I’ve always been a Honda guy, and loved the ST1300 from the first test drive. Nothing much has happened to change my mind in the six years since I rolled my leftover 2012 model off a dealer’s lot in New Hampshire with 27 miles on it. Properly farkled with the right comfort items and gadgets, it’s a fun and reliable world-class machine for long-distance touring and tearing things up in the twisties, alike. That V4 engine is smooth as butter – whether you like the George Jetson sound or not – and the shaft drive has required no attention besides regular oil changes and lubing the splines with a loving fingerful of that oh-so-holy moly (molybdenum) paste.

My head hasn’t been turned by the sixth gear, electronic suspension, drive modes, and butt-crack warmers available on newer models – I’m not going to remember how many gears my bike had after a long scenic road trip. Considering that, plus all I’ve learned about working on this model and all the spare parts I’ve already collected, I’ve known for a while that my next bike would be another ST.

When I surpassed the 150K mile mark, I knew there was probably still another 150K left in her. All the same, I began taking more of an interest in the classifieds online, thinking about snagging an eventual replacement bike while there are still garage queens on the market with low miles (that means under 50K for this model). Having some redundancy in the garage would be good as well, allowing me to keep riding while one bike is apart for those times when major maintenance is needed, or to just swap parts for something simple that gets busted while waiting on a replacement.

After a couple failed deals with sellers in New York and North Dakota, I saw a pristine looking 2010 come up for sale with under 30K miles on the forums in mid-July. The asking price was more reasonable than what I’d been seeing for similar bikes in this inflated post-pandemic seller’s market. I connected with the seller, James, via forum messages, text, and then finally by phone to discuss the bike’s condition and history. We hit it off on the phone right away, and I just got the feeling he was an upfront kind of guy and serious seller. James is an ST guy and still rides an 1100, so couldn’t justify keeping the 1300 any longer for the limited riding time he got.

I wanted a bike that had had little to no electrical modifications done to it for add-ons or farkles, so I’d be starting with more or less a clean untouched wiring harness (avoiding someone else’s voodoo wiring work). That seemed to be the case here. Neither past owner had really done any modifications to the bike, and all my boxes got checked off as I spoke more with him. He was only too happy to send me additional photos of the bike, so I could get a better idea of the overall condition, which looked great. The final obstacles to the purchase were: 1) The tires were of unknown age and looking pretty worn, only an issue because … 2) its location just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Luckily, I had a three-day weekend coming up at the end of the month and could arrange the time to fly out to Tulsa to complete the purchase, and then ride the bike back home. It would be the reverse of the route I took to do my first Bun Burner Gold certification ride, back in 2016, so I knew I could ride it back in 24 hours or so. The temperatures in Oklahoma had been regularly hitting the 100s this month, so the asphalt would be hot on the tires during the daylight hours of the run. Looking closely at the Dunlop tire photos that James sent me, I decided that they seemed likely to make the 1500 miles, especially if I didn’t push super hard.

I told James I’d buy the bike for his asking price as long as he could pick me up from the airport on the following Saturday. We could then finish up the sale at his house. He agreed and even offered to put me up overnight if needed – just super-nice mid-western hospitality! I regretfully declined, telling him I intended to ride straight home after pickup.

He also refused any sort of down payment, saying “your word is good enough for me”. That’s nice and all, but I admit I was nervous after having two other sellers flake on me. With the verbal agreement in place, I booked the one-way airfare and began planning out what I’d need to bring with me to get the bike in minimally comfortable condition for the long ride home.

On Friday night I received a text update from American Airlines stating my morning flight was to be delayed 1.5 hours. Yikes! That could end up being a good thing or bad thing, since I had been looking at a 2:10 layover in Charlotte. This would cut that down to a dicey 40 minutes, which meant no waiting, but also that there was no room for error. I just had to hope that the arrival and connecting departure gates would be fairly close together.

 

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Claremore OK – Southeast MA
Jul 23-24, 2022
(~1557 miles)

I arose at 0415 on Saturday the 23rd and we were out the door by 0500. Char dropped me off at the handy TF Green Airport in Providence (much easier to get to and less busy than Boston Logan), and getting through security was easy-peasy. I found my way down to my gate at the end of the terminal (ALLL the way at the end), only to discover the restrooms down here were closed for renovations. So I got to tour the entire terminal on foot walking all the way to the other end to find relief.

The flight to Charlotte was mostly empty, so I had an entire row to myself. I still decided to keep a mask on for the flight, being used to not getting sick for two years and not wanting to ruin a good thing. Besides a work trip to Nashville in the spring, I hadn’t flown in at least a couple years. I was excited to see the USB charging ports now available at every seat. It’s the little things, sometimes. I read my Kindle app during the flight so the trip passed by quickly, and it felt like we were landing in no time.

