Igofar Reviews

After years of conversations and phone support I finally made it to Larry’s place over this past weekend. I have a few issues that need to be addressed, but as Larry said, let’s give the bike a once over. I have been maintaining my vehicles for most of my life, so I thought that I knew what I was doing, but Larry proved me wrong. We spent a full day going through my 2006 ST and Larry found issues that not only surprised me, but also let me know how lacking some of my skills are. The good news is once I am shown something, I don’t need to be shown again. As the day progressed I realized that Larry goes beyond what anyone should expect from the Honda dealer since the amount of time required would be cost prohibitive.
I have the front fork seals leaking along with a slow antifreeze leak. Since I am planning to replace the front fork springs with Sonic 1.1 mm, and since I didn’t come with the parts needed, we decided that this can be done at the next visit. The antifreeze leak also wasn't bad enough to take off the Tupperware during this session.
Some of the many issues that Larry identified was;
front wheel spacer installed backwards (began to damage the wheel bearing seal)-not sure how I screwed this up, but it will never happen again- we replaced the seal and checked the bearings and reinstalled
fork/wheel alignment was off-loosened forks, removed front wheel, adjusted forks so that the axle installed without binding
clutch fluid dirty, lever bushing damaged and needed to be replaced-we replaced the fluid, bled the clutch, and replaced the bushing (going to order a rebuild kit)
all brake pads worn and needed to be replaced-Larry had a set of rear pads that we used. Front brakes will be replaced once the parts are ordered and arrive
found that there was too much oil in the engine (I had recently replaced the oil and filter & I assumed that a gallon container had exactly 1 gallon plus I added the additional .1 for filter, but I now know better)-we removed and then added the oil to the correct level
check the SMC- removed cleaned, lubed and reinstalled. Since this is showing signs of wear, it is going to be replaced
removed the rear wheel, cleaned and checked all components, molly pasted splines, reinstalled rear wheel, brakes, etc.
When we went to start it up, the kill switch (once again) acted up and the bike wouldn’t start until we removed and cleaned it with contact cleaner. A new switch will need to be ordered
As Larry says; I am OCD, which I think is a great attribute to have when performing mechanical repairs. If the dealer spent the amount of time cleaning lubing, checking and verifying each component, their rates would be unaffordable.
It is humbling to be shown how to perform tasks, especially when you believe that you know how to perform them only to discover that you may not have been performing the task correctly.
Larry has a tremendous amount of knowledge on ST1300 models along with general motorcycle and other specific motorcycle model knowledge. I truly appreciate knowing that there is someone that I can contact when needed, discuss issues that I am not confident about and also obtain assistance as needed, especially considering that I had not yet met Larry.
Anyone that is within a ride should reach out to Larry and utilize his talent and knowledge. I am glad that Larry moved to AZ, but remember that this is one of the hottest places on the planet in the summertime.
Additional information to follow.
Thanks Larry!
 
Larry is, indeed, special. I don't know what I can say that hasn't been said before, but it's hard - no, impossible - to overstate how much this man gives to others on this forum. I started with a simple question about the order of performing tire change, brake pads, and bleeding...someone said call the white courtesy phone. I sent a message with phone number, and Larry called. 75 days later, "we" are finished with those jobs, plus. Discovered the right front pads were barely worn at all in 20K, but left front were down to metal (very lucky the disc wasn't scored). Larry's diagnosis (after telling me how to test): the infamous SMC. So I ordered a new one. Also noticed leaks from both forks, so I ordered new fork seals. Then noticed worn bolt and bracket on rear caliper, sent pictures to Larry, and, yes, ordered a new one. After checking rear wheel bearings several times (with Larry's advice to partially insert axle to hold center spacer while checking), I decided one of them was rough...ordered new ones. (Note the flange bearings were smooth as glass - may have been replaced by PO). Then I had the problem of removing old bearings, and several methods/tools failed me. Larry mentioned a loaner tool kit (from the STRiders forum) - worked like a charm.
Throughout all this project creep, Larry checked in every step, and kept me informed and confident of what I was doing - although I am far from a trained mechanic. Plus numerous tips on brake/clutch levers, oil and final drive changes, etc. Even tips on reattaching Tupperware. And after a test ride, the bleed SEEMED right, but the new SMC wasn't working, and the right front disc got hotter than the left. Larry wouldn't rest until all those problems were solved.

