Reclaiming the lost

smartiq

smartiq

Joined
Jul 4, 2021
Messages
40
Age
43
Location
Eastern Washington
The year is 2010. I ride my Dad's 1991 Honda ST1100 that he has graciously let me borrow while fresh out
of college to a youth group meeting. Upon entering the the meeting, I spot a beautiful girl
sitting at one of the tables. I boldly sit next to her and spark up a conversation.
She notices my riding gear and asks if I have a motorcycle? "Yes", I reply, and she states she
has always wanted to try riding one. I extend to her an open ended offer to allow her a ride
upon the Pillion seat on my bike. Time slides forward 3 days...

The phone rings! I answer. It's the girl! She would love to go for a ride. She
has never been on a motorcycle before so I verse her in proper passenger etiquette and
we are off. The April day in eastern Washington state is brisk, but we both have the
time of our life. We ride the ST1100 across the state and great times happen. She
falls in love with the motorcycle (and maybe me?).

Time slides 9 months. We are married. The next several years are filled with
motorcycle rides. ST1100, Harley, etc. We ride with friends and family. Our
family has Harleys so slowly the Harley is ridden more and the ST less (shame, I know).

Life happens. One day I go out to the garage and try to start the ST. Battery is dead.
Better fix that soon.

Time slides.

2019 approaches. My now wife and I have a renewed interest in motorcycles. We
purchase a KTM 1290 SAR. This throws gasoline on my love for motorcycles. The
fact we now have a KTM seems to necessitate improvement to my mechanical abilities.
We ride the SAR thousands of miles across the USA and love it. We purchase tools.
Lots of tools.

Covid happens. We cancel 5 motorcycle trips and instead do weekend rides. Time slides.

2021 show ups. My wife randomly falls in love again. With a BMW. Soon our garage has
an R1250GS. Middle age must have snuck up on us :)

As I drift to sleep at night, a tugging on my heart happens almost daily. The poor ST1100.
It was our first love. It relaxes in the corner of our garage, with its KTM and BMW sisters.
But its health is lacking.

I know what you are likely thinking? Have you drained the fuel? Is it properly configured
for storage? Are the carbs empty?

The answer to some of these questions is yes, but I would be lying to say it has been well
cared for. "At least it hasn't been in the weather" I tell myself to make myself sleep better.
But deep down I know I have failed it. My first love is hurting. If only I could make it right.

Father's day 2021 rolls around. My wife rotates towards me in her office chair. "What
would you like for Father's day" she asks? I sit, contemplating her question. "A restored,
running, and happy ST1100" I respond. She smiles, for it was her first love too. Previous
conversations have already established that it is a "Forever Bike", one which will not be sold
while we are alive.

"How can we make that happen?" she asks. I suggest a motorcycle lift is a good place to
start, as wrenching on the KTM/BMW have taught me a lesson about ergonomics. "Order one" she
says, smiling.

After my typical overly involved research, I order a Handy lift. Inner me is as excited
as 13 year old me was seeing a Yamaha Banshee for the first time.

Having completely rebuilt my Honda XR250R, I am not a complete newbie to motorcycle repair. I
have also frequently wrench on my other motorcycles. I start reading and researching for the
upcoming ST1100 rebuild. Almost every question I google points to st-owners.com. There
is some amazing information at this site. Knowing other people feel towards their ST1100
like I feel towards mine gives me hope.

I make a short list of things I know I will do:
- Make a thread on st-owners documenting my experience
- New Timing Belt
- New Radiator Hoses
- New Brakes lines (braided?)
- Carb Cleaning
- Carb Balancing (for the icing on top)
- New Tires
- New fluids
- New brake pads
- Paint? or clean the master cylinders

Look at that! I have already crossed an item off my todo list!

I would be honored if you followed me on the journey, and welcome constructive feedback
from those who have gone before.

Don't expect fast progress, as I go slow but attempt to do it right as best I can.

Barry

P.S. Here she sits, waiting for me:
1625449225194.png
 
:bigpop:

Watching this with interest.

Our story has similar elements except it was my wife that introduced me to motorcycles. Our children have/are growing up riding with our 2nd born (now 20 and a member here @StealthyNinja ) starting at 3.5 years old all the way down to our youngest who is in training now.
 

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What a superb introduction speech. That looks superb - and what a project. At least you know the history, and I think a new battery might need to be added to the list - and a battery tender because you will need to keep it charged before it eventually gets out onto the road.

