Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 01:20:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jim Alexander <jalexand@netcom.com>
Subject: STuff #11 (Yeah!)
I hope you're sitting down, because it is a miracle I finally got this
one out!
Should have been ...September ' 94, but really is October '94 STuff
Stuff #11 -- Falling STuff
I must apologize to all of you receiving this. I have been busy and even
out on the ST in Colorado, but did not have time to finish this copy of
STuff. I even had to replace this opening paragraph because I had written
it while on the road three weeks ago with the intention of sending it out
then, but it didn't happen as you well know. I even had started it with
85k+ on the ST and I know have 89k+ on the old girl. Here it is and I am
working now on the version for the special issue covering audio
electronics on the ST1100. I have received some great items for this, but
if you have something you have not sent me, please forward it soon and I
will be able to include it.
On the weekend of August 19 & 20th, four ST1100 owners got together to do
valve adjustments and Carb syncs at my house. Reuben White, a very early
member of the HSTA and the owner of a beautiful ST1100 was very helpful as
he has done the complete procedure. His assistance and sage advice was
very helpful in getting the job done on all three bikes. Grant Norman's
writeup about valve adjustments was also very helpful. If you not
subscribing to Grant ST1100 newsletter you should consider subscribing.
I now have over 89k miles and I am rapidly closing in on the time I have
to replace the timing belt! That is going to be interesting. I haven't
decided if I am going to pay to have it done or I am going to do it
myself.
There has been a very active discussion about the 1995 Iron Butt on
Compuserve. It seems there are at least 4 CISsies (as they are called)
who will be riding in the Iron Butt. At least two (Martin Hilderbrandt
and Grant Norman) are planning on riding ST1100. Of course, there are at
leas two more people I know who will be riding Sts including Garve Nelson
and Ron Major. Maybe we Has anybody really heard about the 1995 ST yet?
Ride safe, but have fun while you're doing it!
Jim Alexander 1991 ST1100 (89k+) HSTA Electronic Ambassador
STOC#0009 HSTA#2307 HRCA#HM700461 AMA#415932 DoD #9388
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Traditional Cheesy Table of Contents:
Top Box & Rack US part numbers Saiid Mahmoudi
and His review of the Box
Bagster Tank Bag review Mike Rowland
STs at the BMWMOA rally David.Dorfman
Major Engineering Bar risers Charlie Woods
A Great place for a gauge! Norm Young
New TBR Pipes - First Impressions Charlie Woods
ST Mileage & Michelin Tire report George Catt
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From: "Abolfath S. Mahmoudi x5540" <asm@gasco.com>
Subject: ST1100 Top Box & Rack US part numbers
My Honda shop was finally able to provide me with the following part
numbers and prices for the ST1100 top box and the bracket for the top box:
PART NUBMER DESCRIPTION PRICE
08L42-MT3-B00 BRACKET TOP BOX 82.50
08L55-MV1-860 TOP BOX BLACK/GRAY 165.00
The shop that I deal with is located in St. Johns, OR. Their phone number
is (503) 286-88168.
Later Saiid wrote:
Subject: ST1100 Top Box
I went ahead and ordered the top box for the ST1100. However, it turned
out to be a disappointing experience. It arrived yesterday and I went to
pick it up at the dealership. We opened the box, and to my dismay,
discovered that the top boxe's bottom was made of black plastic and the
top part was made of a grayish plastic with a rough granulated surface.
The plastic parts of the mounting bracket seemed to match the gray
plastic, both in color and in texture, that is used in the body of the
ST1100 line. I have a gray model (91). I asked the sales people to
double check with Honda and make sure that I didn't get a prototype. Have
you heard from anybody elese on this? I am curious.
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Bagster Bra & Tank Bag
By: Mike Rowland < mrowland@ocs.com >
I read Ross King's article about the Bagster tank-bag setup in the Winter
1994 edition of the ST1100 Newsletter. I was looking for a tank bag, and
this looked like it would fit my needs. The address of the dealer,
Capital Cycle Corp. was in Sterling Virginia, only 40 miles away. These
bags are made in Europe and, to my knowledge, Capital Cycle is the only
importer/distributor in the US.