I could never have done all the work without this forum, and would never have attempted much of it without Larry's guidance. Even when he couldn't talk through part of my project, he would text with pictures, etc. to ensure I was doing it right. I can't thank him enough for his help, patience, knowledge, and, yes, strong opinions.
I only hope I can get to AZ to meet Larry in person. And that I can do half as much for the next person when I have a chance to pay it forward.
 
yesterday my 2010 st 3000 and myself spent the afternoon with Larry. My head is still spining with the things he did to the bike and the information about other things on it. Larry went over the front end, brakes, that adjustable thing (that did not have any oil in it)for the rear suspension, I have the wrong battery in the bike and the list goes on. I tend to stay to myself and avoid meeting people, so it was a push from my wife that I went yesterday to meet him. must say I liked him right off. he will tell where the bear goes in the woods which I like. they say the devil is in the detail, well then Larry is that devil. his attention to detail is outstanding and his ability to teach as he goes along is remarkable. He made a list of things the bike needs and we will meet again to work on the bike. I say we but its Larry and me watching and learning. Anyone that needs help with their bike contact Larry.
 
Mr ed said:
yesterday my 2010 st 3000 and myself spent the afternoon with Larry. My head is still spining with the things he did to the bike and the information about other things on it. Larry went over the front end, brakes, that adjustable thing (that did not have any oil in it)for the rear suspension, I have the wrong battery in the bike and the list goes on. I tend to stay to myself and avoid meeting people, so it was a push from my wife that I went yesterday to meet him. must say I liked him right off. he will tell where the bear goes in the woods which I like. they say the devil is in the detail, well then Larry is that devil. his attention to detail is outstanding and his ability to teach as he goes along is remarkable. He made a list of things the bike needs and we will meet again to work on the bike. I say we but its Larry and me watching and learning. Anyone that needs help with their bike contact Larry.
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And even if you DON"T need help with your bike, contact Larry. He'll show you that you DO need help, you just didn't know how many items can be vastly improved :)
 
Mr ed said:
yesterday my 2010 st 3000 and myself spent the afternoon with Larry. My head is still spining with the things he did to the bike and the information about other things on it. Larry went over the front end, brakes, that adjustable thing (that did not have any oil in it)for the rear suspension, I have the wrong battery in the bike and the list goes on. I tend to stay to myself and avoid meeting people, so it was a push from my wife that I went yesterday to meet him. must say I liked him right off. he will tell where the bear goes in the woods which I like. they say the devil is in the detail, well then Larry is that devil. his attention to detail is outstanding and his ability to teach as he goes along is remarkable. He made a list of things the bike needs and we will meet again to work on the bike. I say we but its Larry and me watching and learning. Anyone that needs help with their bike contact Larry.
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Glad you made the visit, wish I wasn't 1500 miles away.......
 
Well im not sure where to start. I live 46 miles from Larry, he up north me down south. I went up a few weeks ago to meet Larry and talk fork seals. before I knew it the bike (2010 st1300 I bought back in Oct so as a new owner I only had 1,500 miles of riding it) was up on his lift and getting an inspection from top to bottom. He identified a few problems and we talked about repairs. when I got home that night I found a list of needed parts to order with honda part numbers he had sent and where to get them at the best price. (Ron Ayers motorcycle parts free shippinng) So Saturday at 10 am I arrive at Larrys with parts and bike. He works from 10 am til 5pm with me as an observer and a tool fetcher and Larry teaching along the way. At 5 pm the bike is far from finished and we thought this would happen so my wife picked me up. Bike on lift ready for Sunday. So I arrive at 10 am and Larry is already cleaning up the rear wheel, he worked late Saturday night to be ready for Sunday. We, well really he worked from 10 am to 6:30 pm. So what did we do you ask? Fork seals, front and rear brakes, brake bleed/fluid replacement, thermostat and coolent replacement,radiator flush and hose inspection that had a lot of lose clamps, rear wheel drive inspection and repair bad bearings which he replaced, correcting things that other people did wrong/ and a throttle body sync. Price you ask? Well thats between you and Larry. After watching Larry work a few weeks ago I knew I could trust his work. After this weekend I'll only trust Larry to work on my bike. think when it warms up here in Tucson today I'll ride my new and improved ST 1300.
 
