My progression of bikes included a largest-for-me-at-the-time 1989 Honda Pacific Coast, purchased used in 2000. I loved the bike with its liquid cooled engine, quiet car-like exhaust, smooth adjustment-free shaft drive, self-canceling turn signals, and a car-like trunk. For the first time, I started taking my wife on the back, and it seemed with 800 ccs to simply not have enough oomph for two-up touring.
In 2003, Honda came out with their update to the ST1100, the ST1300, and I was enamored with the concept and the press. Honda had made the bike more powerful, and taking advantage (as with the Rocket) of using the engine as a stressed member, lightened the bike. I could never find someone to let me test ride it (I'll never do that again), though a local owner did agree to meet me in a parking lot, where I was able to straddle the bike. The ST1300 supply was restricted, and it took me a year to find a dealer that had the connections to actually deliver a bike they were happy to sell.
I kept the bike mid-2004 through mid-2014. It was too tall for me to comfortably ride as a daily rider. The bike is fitted with a 3-position adjuster under the seat, and even at the lowest setting I could not flat foot with my 30-inch inseam. I had three slow drops in the ten years . . . the last time doing just what another poster suggested - had the wheels slightly turned as I was backing down the driveway and did the no-no of grabbing the front brake and over it went. The Rocket is much more comfortable in that respect, though that has not prevented two slow drops in the short time I've owned it. The ST was mainly used for two-up trips, that slowed as our children grew. The last three years I hardly touched the bike. The Rocket's use remains to be seen, though we will imminently be empty-nesters, and I'm looking forward to more freedom to see the beauty
@JoseyR3Wales is sharing with us, with our own eyes. There is excellent on-line support for the ST (similar to here), and a number of mods are available (though unlike here, I don't recall seeing folks doing much with the motor). For example, I put out a call one time, and fifteen bikes showed up at my house, and I had tools, and one guy was a pretty knowledgeable mechanic, and we had a maintenance day -- in my case, valves were adjusted, both tires were replaced and balanced, wheel bearings were packed, and brake pads were changed. That the ST1300 is fitted with a center stand made it easy to be working on all the bikes in parallel. Being fully-faired, it was a pain to do anything to the engine. The only way I could afford to take it to the dealer, was to remove the Tupperware at home, then ride the naked bike to the dealer for their work. Much less of an issue with the Rocket.
The ST is a so-called sport tourer, and in some respects, is the worst of both worlds, with a slightly forward leaning posture. This drove me early on to find a suitable cruise control so I could relieve my back and right wrist, and settled on the McCruise (which I have also fitted to the Rocket). The bike's 1300 or so cc's proved plenty powerful to do everything I wanted, with two up. I had the ABS model that corresponds with the electrically-adjustable windscreen - a nice, but by no means essential feature. I really liked the integrated side cases (a big plus for me in choosing the R3T) with keyed-alike locks, and matching top case (curiously not sold in the US -- had to pick that up from England). I'm still looking for a suitable top box for the R3T -- that above all is a big utility plus for almost any bike.
The bike's longitudinally-mounted engine introduces a counter-torque at high throttle settings (the engine rotates CW as viewed from the rider meaning the bike wants to fall to the left), so this was familiar when I test rode the Rocket.
Of course, being a Honda, though being a "special" model, dealer support was marginally better than for the Rocket - at least here.
There is still some demand for the ST, even though Honda has not updated it in a dozen years. My bike, that I traded in on the R3T, was re-sold within two weeks.
Clearly, my impressions are influenced by my lack of experience with a wide range of models. I did not try any competing bikes, such as the FJR or BMW. So acceleration was better than most cars -- but not all. Maneuvering it in a parking lot was the most challenging I had faced, and the R3T is no worse.
I certainly liked the look of the ST, and was happy to be on it on the road. One funny observation, the bike was only offered one-color-per-year by Honda (three colors per year in Europe where the ST is positioned the way the Gold Wing is positioned in the US). My year, 2004, just happened to be blue, and the way people would move out of my way suggested many folks though I was a cop. I didn't mind. ;-) Equally, I love the look of the R3T, and am a happy clam on it on the road. And I love the group y'all are -- a big positive influence in my finally deciding to get it. Thank you !