Looking forward to reading this - oh, and welcome to the forum.

I can't help feeling sorry for your Dad though. Did he ever discover what happened to his ST1100 ?
 
Good point @jfheath. I am planning on replacing the battery, but accidentally left it off the list. Good catch. I run battery tenders on my motorcycles, especially during the off season. I am contemplating trying a lithium battery (and compatible tender), just to learn new things and see what they are like.

My Dad definitely knows about the state of the union and the rebuild. He lacks a garage, so he has been happy to let me store it for "free". He is also excited about the rebuild. He had issues "bonding" with the ST due to geometry issues. We might solve that with some risers or something after this is all done. Or we might buy it from him. Stay tuned ;-)

In other news, today I ordered the Haynes manual. I was fortunate enough to have already purchased the official Honda ST1100 service manual. I have found the Haynes manuals useful as they give alternate solutions if I don't have the proper Honda tool, along with providing a different narrative.

I also started down the ST1100 wormhole of what tires to run (an ST owners favorite topic). I had been running Avon tires (Storms maybe?). I was thinking Bridgestone T30 Evos, but looks like they are out of stock at all my usual shopping hangouts. Good thing I don't need them soon ;).

Appreciate the welcome!
 
smartiq said:
Good point @jfheath. I am planning on replacing the battery, but accidentally left it off the list. Good catch. I run battery tenders on my motorcycles, especially during the off season. I am contemplating trying a lithium battery (and compatible tender), just to learn new things and see what they are like.

My Dad definitely knows about the state of the union and the rebuild. He lacks a garage, so he has been happy to let me store it for "free". He is also excited about the rebuild. He had issues "bonding" with the ST due to geometry issues. We might solve that with some risers or something after this is all done. Or we might buy it from him. Stay tuned ;-)

In other news, today I ordered the Haynes manual. I was fortunate enough to have already purchased the official Honda ST1100 service manual. I have found the Haynes manuals useful as they give alternate solutions if I don't have the proper Honda tool, along with providing a different narrative.

I also started down the ST1100 wormhole of what tires to run (an ST owners favorite topic). I had been running Avon tires (Storms maybe?). I was thinking Bridgestone T30 Evos, but looks like they are out of stock at all my usual shopping hangouts. Good thing I don't need them soon ;).

Appreciate the welcome!
Click to expand...
There are several 'refurbish this, replace that' stories on the ST1100. Search on your topic with the 'Search' function, top right. Youtube has a few good how-to's also. I leaned on Youtube prior to replacing the timing belt on my 1991 right after I bought it.
 
Welcome and Howdy from Texas! Great story on your ST. You'll find plenty of advice and encouragement from the members here. We're suckers for good stories, restoration projects and pictures (lots of pictures!). I look forward to following your progress.
 
Welcome to the forum.
You are far too experienced to need this article, written by a bunch of members here, but maybe it will be of some use. Good luck on your restoration.
As mentioned, there are articles and discussions for specific problems and procedures that you can find with a search. The article list is not really that long, and often just reading down the titles is faster than a search.

Article - Maintenance Items Needed for a New (old) Bike | Articles

This article is the result of collaboration by Andrew Shadow, CYYJ, jfheath, Max Pete, SMSW, and SupraSabre. Igofar’s list was copied from the first link listed above. Click on the attached file. This one is V.11; in the future, any changes will be noted in the title on the first page as the...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
Welcome too, from the Sunny Southland!
I'm sorry for the time spent on Harleys, when you could have enjoyed the KTM or the GS instead... ok, I kid.
I got here from the KTM Adventure world, and just didn't have space for two full-size bikes at the time. So good on ya for keeping them.
Mrs. Smartiq sounds like a real jewel, so I might suggest you keep her, as well.
 
The Haynes manual is pretty good - but my the version of the manual had an error in the sequence for balancing the carburettors - which doubtless you will get onto eventually.
It described the action of one of the adjusting screws on the right hand side incorrectly. They may have amended later versions - I don't know. But find out from someone before doing it.
@John OoSTerhuis put me right on this many years ago.

I hung on to my 1100 for as long as possible. But I had an accident. Full protective gear on. I broke my elbow. Bike was perfectly OK. I had slipped on a patch of grass unloading the tent from the pannier and fell on my back with my arm behind me. Continued to ride, no pain - but a few weeks later noticed that I couldn't straighten my arm. X ray revealed 6 bone fragments from the broken olecranon floating around in my arm - one of which was preventing my arm from straightening.