I just had the fortune of spending the day with Larry. I rode my ST1300 down from Phoenix when Larry offered to go through my newly acquired bike. He was very welcoming and he proceeded to explain the affects of bad maintenance showing me various bad parts taken off of ST’s. During the course of the day Larry set up my suspension, dialed in my injection system, changed my brake and clutch fluids, he even adjusted my saddle bags. During all of his work on the bike he was very informative at training me do the same maintenance on my own. Larry definitely knows these bikes inside and out. Once I got home Larry followed up with an email of where to get a few things that I may need. I really enjoyed the being able to capitalize on the wisdom of Larry and learn from his mechanical knowledge. I rode home on a well tuned bike that I am very familiar and comfortable with. We ran out of time to change the coolant but that will be next on my list. Thanks Larry. This forum is lucky to have a guy like you. I hope someday to pay it forward with what you taught me.
 
Larry actually reached out to me after I posted my issues with the rear brake locking up. Larry was a huge help as he gave me a parts list for the SMC and thermostat. Also gave me a link to his favorite Honda parts supplier. After I received the parts he took the time to walk me through the repair. John Wayne lives on.
Thanks Larry for all your help. America needs more people like you.
 
Well I just had to let the members know that my Larry story is one for the books. I bought this bike at a government surplus auction, 07 ST1300, ABS, police bike (or so I thought) with 36k miles. Had it shipped across country and when it came off the trailer it didn't look like the pictures I had received but "buyer beware".
Quick clean up and take the bike out for a spin and within 10 miles I can't shift the bike due to clutch issue ( just my good Irish luck). Joined the forum and post my issue and who do you think is the first person to respond ---- Mr ST1300 himself----- Larry. I can't remember now how many calls, texts, emails he sent me with all of his advice but I know it was a lot and after time it was diagnosed with a bad "slave cylinder". Before I forget kudos to "Pete" who also was great help with advice on the slave cylinder and after 2 weeks ( took a little while since I had double knee replacement surgery) I finished the job with no more issues. Sometime later I wanted to go through the bike and have all kinds of service done so I could feel more confident on my longer rides. Contacted Larry and made an appointment to come out to Tucson for him to go thru the bike and see what it needed. At this point you guys might guess the end of this story---- Larry takes one look at and immediately see's a bunch stuff that I never noticed ( glad I put it on the trailer instead of driving it) and needless to say 48 hours later he brought it back to life. Here's the list of work completed but I'm sure I'll forget something, fork seals, front & rear brakes ( along with all the bleeding), coolant flush with new hoses, rear hub service, spark plug wire replaced, throttle body sync, new body panel fasteners, etc. Did I mention I thought I bought a police bike? Turns out it is a civilian model and all the police equipment was added later on so the after market wiring was a complete mess ( i mean down right nasty) and Larry just starting cutting wires off the harness and 2 hours later we had a pile of wires on the floor of his garage. Larry has the pictures and I hope one day he can post them so everyone can get a good laugh. Plenty more to the story including the wildlife at his house and the snow storm we had but that's for later. If anyone is ever thinking of having work done on their Honda---------- Larry is the man!
 