I’d pulled aside one of the flight attendants about making my next flight. After looking up the gates, he broke the news that I’d have quite a hike between them so shouldn’t dawdle. He even allowed me to move up to another empty row near the front of the cabin with my helmet and bag, so I’d be able to deplane that much quicker when we reached the gate.

It was indeed quite a long way through the Charlotte airport, lugging my helmet and big duffel full of riding gear. The people-mover belt systems were a big help in making good time. It turned out that my next flight was delayed by 15 minutes anyway, so I made it in plenty of time. That second flight was pretty full, but also just a quick 2.5 hours before we were landing in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Stepping out of the plane around noon, even into the covered gangway, I could tell it was HOT outside. Like ugh, stiflingly hot. Good thing I was mentally prepared. I texted James and he greeted me in the baggage claim area, a very nice guy, friendly and talkative. We both work in technology, so conversation was easy as we headed out into the hot morning heat and to his car in the parking lot. As we drove out to his place in the eastern suburb of Claremore, he offered multiple times to stop at a restaurant if I was hungry, and said his wife had offered to make up some lunch for us at his house. I thanked him but was planning to hit the road as soon as possible. There was still plenty to do to complete our business and ready the bike, assuming everything checked out.

James and his family have a nice remote piece of property on the outskirts of town – wooded and very peaceful. After making friends with his little pack of dogs, we headed over to his detached garage to conduct our business. The bike was everything he’d represented, and appeared/sounded in fine shape. I took the bike for a short test drive up and down the street, just to make sure nothing seemed out of whack. It ran like a top. We took care of the paperwork and payment side of things, as I unpacked my gear.

His wife came out to greet me and repeated the offer to make us up something to eat. While I would have loved the opportunity to get to know these nice folks a bit better, I was focused on getting my trip started, to make the most of the daylight while it lasted and I still had some energy after the early morning wake-up and two flights to get here!

The tires weren’t great and clearly towards the end of their usable life, but I still judged them to be worthy of the trip home on all highway. I’d brought along my tiny Aerostich air compressor in case of any punctures. James had been kind enough to pick up a cheap tire plug kit for me, since I couldn’t bring mine along in carry on luggage.

Sweating like a pig in the oppressive midday heat already, I worked on setting up the bike as much as I could with some basics for a long trip. While James bolted on the MA license plate I’d brought along, I attached the straps for my small RKA tank bag to the necessary mounting points. I stretched a BeadRider seat cover over the saddle. I’d never used one on a bike, but hoped that it would provide some level of comfort over the stock saddle for this trip. For hydration, I’d brought along a small Camelback reservoir to slide into the tankbag, so I had to figure out where to attach the hose for easy access. It was very weird dealing with a fully stock ST again – all my modifications had been done so long ago on the 2012 that I take all the improvements and conveniences for granted now.

I’d already decided that I’d be using Google Maps to navigate on the ride home. The bike had no existing RAM mounting hardware, and there is no quick way to add it on the ST without additional parts and doohickeys that I didn’t have time to order before the trip. So I felt it best to just deal with the logistics of charging one single device. I’d brought along a corded 12V receptacle that connects to a standard SAE battery tender pigtail. Into that was plugged a 2-port USB charger, with my phone connected to that. I then just slid the phone into the plastic map sleeve that attaches to the top of the tank bag so I could see the screen if needed and access it on the fly.

Once I had everything set up, I cooled myself down a bit with their garden hose and changed into my riding gear. After saying my final goodbyes to James, his wife, and the pooches, I saddled up and headed on out at about 1400. It was very strange riding this ST that was so much “fresher” than my high mileage battle-axe. The shifting was crisp! The (two) motorcycle tires were responsive! It was like being in someone else’s house that is the same floorplan as your own – familiar yet different.

My primary goal for this trip is to make it home safe with the new bike intact, keeping an eye on those worn sport tires whenever I stopped. However, since I was doing the miles anyway, I thought it might be a nice secondary goal for the maiden voyage to christen the new bike with a Bun Burner Gold certification. I wasn’t wed to the idea, but figured I’d take the necessary odometer photos along the way just in case it worked out. So after filling my tank at the nearest gas station by the interstate, I started the clock at 14:23 CDT in the 100 degree heat of northeast Oklahoma.

No cruise control or even throttle lock. No highway pegs. No virtually unlimited water to sip. No Russell Day Long seat to make me forget I even have a bum while riding. While exhilarated to be out on the open road once again, all these deficiencies were constantly making themselves known as my riding habits have been formed around these amenities for the last few years and tens of thousands of miles. My phone began overheating quickly under the clear plastic of the tank bag map sleeve, so I moved it to one of my chest pockets for the remainder of the daylight.

