Date: Tue, 12 Jul 1994 01:00:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jim Alexander <jalexand@netcom.com>
Subject: STuff #09
July '94
Stuff #9 -- The ST summer is moving fast
Finally got home from my 7k+ mile trip, whew! I had a great time. I met
number of you at STAR '94 in Indiana, and missed a number of you at the
Honda Hoot. It sounds like you had a good time in Ashville, NC and I
know we had a great time in Nashville, Indiana. At first, it just doesn't
sound right ... good riding in Indiana? Isn't that the state that David
Letterman is from. They must be a bunch of nuts like him, right? No way!
There is some absolutely beautiful riding to be had in the area. You must
try it, if you haven't.
No ST1100 problems on my trip, except for the head cold for the rider on
the way home. It just isn't fun to have to ride with your head all
stuffed up while STing down the road. Do not feel you have to try this!
I'll have some good stuff to report on in the next STuff (#10). I have a
Darien Jacket, a new Clearview shorty Black tinted windscreen, great radar
detector, and my Major Engineering Bar Risers. Also, Greg Wilhelm,
George Catt, and I all have comments about sounds for your ST.
All great stuff.
Also, I am including the HSTA membership application I said I was including
last time but forgot to include. Some of you did point that out to me. :-)
Ride safe, but have fun while you're doing it!
Jim Alexander 1991 ST1100 HSTA Electronic Ambassador
STOC#0009 HSTA#2307 HRCA#HM700461 AMA#415932
Traditional Cheesy Table of Contents:
Michelin Radials and the ST1100 Charlie Woods
More about VFR Clutch/brake levers on ST Greg Wilhelm
Where has Ralph been? Europe? Ralph Merwin
Comments from #006 Fred Rau, MCN Editor
More AVON comments Steve Bunis
ST1100 with Two Brothers Racing exhaust Russ Madsen
and a response to Russ about this Robert Taft, JR
Honda Sport Touring Assn application Jim Alexander
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Charles Woods <CHASWOODS@aol.com>
Subject: Michelin Radials and the ST1100
I believe you asked for a tire report from anyone that had the Michelin
Radials. Well, here is one...
I had my dealer replace the OEM tires after returning from a 3800 miles
Colorado trip (actual mileage on the tires was 5600). The head shake on
the trip had cupped the front tire beyond belief (actually it was the
last day of the trip that did it, 800 miles straight through).
The Michelin Radials are now 6100 miles old. The original tread depth of
the rear tire was 8/32" and is now almost 4/32", which leads me to believe
that the rear tire will last another 5000 miles making the total somewhere
around 11,500 miles. The front tire is in better shape and has more than
half the tread left (more than that on the "pucker" tread).
General opinions of the tires - The front tire seems to be more well
behaved that the OEM Dunlops. I haven't "slipped" the front tire at all
(which I seemed to be able to do consistantly with the OEM Dunlops).
The rear tire is a different story. Straight line stopping requires
close attention to the amount of force applied to the foot brake. The
tread design of the rear tire has a wide "slick" in the center with no
tread grooves. Anything but dry clean pavement will produce a skid.
This is probably my fault 'cause I'm a 13 year old GoldWing driver, and
just barely 11 months old riding a "Sport Bike".
I've unintentionally (sp?) done burn outs leaving stop lights (I usually
stop close to the "drip strip" in the center of the lane but not exactly
in it).
My next set of tires will be the same. I'm generally satisfied with the
Michelins. Because - I'd rather have higher mileage out of a set of
tires than be able to "stick" to the sides of buildings at 100 mph.
obtw, my Michelins seems to loose about 5 pounds of air a month. The
dealer has cleaned the beads and remounted the tires with no change.
Maybe this is just the nature of radials. Tire pressure is always
(almost) kept at the maximum (40 psi).... Hey, I'm a big guy......
STing the beaST,
Charlie 002
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Greg Wilhelm <gpwilhel@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: VFR Clutch/brake levers on ST
1994 VFR ADJUSTABLE CLUTCH/BRAKE LEVERS ON 1991 ST1100
Upon the suggestion of others I had ordered a 94 Honda VFR clutch lever.