Dr said it was OK - you can live with it - but it may suddenly lock up on you. So the next few months I was practicing what to do if suddenly I discovered that my right elbow wouldn't articulate when I was riding.

But the steering became too heavy for me. After a couple of hours, my arm was too knackered to ride. For that reason, the 1100 tended to stay in the garage and the 1300 found its way to the front. No such problems with the 1300 with bar risers. But I so loved taking the 1100 out for a half hour ride every couple of weeks. Beautiful machine.

Tyres - the original OEM exedras were always pretty good, and hard wearing. The T30GT are good on the 1300 as are the T31s and so far the T32s - but what is good for the 1300 isn't necessarily good for the 1100. I recall that for one tyre Bridgestone did not recommend their heavier duty trye for the 1100, although it was recommended for the 1300. Their website will say which is recommended for your model.
 
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Dang, that REALLY stinks, John.
Having been on here for roughly a year and a half, I've somehow missed the back story of your injury. Likely because you are so low-key and unflappable.
Anyway, if it slows you down, you don't let on.
Now I know.
(cringe)
 
smartiq said:
Today I learned about the time bombs.
Click to expand...
I quickly scanned the article, what I didn’t see was the potential of the 28 amp alternator giving you grief. In that department the red wire bypass was mentioned so that should be on the to do list. Also check the connector to the Voltage regulator/ rectifier make sure it isn’t compromised in any way. There are three yellow wires to that connector follow them back to a red connector, inspect it. You can also do away with that one and connect each wire directly. Inspect your alternator for any oil leakage. ( if it is leaking a 40 amp upgrade is in your future). Keep electrical farkles to a minimum unless you do the upgrade.
thanks for the back story. I wish you a fun uncomplicated restoration process, I know once you’ve completed it, you will garner many years of enjoyment riding it.
 
kiltman said:
I quickly scanned the article, what I didn’t see was the potential of the 28 amp alternator giving you grief.
Click to expand...
Robert, I had a 1300, not an 1100, and as noted, the other guys I consulted made a lot of the suggestions and additions. I've updated/changed/added to the original post and we are now on version 11. On one hand I think its impossible to list everything that can go wrong, and the original intent of the article was items that a new owner should check. On the other hand, it seems to have grown to include things that pop up down the ownership road. If you think the 28 amp alternator is worthy of adding, write something up and I'll include it (subject to my editing). I'm not sure if these alternators fail from age, poor design, or all the gadgets we add that forces them to work harder than envisioned by the guys who designed them.
 
Welcome. I like watching these restore threads. I got a basket case ST1100 back on the road a couple years ago. And a smashed 1300 later that year.
Take your time and enjoy the restoration.
 
SMSW said:
Robert, I had a 1300, not an 1100, and as noted, the other guys I consulted made a lot of the suggestions and additions. I've updated/changed/added to the original post and we are now on version 11. On one hand I think its impossible to list everything that can go wrong, and the original intent of the article was items that a new owner should check. On the other hand, it seems to have grown to include things that pop up down the ownership road. If you think the 28 amp alternator is worthy of adding, write something up and I'll include it (subject to my editing). I'm not sure if these alternators fail from age, poor design, or all the gadgets we add that forces them to work harder than envisioned by the guys who designed them.
Click to expand...
It’s an excellent article and I don’t know how I missed it when you first compiled it. I will do my best on adding something with regards to the 28 amp unit. Of late we are seeing more of the pre ‘96 ST 1100’s being made available, and a good number have not had the upgrade and original owners may just want to get rid of the bike while it’s running well. In my case with my 1990 it was cheaper and easier to find a post 96 with a 40 amp OEM. I digress….it is one of the time bombs and should be mentioned.
cheers
 
smartiq said:
I start reading and researching for the
upcoming ST1100 rebuild. Almost every question I google points to st-owners.com. There
is some amazing information at this site. Knowing other people feel towards their ST1100
like I feel towards mine gives me hope.
Click to expand...
Good luck! There’s a lot of great info in the ST1100 Archive Of Wisdom (AOW) at ST-Riders.net [Link]
The AOW is public but register to read and post in the forums.

Regards, John (fellow 1991 ST1100 owner)
 
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