Still concerned about the tires on the hot interstate pavement, I kept my speed to the low 70s for most of the day, and just tried to get into an endurance groove, mentally and physically. After the first couple hours, I was really missing those highway pegs for stretching out my knees, but was doing the best I could by propping my lower legs up on the built-in crash guard covers, with a little extra thigh muscle squeeze.

The Bead Rider definitely helped with airflow under my butt in the 104 degree peak temperature that I saw most of the afternoon, but still only made the riding just barely bearable for more than an hour or two at a time. I was forced to remember how tortuous the stock saddles are on so many motorcycle models, including the ST. I thought about all the guys that regularly ride long distances on stock or near-stock bikes, and my respect for them increased exponentially during this journey.

I made a lot more stops than I usually do, as needed to stretch my legs and rest my butt. The heat also meant I was drinking a lot, so I had to keep on filling the small Camelback bladder at least every hour and a half. Additionally, I was trying to remain conservative as to mileage between fueling up. As-yet I had no reason to trust the fuel gauge on this bike, so I was careful about not pushing things too far. The larger tires on my double-darkside bike have gotten me spoiled by having a (more-or-less) accurate speedo and odometer, but these motorcycle tires probably put me squarely back into the 10% error margin common to most bikes. So I didn’t have a great feel for my true mileage as I rode, and didn’t have a GPS running to use it’s trip meter.

My next fuel stop was in Newburgh, MO, and then I stopped for a Subway dinner break at a Loves somewhere in Illinois around 20:30 local time. I used this opportunity to snatch a photo of my shiny new bike in it’s native environment.

I swigged a 5HE while on the move around 21:00, to wake myself up a bit as the sun finally disappeared and the mercury slooowly started to creep down through the 90s. I had additional overnight fuel stops in Martinsville IL and Springfield OH, and stopped for two 30 minute naps on rest stop picnic tables, just before and after Columbus. I continued the pattern of frequent stops for stretch breaks and to refill my hydration bladder, though at least the water was staying somewhat cool without the sun baking the tank bag. I had another 5HE around 0400, after my second nap, which was enough to get me through until daylight.

I had more fuel stops in Barkeyville PA and then Harrisville PA around 0700, then took I-81 up through the Scranton area, stopping for fuel again in Wilkes-Barre at 1030. I was surprised and frustrated to find that I-84 through the remainder of the Keystone State was much busier than I thought it should be for a random Sunday morning. It’s usually a pretty quick and enjoyable ride, save for the long-term construction zones that have been there forever.

 

Stopping off at the Red Line Diner in Fishkill NY was a given, since it was just past noon. I don’t recall what I ordered for lunch, but I did sample a piece of peach pie a la mode.

I once again lucked out with another unimpeded ride on I-84 though Connecticut. It seems like the big highway project through Waterbury is finally paying off, at least on weekends (?). I knew I was getting close to the 24 hour mark as I crossed the Massachusetts border. My odometer was showing that I’d done the required 1500 miles for a BBG, but I knew it was likely under-reading a bit with the MC tires, and I wasn’t running a GPS to compare for this trip.

There’s a service plaza shortly after merging onto the Mass Pike, but my posterior was in pain and I decided to pull off sooner in Sturbridge. I was tired and thirsty in the continued heatwave that was affecting even the New England states that week. I fueled up and went inside to use the facilities and get some fresh water.

By the time I was ready to move again, I was at the 24 hour mark. It was either good enough, or it wasn’t. 🤷‍♂️ Figuring that out would have to wait until after the trip when I could check the entire route point-to-point via Google Maps. Honestly, I didn’t much care at this point. 🙂 I just wanted OFF THIS SEAT.

I covered the remaining miles quickly to get home, where I pulled my new ride into a garage berth behind my 2012. Double your pleasure!

I had the following day, my birthday, off and began the painstaking process of finding and ordering farkles from the comfort of my couch, to be installed over the coming winter. While the 2012 will continue to be my primary rally and long distance touring machine, I plan to set the new one up to a base comfort level for shorter day rides around the region. A solid backup and eventual replacement.

The following weekend, I had the wheels off and got a spare set of Pilot Road 4GTs installed by the folks at Break’r Bikes. Might even keep these MC tires on it for sportier riding and maybe even another track day or two. I found someone selling a pristine condition Honda topbox with mounting plate, so I jumped on that, since the mounting plates are hard to find sold separately. Plenty of farkling still to do.

Once I had the chance to feed all my stops into the Google, I was chagrined but amused to see that I’d come up about 5 miles short (!) of the required 1500 miles for BBG certification. Ah well! Bike’s in the roost and so am I, both in one piece. Primary mission successful.