You will recall that the VFR clutch levers are adjustable, while the ST1100
clutch lever is not. I didn't think the price was _too_ outlandish at $28,
(compared to oil or air filters!), so I said "aw, what the heck". It came in
about 4 days later and again I said "what the heck?!?" Stupid me! I forgot
to check what finish the VFR levers had. It was chromed. (8^o) I tried
painting it black, but the paint just didn't like the chrome and would
flake off to a fingernail. Frustrated, I stripped the lever with acetone.
At this point I decided that I had three options:
1. throw the $28 lever into my spare parts bin and chalk up the cost to
experience.
2. mount the lever as-is and ignore the mis-matched finishes.
3. spring for another $28 and order the matching VFR brake lever.
Since I already had sunk costs, I decided to blow another $28 for the
matching chrome adjustable brake lever. It is identical to the stock ST1100
brake lever, only chromed. I mounted both of the little jewels in about
5 minutes. They are exact replacements for the stock levers and replacement
only requires removal of 1 nut/bolt each.
Personally, I like chrome on a motorcycle, even if it is only on the levers.
I am happier with the look now - it's actually kind of trick. Most people
wouldn't notice the difference if they didn't know the ST. The clutch lever
adjustment is identical to that of the stock brake lever, and allows for you
to set your clutch lever engagement point more to your liking. I'm very happy
with the new levers.
At the HSTA rally in Nashville, Jim Alexander mentioned that I should have
been able to find a black adjustable clutch lever. I don't doubt it, but the
'90 thru '94 VRF clutch levers are all given the same number on the dealer's
fiche. We couldn't find any mention of the color on the fiche, either. I
looked through my old copies of moto magazines and found that all VRFs
pictured in these years use chromed levers. I've also noticed that most of the
Hondas use similar lever assemblies, so you might very well be able to find
one with the black finish from another year VFR or some other Honda bike. I
merely quit looking around after I changed levers. Good luck.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Greg Wilhelm gpwilhel@ucs.indiana.edu AMA HSTA DoD#905 1991 Honda ST1100
PhD student: Human Factors Psychology of Information Systems, Indiana Univ.
<<< Editors note: I did tell Greg I thought someone had mentioned the levers
came in black ... I was correct to a point ... If you get the levers
outside of the US, you can get them in black (or so I was told) >>>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Ralph Merwin <ralph@swmerc.rain.com>
Subject: Where has Ralph been? Europe
Hi All. Dropped off the planet there for a while. I just got back from
a month's trip - three weeks in the UK and a week up the west coast from
San Francisco to Portland, OR.
Over 4000 miles on the trip with no problems. I got to change the oil in
an alley behind a bike shop in Swindon, England. I have Avon's on the bike.
The rear tire (now with just over 6000 miles) is just about gone.
Saw several Pan Europeans over in the UK, mostly silver, a couple burgandy,
one green one - sharp! One bike had that little Honda hardbag that bolts
onto the tail section. Looks kinda strange to me, but I like cleaner,
sportier lines.
Ralph
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Fred Rau <mcn.fred@genie.geis.com>
Subject: Comments from #006
Two comments and an offer, from reading the latest STuff (STuff #08):
1) Top Box for STs: On my last visit to Honda of America HQ (about two weeks
ago), I saw the ST top boxes sold in Europe. Beautiful setups. One of the
execs there told me they expected to make them available on the American
market "soon," but couldn't say exactly when.
2) ST Survey in MCN: Surely your comments on the MCN ST1100 Survey reprints
was a misprint. $100 each! I'll bet you meant $1.00 each, huh? If not,
reprints are available from us for only $4.00 each.
<<< Editor's note: Yes Fred ... It was a joke! (ggg) >>>
3) STOC Membership: MCN is now offering free classified ads for national
motorcycling organizations (I think you qualify). Send us a written ad of no
more than 50 words, describing the organization and how people can reach you
for membership information. We'll print it each month for one year, free of
charge, under the "Clubs" listing in the MCN Classifieds. (Such a deal!)
All for now. Thanks for the STuff.
Fred Rau, Editor, Motorcycle Consumer News, STOC #006
Editors Comment: The Trunk box can be ordered through Lakewood Honda in
Lakewood, Colorado. Ask to speak to Scott Mundell.
The Lakewood toll free number is (800) 426-3967.