I was taking a few days off work for some R&R on my bike and figured I
would go by Capital Cycle on my way out of the Washington DC Area and see
what this setup looked like.
They are located in an office/warehouse park and don't have much of a
show room. The warehouse is huge. Capital Cycle is a large distributor
for BMW parts and accessories, so they did not have the ST1100 tank cover
in stock. Since the bags are universal, and go on any tank cover, I was
able to choose the bag I wanted, but had to wait for them to order the
tank cover. I placed an order for a gray & black, medium sized tank bag,
and a dark gray tank cover. I have a silver ST so this looked like the
best color.
About 5 weeks later the tank cover and tank bag arrived. The tank bag
has a clear plastic map window and a small zippered compartment on the
top. I use this compartment for pens, high-liters etc. The main part of
the bag is about 5" deep 15" long and 10" wide. There is a zipper around
the outside that allows it to expand another 1 1/2 - 2". Under the front
is another zipper to another compartment that holds the rain cover. The
rain cover is attached to the bag, inside the zipper and works very well.
The tank cover is one piece with padded sides and a zippered flap to
allow you to get to the gas tank. The tank cover did not come with any
instructions so it took me a little while to figure out how to attach it.
There are two rubber clips that hook onto the front of the tank cover,
this part was both obvious and easy. There is a 1 inch nylon strap on
either side of the cover towards the back. The only place I could find to
wrap these around was the motor mounts. You must remove the sides panels
of the bike to get to them. The strap then passes through the crack
between the side panels and the plastic tank cover. The side panels did
not go back on real easy but after playing with them a little they snapped
into place, leaving a small gap between the two parts. Finally there were
two shoe laces on the back. I removed the seat and wrapped these around
the two wire "U" pieces that look like they were designed for a tank bag
hold down.
I used the bag when I went to Ashville, for the Honda Hoot. It held my
maps, rain gear, camera, and more. The bag goes on and off easily but
stays put once mounted.
My only complaint would be that you can not put the rain cover over the
bag with one hand. If you hit rain, you must stop to put the cover on.
The bag is somewhat water resistant but will leak.
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>From David.Dorfman@East.Sun.COM
Subject: Sts at the BMWMOA rally in Moodus, CT
A report from the annual BMWMOA get together in Moodus CT, I traveled to
the BMWMOA in company of a number of NEDOD members and attended as an
officially registered participant. I spent most of the weekend searching
for other ST's among the of ST wannabees known as BMW's. I saw a large
number of these inferior motorcycles, which coincidentally cost a great
deal more money then the ST.
I spotted two other ST's, a black 91 with 89,000 miles on the odometer and
in great shape, completely stock with lots of visable scratches on the
bottom side of the engine guards. I especially liked the motorcycle helmet
tire filler valve covers. This guy has been riding a lot, maintaining his
bike and taking some HARD corners. Other then touching the engine covers
during riding this bike has never been down.
The other one was a brand new ABS/TCS candy red with 3,000 miles parked up
by the motel area. Looked nice, of course my silver 91 was also in
attendence.
All in all a nice time, we should try to get a larger ST contingent to the
BMW ralleys in order to show these BMW owners what a real sports tourer is
all about.
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>From chaswoods@aol.com
Subject: Major Engineering Bar risers
WOW, the "handle bar risers" came in Monday, got them installed
Tuesday and went for a ride.......
For the first time, I can honestly say, " I really Love my ST"....
Installation was simple (almost), my '92 didn't really have enough length
on the throttle cables in a full left hand turn.... So, I had to move the
assembly a little closer to the center of the bars. This leaves about a
1/2" gap between the foam grips and the handle bar weights.... obtw, also
had to move the clutch and brake master cyls. in a little for length.....
also had to remove one brake line clamp on the right downtube...
Other than that, it was pretty simple...(grin)... Maybe some instruction
need to be written as to what to watch out far.
I did get the red ones.... pretty neat...
Thanks for telling me about them....
He also sent some pictures of his extra tank and luggage rack...
My local Honda dealership has on display a "tour pack" that mounts on the
back of the ST, its red fiberglass (matches the bike), almost looks like a
GoldWing trunk.... I believe the tourpack si $250 (painted) and $75 for
the mount....
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From: Norm Young <young@uranus.dgrc.doc.ca>
Subject: A Great place for a gauge!