mikekc said:
Well I just had to let the members know that my Larry story is one for the books. I bought this bike at a government surplus auction, 07 ST1300, ABS, police bike (or so I thought) with 36k miles. Had it shipped across country and when it came off the trailer it didn't look like the pictures I had received but "buyer beware".
Quick clean up and take the bike out for a spin and within 10 miles I can't shift the bike due to clutch issue ( just my good Irish luck). Joined the forum and post my issue and who do you think is the first person to respond ---- Mr ST1300 himself----- Larry. I can't remember now how many calls, texts, emails he sent me with all of his advice but I know it was a lot and after time it was diagnosed with a bad "slave cylinder". Before I forget kudos to "Pete" who also was great help with advice on the slave cylinder and after 2 weeks ( took a little while since I had double knee replacement surgery) I finished the job with no more issues. Sometime later I wanted to go through the bike and have all kinds of service done so I could feel more confident on my longer rides. Contacted Larry and made an appointment to come out to Tucson for him to go thru the bike and see what it needed. At this point you guys might guess the end of this story---- Larry takes one look at and immediately see's a bunch stuff that I never noticed ( glad I put it on the trailer instead of driving it) and needless to say 48 hours later he brought it back to life. Here's the list of work completed but I'm sure I'll forget something, fork seals, front & rear brakes ( along with all the bleeding), coolant flush with new hoses, rear hub service, spark plug wire replaced, throttle body sync, new body panel fasteners, etc. Did I mention I thought I bought a police bike? Turns out it is a civilian model and all the police equipment was added later on so the after market wiring was a complete mess ( i mean down right nasty) and Larry just starting cutting wires off the harness and 2 hours later we had a pile of wires on the floor of his garage. Larry has the pictures and I hope one day he can post them so everyone can get a good laugh. Plenty more to the story including the wildlife at his house and the snow storm we had but that's for later. If anyone is ever thinking of having work done on their Honda---------- Larry is the man!
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This folks is just half of the wiring that came off his bike! :eek: and those who know me, know I don't like dealing with electrical stuff :well1:
The T-stat, while not frozen open like most are found, was showing scrape marks on the barrel, from sticking.....why was it sticking you ask?
If you look closely, you'll see a big piece of black paint from the inside of the radiator pipe was jammed up against the plunger :doh1:
His "Police" bike purchase turned out to be an ordinary civilian model, that some escort company probably used, abused, crashed, and then sold at auction like so many others.
Besides the trashed flange bearings, torn rear wheel O-ring(s), no moly paste on the rear splines, a frozen secondary master cylinder, enough air in the brake and clutch system to film a sea hunt video :rofl1: worn out, oil soaked, front brake pads, misaligned forks, blown out fork seals, starter valve sync way off, counter balance adjuster several graduation marks off, enough dirt in the air filter to grow marijuana, loose spark plugs, damaged plug wire, loose ground wires, missing half its coolant, radiator pipes crushed and overtightened into an egg shape, paint through out the coolant system, and inside the pipes, damaged coolant hoses, loose clamps, throttle cable way out of adjustment, triple tree mounting hardware finger tight, front axle nut half way out (at least it wasn't missing) fork bushings completely worn out, one fork spring was upside down, and not seated on the cartridge properly, missing all kinds of fasteners, or stuff in the wrong place, battery connections were loose, trailer hitch wiring etc.
Yet this was just another example of the "bike in good running condition, needs nothing, ready to be ridden off into the sunset," sales pitch, auction bike. :nuts:
The fun part of this whole adventure was the garage time together with Mike :thumb:
Watching the look on his face as a scorpion crawled across my boot while working on the forks....or the bobcat that walked up my driveway, sat down, and started grooming itself, while watching us work...or the sound of my baby rattlesnake in my tool box that wanted to come out and visit, that Mike wanted nothing to do with :rofl1: or the rain and hail less than half an hour later, only to open the garage door and find a couple inches of snow on the ground in the driveway :crackup:
A day well spent, a new friend made, another ST rescued.
All in all, a typical day at OCD Enterprises.
 
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Wow, VERY impressive...it’s always a roll of the dice when getting a used bike (I bow to the experts with these bikes and all the work you get done on them). Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug (unfortunately). It’s also why I likely won’t part with my 2 STs. I know them very well (well, not as well as many of the experts on this forum, but well enough) and getting a replacement might be a ‘misadventure’. If I am in the market for an ST1300, I would likely get one from a prior owner here (Well, my brother and I did- that’s the 1300 out in Colorado- that turned out to be a very nice ride!).
 
IGOFAR asked me to post these photos for him. they concern the solution to the cold fast idle problem on the st1300 any question contact IGOFAR.
 

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I really can’t say enough about @Igofar. I’ll give a few examples of what he helped me accomplish, over the phone no less!!!
My first call to the white courtesy phone
I learned:
A better way to get the beast onto the center stand.
That my forks were twisted.
To pull the clutch lever during an oil change warmup, to remove debris between the plates.
@Igofar walked me through;
An ENTIRE brake system layout and how to properly bleed the system, as well as a cool motion pro check valve for one person bleeding.
Larry walked me through how to tear down the rear hub and properly replace the O-Rings, and lubricate the splines.
I’m sure I forgot something?
Man Larry, you got it down!!! Your perseverance has really gone a long way, I can’t thank you enough.
I’m hopefully going from Northern California to key west and really needed the crash course, it’s my first ST1300. I have a couple tools and like to be prepared and do what I can on th ST.
Just what I needed!!!!
Thanks for your time @Igofar.
Hopefully I can meet you in person soon.
 
I know some of you warned me but I did it anyway... I gave my 2005 to Igofar and let him work his magic. He worked from front to rear and left no nut untightened or untorqued. Fork seals, brakes, coolant, radiator, clutch, oil,spark plugs, rear bearing, spline lube - a brief list but by no means exhaustive. The result is that now I have a bike that I am not worthy to ride! It’s perfect and I’m not. A huge shout out to Igofar for his meticulous work. Thank you!
 
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