It can also be obtained from Loveland Motorsports in
Loveland, CO. The Loveland phone number is (303)
667-2243. I don't have the contact name at Loveland,
but I know Jim Petersen will have it.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
From: Steve Bunis SE Southwest Chicago <doc@sunbird.Central.Sun.COM>
Subject: More AVON comments
Regarding the "Avon Tire update" that George Catt wrote in STuff #08 -
There was a letter in the "Response" section in Rider magazine about
a month ago that talked about the Avons and tire pressure re: longevity.
In it an Avon tire rep (Max - don't remember the last name but he's the
only Max there :) responded to comments about the low mileage that
Clement Salvadori got on his set.
The gist of it was that if you're going for maximum traction and cornering,
at the expense of longevity, Max recommended 36-38psi on the rear. If you're
looking for more longevity then bring it up to 38-40psi on the rear. For
the front tire he recommended 36-38psi overall. In Clement's case Max stated that Clement had done most of his riding on back roads at the lower pressure
as Clement apparently likes to lean his ST over :^). I gather Clement got
about 6000 miles on his back tire.
I called Max up at Avon (800-624-7470 - ask for Max :) and asked him about
the above. One of my concerns was that Honda recommends 42psi for all riding
conditions, and I wanted clarification from Avon (being a radial I thought
it might not follow the recommendation exactly) as to their feelings on this.
Basically Max had no problem with the 42psi and stated that I should get over
10,000 miles easily on the rear with that pressure. He stated that the
longevity factor is fairly linear in relation to tire pressure. After some
discussion I decided to run my set at 40psi in the rear and 36psi in the
front. I'll let you know how this translates into miles as time goes on.
To date, I have about 4500 miles on this set and they're still looking good.
My feeling is that I like the idea of getting a tad more traction, and if
they last 10,000 miles I'll be satisfied.
Enjoy,
Steve
Editors note: STeve ... didn't you win the 50/50 drawing at STAR? Where
is my cut ... I sold you the ticket, didn't I? <ggg>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Subject: ST1100 with Two Brothers Racing exhaust
From: Russ Madsen [76550.1366@compuserve.com]
About the Two Brothers Racing pipes we have on our ST1100...I'm too lazy to
do a plug test to check jetting but I can now report that I'm reasonably
certain the engine with stock jetting runs a little leaner now (there's
stock 125 mains on all four carbs and the K&N filter). In the past we've
ridden with the stock pipes to elevations around 10,000+ feet (Yosemite)
where the bike was definitely bogging some and losing power. Now with the
TBR pipes this last trip we were at 10,500+ feet riding through Cedar Breaks
in Utah. The engine ran noticably better and we had a pretty goodly load
with us both aboard plus two weeks worth of luggage.
I don't think it's too lean either. No problems with overheating. t ran
warmer than normal in the desert heat (115 degrees at least) but the temp
needle never went above the middle of it's range. I don't know the elevation
of the Colorado River north of Mexican Hat where it was easily 110 degrees
(probably more like 120), but it was 105' south of Death Valley in Baker (at
9 AM - yikes!) which isn't much above sea level and again no problems.
FWIW, we happened upon the Utah 1088 Rally riders in Escalante and had a
chance to show Ron Majors the settup. He rides a modified ST1100 prepped for
the Iron Butt etc. and uses the stock exhaust. His response was that the TBR
pipes are too loud for his style. They're not horrendous at all and have a
great "tone" IMO. He felt he'd rather sacrifice the power and increased fuel
economy for the quiet of the stock pipes for the long distances he rides.
Our longest day was about 475 miles on this trip, I don't use ear plugs but
have good coverage from the windscreen and didn't think the sound was too
loud, but to each his own in that regard. We found ourselves riding through
several Utah police road blocks one day (they were looking for an armed
robbery suspect), didn't get any negative reactions about the sound of the
pipes from them.
One other thing...in the ST1100 newsletter article, I expressed a possble
concern with heat at the exposed "S" bend from the stock headers to the TBR
canister. I leaned against it two days ago while refueling; while it was hot
to the touch, it wasn't "that" hot. Didn't burn my leg or anything.
Also, while we do get great variance in gas mileage, ranging in the past
(two up and loaded with gear) from as low as 26 to as high as 46 mpg, I'm
also sure we're seeing at least a 10% increase across our riding style.
Worst result on our recent trip was about 30 mpg when we made a run at a
long ton and averaged 80+ mph (6.2 gals for 188 miles). We've seen 50 mpg
with the TBR pipes on easy freeway cruises.
