kentucky, if I am not mistaken, at about 173,000km. So the frame is over 220,000km and the engine is about 46,000km.
When I took her home, we didn't get 20 feet down the road and she tried to make me leave a brown trail. I was used to my GL650 Interstate, which required a significant throttle input to pull away from a stop. Not this bike. Even with lackluster maintenance and a multitude of mechanical issues, she did try to toss me off, rising up and reminding me that this bike had a lot more to offer than the old GL. Especially in terms of general mass. The brakes were spotty and needed rebuilding, new fluids and a good bleed. The rear brake, like the GL when I picked her up, wasn't at the party. Run stop signs and red lights? Sure, why rent a trailer when the bike is only a few kilometers from home? How bad can it be? How bad was it? Well, notchy steering head bearings? Check. Rear shock dodgy? Yup. Front forks? Why ask? Of course!
Back home, at Garage Mahal, Ollie (oldest grandson and handy wrench) stripped her down and started in. Wheels bearings were good and the tires were new. Leave those alone. Pull the forks and check them out. All good but replace the oil, please. Tapered steering head bearings, of course. Rowe Amplink for managing the electrics, Fiamm hi and low's, LED spots and floods and don't forget the F2 headlight bulbs. Clear turn lenses with switchback LED bulbs? Uh huh... LED bulbs for the panel? Of course and blue, if you don't mind (bad choice). Rebuild the front and rear calipers, add fresh pads and SS brake lines? Yes. Bleed the front and rear lines within an inch of their lives? MAKE IT SO!
The rear shock was, shall we say, borderline? Sure. On with a HyperPRo with remote preload. Not happy with the stock bars? Added Helibars. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And that's the challenge with Helibars. TPMS and a Kyocera Android phone as a GPS stand-in soon followed.
The stock seat was awful so on went a Sargeant. Hmmmm, better but not by much... A fellow in Nova Scotia has a Corbin seat at a reasonable price and will ship it to Ontario. Wow, not good. Lowered the bits at least an inch, so it's good for a shorter rider but not what I needed. Kept me in basically one spot so back on went the Sargeant. Would a RDL be better? Who knows? I can't afford to find out, since getting fitted etc. isn't for the faint of Canadian heart. Especially when this heart is not an Iron Butt kind of guy. More of a spongy sort of butt.
And you say, what about the windscreen? The bike came with 3 and I bought 2 more. All were quality screens, including the latest, the MRA Vario. All have BUFFETING, mostly because of the riding position I am in. And my knees are not appreciating the position they are in, even with the Sargeant, which is the best by far.
So rolling over 220,000km I feel I have done what I can to fit the ST and she has certainly done what she can to make me happy. She is an amazing bike, powerful, delicate, smooth, fun and a thousand other adjectives. BUT. I can't keep trying to force my body to fit her. Enough is enough.
And then I ride her to the gym...
Grrrrrr...
As background only, this particular bike has had three owners, including me. When I took her on, she had 210,766. So I, owner #3, have only put 9,234km on her. In my defense, the other two didn't have a pandemic replete with multiple lockdowns and a job that interfered with riding. One of the gentlemen before me did replace the engine with one from Kentucky, if I am not mistaken, at about 173,000km. So the frame is over 220,000km and the engine is about 46,000km.
When I took her home, we didn't get 20 feet down the road and she tried to make me leave a brown trail. I was used to my GL650 Interstate, which required a significant throttle input to pull away from a stop. Not this bike. Even with lackluster maintenance and a multitude of mechanical issues, she did try to toss me off, rising up and reminding me that this bike had a lot more to offer than the old GL. Especially in terms of general mass. The brakes were spotty and needed rebuilding, new fluids and a good bleed. The rear brake, like the GL when I picked her up, wasn't at the party. Run stop signs and red lights? Sure, why rent a trailer when the bike is only a few kilometers from home? How bad can it be? How bad was it? Well, notchy steering head bearings? Check. Rear shock dodgy? Yup. Front forks? Why ask? Of course!
Back home, at Garage Mahal, Ollie (oldest grandson and handy wrench) stripped her down and started in. Wheels bearings were good and the tires were new. Leave those alone. Pull the forks and check them out. All good but replace the oil, please. Tapered steering head bearings, of course. Rowe Amplink for managing the electrics, Fiamm hi and low's, LED spots and floods and don't forget the F2 headlight bulbs. Clear turn lenses with switchback LED bulbs? Uh huh... LED bulbs for the panel? Of course and blue, if you don't mind (bad choice). Rebuild the front and rear calipers, add fresh pads and SS brake lines? Yes. Bleed the front and rear lines within an inch of their lives? MAKE IT SO!
The rear shock was, shall we say, borderline? Sure. On with a HyperPRo with remote preload. Not happy with the stock bars? Added Helibars. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And adjust. And that's the challenge with Helibars. TPMS and a Kyocera Android phone as a GPS stand-in soon followed.
The stock seat was awful so on went a Sargeant. Hmmmm, better but not by much... A fellow in Nova Scotia has a Corbin seat at a reasonable price and will ship it to Ontario. Wow, not good. Lowered the bits at least an inch, so it's good for a shorter rider but not what I needed. Kept me in basically one spot so back on went the Sargeant. Would a RDL be better? Who knows? I can't afford to find out, since getting fitted etc. isn't for the faint of Canadian heart. Especially when this heart is not an Iron Butt kind of guy. More of a spongy sort of butt.
And you say, what about the windscreen? The bike came with 3 and I bought 2 more. All were quality screens, including the latest, the MRA Vario. All have BUFFETING, mostly because of the riding position I am in. And my knees are not appreciating the position they are in, even with the Sargeant, which is the best by far.
So rolling over 220,000km I feel I have done what I can to fit the ST and she has certainly done what she can to make me happy. She is an amazing bike, powerful, delicate, smooth, fun and a thousand other adjectives. BUT. I can't keep trying to force my body to fit her. Enough is enough.
And then I ride her to the gym...
Grrrrrr...