I made a small mod to my ST that may be of interest to others on the
STuff list.
On a recent visit to Europe I noticed that the newer STs over there don't
have the headlight adjuster knob on the instrument panel, just a blank
plate covering the hole. This gave me an idea. I've always missed having
a voltmeter on the bike but hadn't found a suitable spot to mount it. I
almost never adjust the headlight anyway so I decided to mount it in where
the headlight adjuster was. I just cut a larger hole in the existing
mounting plate and poped in a voltmeter which sort of matched the other
instruments.
Installation was a snap and I really like being able to see what is
happening with the electrical system especially when I'm using my electric
vest (I also have a 100W headlight bulb installed). For instance, I now
know that my battery is getting rather tired even though it still starts
the bike just fine. I also noticed some erratic operation of my voltage
regulator when I was riding in heavy rain near New Orleans this summer.
It cleared up when the bike dried out but I now know that I should
check/grease the connectors.
The only thing I would do differently if I did it again is to get a meter
from a marine store so that it is completely waterproof.
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From: Charlie Woods <CHASWOODS@aol.com>
Subject: New TBR Pipes - First Impressions
Well guys, the TB pipes have almost 500 miles on them (not bad for 3 days
in and around town (did include the Honda Shadow Rally saturday). The
pipes are getting LOUDER than they were as first installed.... My gas
mileage (2nd) tank is maybe just a little higher than it was... (1st tank
didn't count cause I kept my right wrist "screwed up"....
The sound is something else.... One nice benny is that now, cars won't
drive beside you on the freeway (a plus). On the minus side is that you
can't downshift and gas it without everyone behind you knowing it ( Johnny
Law seems to like them too, cause he sure likes to follow behind me.
The rpm range where the pipes are the loudest (purrerest) is from 1500 to
3500 rpm, they sound just like a porche with pipes. I love it...
Additionally, a new ST owner at the shop friday afternoon wanted to hear
the pipes. I started the ST up and immediately set of the car alarm of
the car parked beside me..... Thank goodness the owner was a biker and
thought it was funny.... Guess I'll have to be real carefull late at
night.
There is now throttle lag under accelleration so the jets are probably
just about right (as advertised), but the poping is there on decelleration
which I believe indicates a leaner mixture.
HEY- The national R&D person from Honda was at the rally saturday, he and
a couple of the Honda guys with him took video and pictures of the TB pipe
installation and Ron Major's handlebar risers. They were also interested
in the Rifle Windshield, throttle lock, and Goldwing helmet holders
(replaces both lever screws). They quizzed me quite a bit about the bike
since they found out I'd traded in a '89 GoldWing 1500 on it. They were
also shocked at some of my answers about the "Wing-a-bago".
Just started planning for a Colorado trip Wednesday October 5th with a
friend from Austin, TX. Probably a quick one, returning the following
sunday night, 5 days, 3000 miles, "no-problemo" except my friend is riding
a custom harley hard tail..... I've got to remember to tell him to take
"kidneys" off his organ donor card........
So, that's about it, my ST is something between a sport bike (pipes) and a
touring bike (handlebar risers).... But, after all, isn't that it's name
anyway?
Take care guys,
Charlie
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[editors note: George has drilled out his baffles in his mufflers per
the instructions in the FAQ and had originally thought he was getting
better mileage, but it sounds as thought that was premature]
From: George A Catt +1 708 979 9424 <gac@intgp1.att.com>
Subject: ST Mileage & Michelin Tire report
Don't advertise any increased gas mileage. Since the firST tank after my
minor modifications, I've seen a STeady 43MPG. That's all at highway
speeds, ranging from a Steady to increased mileage seems to be to slow
down, and who wants to do that?!
The Michelin tires are over 10K miles! Looks like they will carry me
through next week'end (another 500+ miles). MoST intereSTing: the front
is as worn as the back! I've never had that happen before. A new set of
Avons is waiting in the wings.
Looks like my HSTA mileage conteST numbers will approach 25K. This
Saturday (10-16) is the deadline. Don't forget to submit your final
mileage.
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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 and the nature of its origin is included.
Jim Alexander CIS: 73373,2113 jalexand@netcom.com