Honda ST1300 (ST1300) reviews

It might seem unfair to compare the ST to a luxury touring bike, but the ST is a touring bike too sport touring. First of all, the ST is an awesome bike. It is very agile and doesn't lack anything when it comes to power. It will go faster than the law, or my good sense, will allow. It doesn't have some of the creature comforts of a luxury tourer, but it is also considerably less expensive. A luxury tourer is the more comfortable of the two, but the ST is by far the most responsive. It is also slightly more economical to drive. I have averaged 40 MPG on the highway on my luxury tourer and 50 MPG on the ST. The ST is easier to service and maintain. The fairing is much easier to remove and the air filter is a lot easier to replace. Changing the oil is about the same. There aren't as many aftermarket accessories for the ST and the ones that are available are usually higher priced. I have had excellent service from the Honda dealers, both before and after the sale. I do a lot of my own maintenance and they have no problem with that. The owner's manual even clearly states the owner can do the maintenance and not affect the warranty. Other manufacturers don't allow that, and then charge exorbitant prices for their service. I have taken the ST on 3+ hour trips, ride it daily to work (70 miles round trip), and ride it just to relax. For the past two summers I have taken trips in excess of 7,000 miles. For the longer trips I will take my Wing. I wouldn't hesitate to take the ST on long trips if it were the only bike I had, but since I have the Wing I will use that instead. For trips shorter than 2,500 miles I will probably take the ST. The bottom line is the ST is an absolutely terrific bike. The Audiovox Cruise Control I added is really a must-have for trips. I replaced the stock seat with a Sergeant seat. That was a mistake. It looks a little nicer, but is no more comfortable. The handlebar riser from Motorcycle Larry has an ideal point to mount the Zumo 550. Show less

I've owned everything from a two stroke Kawi to a six cylinder KZ 1300 (with various Suzuki's, Hondas and Yamahas along the way). This bike does it all. I don't feel that I'm compromising with it as either a sport bike or a Tourer. Performance and reliability are exceptional, range is over 300 miles and it's easily the most comfortable I've ever ridden. I've already gone over 6000 miles and my tires still have plenty of tread on them.
The bike you want if you can only own one. Show less

I bought an ST-1300 new and absolutely love it. If you intend to spend time on a bike, this is the one! The comfort, agility and handling of a sport bike with the comforts of a touring rig. I've commuted on this bike and trekked through the Midwest and loved every minute. On the ST-1300 you won't beat your back up sitting on your tailbone as you would on a cruiser. You won't wear out leaning on your hands like a sport bike. It has better acceleration, better braking and is more comfortable than anything else on the road. Thinking of paying more for a different brand? you're wasting your money. It has adjustable suspension, adjustable headlamps (up, down, 2 highs, 2 lows), adjustable windscreen and a 7 gal tank for long range rides. Try it and you'll be sold too... Show less

Most of us in our ever growing family of ST-owners call this bike Honda's best kept secret. I mean... How can a bike this dependable, this durable, this comfortable, this fast and maneuverable, and this capable of extreme touring (multiple Iron Butt entries) not be the best selling bike in America??? that's OK 'cuz I love it when I get approached at fuel stops and asked, "What is that?Originally I simply wanted a commuter bike for a 90 mile daily round trip, with storage and wind protection.... and ended up with a rekindled passion for riding. There are not enough stars to rate this bike! And to fellow shorter riders (5'6 with 28 inch inseam), I can flat foot one side and almost the other with the seat in the lowest position. Caution... this bike will cause extreme satisfaction! Show less

After almost 27000 miles, I still can't get enough of this bike. It is fun, fast, comfortable, and handles like a dream. The most I have ridden in a day is 700 miles, but I could have gone farther if I had not pulled into my garage in pouring down rain at 10:30 at night. My knees did get stiff due to too many days on the tennis court when I was younger, but they do make aftermarket pegs, which I will have soon. This motorcycle eats up the superslab and twistie backroads with ease. Heated grips and an aftermarket seat help the comfort issue go from great to wonderful. One downfall is the slow turning maneuvers if one puts a bar riser plate on the ST. It still handles great on all kinds of roads and is much more comfortable on long rides, but I have a tendency to accidentally give it too much gas in taking off with a turn, but it is getting better with practice. The stock bars still do better in that regard, but once rolling my hands do not go numb and handling is maybe even better than stock. I would not trade my ST for another bike. It has everything all rolled into one. Show less

