My First Taste Of ST

As you know, I've been jonesing for an ST, despite the fact that I've never ridden one. I'm drawn to the touring abilities of the bike; obviously a more natural tourer than a 750 Magna.

I've been trolling eBay and Craigslist for ST's of both varieties, and saw a downright cheap ST1100 on Craiglist on the south side of Indianapolis.

The listing was terse: 1993 ST1100, 20,000 miles, no mechanical problems, runs and rides great.

I called the owner and chatted about the bike, and decided to go see it after work on Monday.



When I arrived at 7 pm the ST1100 was sitting in the driveway, and the owner emerged before I dismounted the Magna. I started sniffing around the bike as he began a folksy spiel about his adventures with the bike.

I should've known by the absence of any description of its appearance in the listing that it would have a few warts.

First thing I found was a poorly fitting saddlebag, which had obviously been split like a melon, and then puttied back together. Poorly.

On to the dash, which was held together with liberal amounts of bondo, painted gloss black.

"What happened here?"

"Oh, I had a bunch of lumber fall from an overhead rack onto the bike when it was in the garage."

Then to the cracked right valve cover. "That must've happened when my wife backed into it and knocked it over," he supplied.

Scuffs on the right mirror stem, and bags. Closer inspection showed swirled scuffs on the right saddlebag. "I lost that saddlebag at about 40 mph because I didn't have it fastened in properly."

I told him I had just seen a pair of Honda Maroon ST1100 saddlebags on Craigslist.

"Oh, this isn't the original color. I had the bike repainted Mustang Red to match the repainted saddlebag."

This was getting comical.

I noticed the front fender was floating - the mounting bolts had disappeared.

He noticed that I noticed. "I must not have tightened the fender bolts tight enough after I had the fender repainted. But the fender doesn't rattle or nothin'."

The fender bolts weren't the only thing missing; about half of the bolts and fasteners which fastened the body panels to the bike were missing. Many of the ones remaining were stripped or mismatched.

"I did have to push it about 3/4 of a mile when I ran out of gas one time. The previous owner had installed power mirrors, and he had a loose wire that shorted out and took the fuel gauge with it."

He supplied some additional testimonial: "The bike's real solid going down the road, and the windshield blocks the wind just great. I can even take my hands off the handlebar, light a cigarette, and smoke it."

After all this, I was ready to walk away, when he said, "Well, you're obviously bike savvy. Would you like to take it for a spin?"

"Sure," I replied.

My first time riding an ST, and I was very tentative, despite the fact that I probably could have dropped the bike, picked it up and returned it to him and he wouldn't have been able to tell.

Plenty of power, and a comfortable, natural seating position. I should've taken advantage of his generous offer and driven it for half an hour, but instead, I returned the bike to him after a brief spin around the neighborhood.

I told him there were a few more cosmetic issues on the bike than I was looking for, and I wished him good luck. He apologized. I think he felt guilty for leaving out those important details from his listing. He confessed the bike had been for sale for a long time and he hadn't had any luck selling it.

"I wonder why," I said to my self, sarcastically.

It was worth my trip, even if the bike was a turd, because I got to ride an ST for the first time, and confirmed that the seating position was comfortable.

I think I'm on the right track with this quest. I think an ST is what I want, though it'll take longer than a few minutes of riding time to feel comfortable enough to push the bike, and see what it can do.

From what I saw, and all that I've heard, I don't think I'll be disappointed.