-Russ
Sb: #426137-#ST1100 w/ TBR exhaust
Fm: Robert Taft Jr 74472,3165
To: Russ Madsen 76550,1366 (X)
Russ; Thanks for the reply. I decided several days after sending message to
order the system. I installed them saturday and have to say I'm quite pleased
with the result. The fit and finish is very good. The installation was a snap,
although new exhaust pipe gaskets/spacers would have been nice as one was
severerly stuck to one of the stock pipes. With a small thin flat bladed knife
and a good deal of patience I saved the old gasket.
The sound is great and not overly loud,particulary at speed. I don't
appear to notice any significant improvement in horsepower. However between my
work hours and the almost daily deluge in Savannah I havn't ridden as much as
would like too.
I am tempted to try the stage 10 Factory jetting but will do some checking
around before buying. Also ordered a K&N air filter but have yet to receive.
In summary, I'm very pleased with the Two Brothers product.
In addition to a nice tone, I like the fact that I appear to be heard and
consequently seen much better than before. The stock system is so quiet that
sometimes I felt like beeping my horn when in some traffic conditions.
As far as any discomfort during long hauls, the noise generated as a
combination of the stock windscreen and my height (6'1'') is far more tiring.
Thanks again
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Here is the application I meant to include last time. If you wish to
become an HSTA member, please print this out, fill it out, and mail it to
the address on the top of the application.
Honda Sport Touring Association
9310 167th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052-3739
(206) 882-0224
Membership Application (electronic edition)
Please fill out this application and return it with your membership fee to
address above. Name, address and phone number are included in the annual
Blue Book (membership directory) and the STAReview (national newsletter).
Do not include phone numbers if you don't want them published.
Name: _____________________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip:____________________________________________________
Home Phone: ____________________________ Year of Birth: ___________
Work Phone: ____________________________ Name of spouse: __________
Services which you would be willing to temporarily provide to assist a
members who may suffer a breakdown near you. (please include the items you
can provide):
Tow service__ Storage__ Mechanical aid/tools__ Phone access__
Camp space__ Lodging__ Guide/general assistance__
How you learned of the HSTA (person): ___________________________________
Service you could provide to help the association:_______________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Riding since 19__ Annual Mileage_______ Longest motorcycle trip________
AMA Number _________ (not required for membership)
Primary Motorcycle _______________________ Other motorcycles____________
Major accesories / modifications ________________________________________
Other motorcycle organizations you belong to_____________________________
Hobbies/Sports/past times________________________________________________
Please read and sign: I understand that the Honda Sport Touring
Association can not assume responsibility for any aspect of my safety and
if I participate in any Association event, I do so voluntarily on my own
assessment of my ability, the routes, and all facilities, and conditions,
assuming all risk; and I release and hold the Honda Sport Touring
Association, its officers and members, harmless for any injury or loss
to my person or property which may result therefrom. I also certify that
I am in compliance with my state's financial responsibility laws regarding
proper insurance coverage:
Siganture: ________________________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Membership fees:
Regular Member: $25 / 1yr; $45 / 2yrs; $65 / 3yrs
Sustaining Member: $50 / 1yr; $90 / 2yrs; $130 / 3yrs
Dealer Member: $25 / 1yr; $45 / 2yrs; $65 / 3yrs
Merchant Member: $150 / 1 yr; $270 / 2yrs; $390 / 3yrs
Regular members receive: membership card, personalized name cards, pin,
patch, decals, STAReview subscription, and yearly Blue Book.
Sustaining members receive: regular benifits plus T-shirt, STAReview and
Blue Book by first class mail, 10% discount on events and products,
recognition in STAReview and Blue Book for the extra support of the HSTA
Dealer members get regular benefits plus special notation in the Blue
Book as a service to the other members.
Merchant Members are a national motorcycle related business who wishes to
support the Associations mission and members. Benifits include all
regular member benefits plus advertising in the STAReview for six issues
and a yearly ad in the Blue Book.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
If you make a submission to the STuff newsletter it implies that
you have granted permission to use and distribute that information.
Under the laws of a compilation copyright, I grant rights for this
information to be distributed, providing that it is done for
non-commercial purposes and is distributed freely. I certify that
the information contained in this publication has been released for
free distribution, providing that the authours receive credit for
each contribution.
Jim Alexander CIS: 73373,2113 jalexand@netcom.com