I have owned many bikes over the years and call myself an avid rider. I enjoy 500 mile days and put in at least one 1000 mile day per year, just for fun! My typical mileage is 15,000 to 20,000 per year. The only reason I put this info in is so you can compare your riding habits with mine to see if the ST is right for you. I spent about a year trying to decide between the BMW 1150 RT and the ST-1300. I was looking for a used BMW, as the new RT's were out of my budget, and most of the good used ones were out of state. I settled on a new 2007 ST and have not regretted the decision. I picked it up the end of March and already have over 12,000 miles on it, end of August. I have been very pleased with gas mileage, 50 mpg, during commuting. I typically travel 70 to 75 mph, interstate, and gas mileage stays very consistent. During recreational riding when speeds are kept 60 and below I have had as good as 53 mpg, makes a big difference with gas prices around $3 per gallon. Everything about this bike has exceeding my expectations except for the saddle. This is a showroom saddle, not one that you want to be in for long tours. I will remedy that this winter with an aftermarket saddle, still doing my homework on that to pick a good one. The engine is very smooth at all speeds. This bike will flat out get up and haul the mail. I have had the bike to 150 mph and still did not hit the red-line limiter, it gets there quickly too. I did not buy the bike for pure sport, but it is nice to know that you can twist the throttle and get around a semi in very little time. It carries two-up with hardly even noticing and I'm sure will have plenty of power for a pull trailer. I have been very satisfied with this years color, titan silver, looks clean all the time. I have also been very impressed with Honda's pick for tires on this machine, Bridgestones. I still have my original tires and would estimate to have a couple thousand miles left on them, that is with dealer recommendation also. 15,000 miles especially on the rear tire is exceptional, however, the majority of my miles are commuting at constant speeds, although I'm sure wear is dependant on driving habits. If you are debating between sport touring bikes, you will not go wrong if you pick the ST. One other thing that made me choose this bike was very low maintenance outside of fluid changes, which I do myself. BMW recommends valve adjustments every 8,000 miles, the ST's first scheduled valve adjustment is at 40,000. Show less

After 18500 miles, I can say that this is one sweet machine. The biggest drawback is the heat on the legs and ankles. It runs strong and smooth with plenty of power at speed. It does great on the interstate and in the twisties. I am very pleased with every aspect of this bike. It has been ridden in every kind of weather except for snow and had 16000 miles put on it the first year. It is so much fun to take it to the Smokey Mountains, which for me is a 5 hour trip up the interstate. I also commute 42 miles to work on it 2-4 days a week and it seems like such a short ride. I have never ridden an FJR or BMW, but after reading and comparing, I am happy with the ST. Sport touring bikes rule for all around comfort, fun, speed, and durability. Time to ride. Show less

I rode a CBR600F2 and a Suzuki GSXR750 (nice bike) over the last 13 years and a finally found a bike that can do it all. I immediately found the bike flickable and fast on the highway. I get about 40mpg which is good for the heavy NYC traffic. The seat sucks so I am searching the net for options. But this bike is truly gorgeous. NO B.S. I get giddy at the fact I have saddle bags. Nothing out there can hang with Honda quality too. Will update with more miles. Show less

Last year I upgraded from a 2004 VTX1800N Spec 3. I was looking for a nimble but comfortable bike to do some 300-400 mile days on. The St1300 did not fail me. I have ridden many 300+ days in the saddle in complete comfort. That is with the exception of the seat. Honda's stock seat is too soft and gave me some tail bone pain. This why I gave it a 4 for comfort. A custom seat by Rich's solved this and made the bike extremely comfortable. Out side of the seat no lower back or lower arm discomfort. With the windshield up the ride is amazingly quiet at 75 mph. Great gas mileage (43 mpg) with a long cruising range of over 300 miles on a tank. At low speeds the bike feels as if it weighs far less then it does. In the twisties this bike is extremely nimble. Braking is very good. I own the 2006 non-ABS model. In one incident I was rounding a turn to find a deer crossing the road. The brakes did an exceptional job. Show less

I owned a 2006 Honda Silverwing Scooter and I loved it, just turn and go, nice. I took a long trip on it and I had thoughts about if it could hold up for a really long tour (not that I plan one, but if I wanted to). The ST1300 was one of three Honda bikes that I looked at, along with Scootie, I also looked at the VTX1300C - three totally different bikes, that I loved for three different reasons - any of which would be enough to buy any of the three... long story short, I now have the ST1300. The power, comfort, build quality and everything about the bike that I can think of is wonderful. The dealer let me take one for a test drive, the ABS model, I was ready to buy it right then and there, but as I did not want the ABS version, I ordered the non ABS one - which is what I bought. I had to wait for a few days until they uncrated it. When I picked mine up, another customer had also purchased one as it was next to mine awaiting pick up. I basically love everything about the bike except my shortness. I have about a 29 inch inseam, and the bike is about 31 inches high, so I cannot sit flat footed. While the bike is indeed heavy, it rides like everyone says, light and nimble. The gas mileage is wonderful and I love the big tanks. My mileage for now is avg. around 38 MPG. I think it will avg out better over time and after break in, but Scootie got 42 mpg, so this is awesome so far! The other thing I have concern about is passenger comfort. My wife is slim and about the same height as me, when we rode the other day to see how we feel about it two up, she was sliding all over the darn place, slick seat, light wife, shifting and braking make for a lot of movement for my little girl back there. I looked at some after market seats, but am not convinced that a new one would be prudent as neither of us wants to break the sexy look of this bike, so I will continue to look around at everything and look over rider reviews too. I'll come back on the site and update this review after I break in the bike and get a couple hundred or so miles on it. Oh, a cool thing about the Silverwing trade in, it worked out pretty fairly, almost as if it cost me just a few dollars to try out the scooter for a year. That made the whole thing very nice... I got a lot of interesting looks whilst riding the scooter - it is huge, the looks I get on this bike are from thumbs up to a lot of folks just kind of admiring it in a lot more friendly way. It is not a crotch rocket and I am thankful abut that, but it is also not the ultra laid back Lazy Boy all day cruiser that the Gold Wing is. I did actually look over the Gold Wing this time around, but that bike is just way too big for me... more to follow shortly, I expect to put a LOT of fun miles on this bike! Show less