Possibly cursed new owner, just bought my second ST1300 in a month

unknownroad

Joined
Apr 28, 2025
Messages
3
Age
48
Location
WNC
Bike
2004 ST1309
Ready for a story?

So about a month ago I bought a beautiful blue 2004 ST1300A with less than 6,000 miles on it. It had spent about six months with a specialist in Atlanta being gone through after many years off the road, and in the meantime the owner had bought a Goldwing and decided he liked it better.

Seemed like a great deal, a 20-year-old Honda in like-new condition. What could go wrong?

The engine seized after I'd ridden it less than 100 miles.
Not sure exactly what happened, but it sounded like something bouncing around in the left head.

The seller was a real straight shooter who is apparently well off. He refunded me the purchase price, said to sell the bike and give him the proceeds. Whoah.

But I really liked the ST1300, the bike came with a bunch of extras and I'd already ordered a few bits to make it my own.

So I found another ST, this one a red 2005 non-ABS model with 16,000 miles about 2 hours away. Not quite as minty as the 2004, but it had been ridden a lot more recently and everything looked good.

Hauled it home, hit my favorite local road... and about 30 miles out the clutch started getting soft.
Managed to nurse it home in second after pumping the clutch a few times at a stoplight to get it back into gear. I'm guessing the slave cylinder.

But now I'm seriously questioning my life choices.

Hope y'all are having a better weekend than me!
 
ahh the joys of buying 20-year-old motorcycles with questionable service histories or .... why I almost always buy new since they come with a warranty so if something does go wrong in the first year it's on the manufacturer

You're lucky the first guy was a good chap
 
unknownroad said:
Ready for a story?

So about a month ago I bought a beautiful blue 2004 ST1300A with less than 6,000 miles on it. It had spent about six months with a specialist in Atlanta being gone through after many years off the road, and in the meantime the owner had bought a Goldwing and decided he liked it better.

Seemed like a great deal, a 20-year-old Honda in like-new condition. What could go wrong?

The engine seized after I'd ridden it less than 100 miles.
Not sure exactly what happened, but it sounded like something bouncing around in the left head.

The seller was a real straight shooter who is apparently well off. He refunded me the purchase price, said to sell the bike and give him the proceeds. Whoah.

But I really liked the ST1300, the bike came with a bunch of extras and I'd already ordered a few bits to make it my own.

So I found another ST, this one a red 2005 non-ABS model with 16,000 miles about 2 hours away. Not quite as minty as the 2004, but it had been ridden a lot more recently and everything looked good.

Hauled it home, hit my favorite local road... and about 30 miles out the clutch started getting soft.
Managed to nurse it home in second after pumping the clutch a few times at a stoplight to get it back into gear. I'm guessing the slave cylinder.

But now I'm seriously questioning my life choices.

Hope y'all are having a better weekend than me!
Click to expand...
Just curious, do you know who this specialist was?
 
unknownroad said:
Ready for a story?

So about a month ago I bought a beautiful blue 2004 ST1300A with less than 6,000 miles on it. It had spent about six months with a specialist in Atlanta being gone through after many years off the road, and in the meantime the owner had bought a Goldwing and decided he liked it better.

So I found another ST, this one a red 2005 non-ABS model with 16,000 miles about 2 hours away. Not quite as minty as the 2004, but it had been ridden a lot more recently and everything looked good.

Hauled it home, hit my favorite local road... and about 30 miles out the clutch started getting soft.
Managed to nurse it home in second after pumping the clutch a few times at a stoplight to get it back into gear. I'm guessing the slave cylinder.
Click to expand...
Try to flush the old fluid out of your clutch system first.

Or drive over to our wizard on here (IGOFAR) and he can do it in 45 minutes from start to finish installing a clutch slave cylinder (including bleeding)

Article [13] - ST1300 - Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement | ST1300 Articles

the CSC system on the ST1300 represents some pretty poor engineering on the part of Honda Side bar... I noticed - working on cars from old to modern - that the the ease of maintenance is not designed into the product anymore. One example is (some of) the transverse V6 engines, where in order...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

Probably take you or me 8 hours to change the slave cylinder out
 
the Ferret said:
ahh the joys of buying 20-year-old motorcycles with questionable service histories or .... why I almost always buy new since they come with a warranty so if something does go wrong in the first year it's on the manufacturer

You're lucky the first guy was a good chap
Click to expand...

I know! Sadly it's become really hard to find a new shaft-drive sport touring bike for sale... every time I found a shop that supposedly had an FJR in stock they "just sold it last week". Now that's been discontinued, so there's just the Connie that's as wide as a car and BMWs that cost more than my car.

Igofar said:
Just curious, do you know who this specialist was?
Click to expand...

The seller didn't specify.

Al Gully said:
Try to flush the old fluid out of your clutch system first.

Or drive over to our wizard on here (IGOFAR) and he can do it in 45 minutes from start to finish installing a clutch slave cylinder (including bleeding)

Article [13] - ST1300 - Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement | ST1300 Articles

the CSC system on the ST1300 represents some pretty poor engineering on the part of Honda Side bar... I noticed - working on cars from old to modern - that the the ease of maintenance is not designed into the product anymore. One example is (some of) the transverse V6 engines, where in order...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com

Probably take you or me 8 hours to change the slave cylinder out
Click to expand...

I'm going to try flushing the system, but the fluid looks pretty fresh. I got pressure back overnight, so maybe if I stick to short rides... :sneaky:

aniwack said:
How many miles did the blue one have when you purchased it?
Click to expand...

Around 5560 or so. Time of death: 5672 :o-o:
 
Of course any bike's engine can seize if there was no oil or a blocked passageway, however, I've not read of other seizures in ST engines here so yours has to be a rarity. You might check the obvious causes or even trailer it to @aniwack (depending how far away you are from him) for a pro's opinion.

There are very very few ST1300 specialists around. I'd guess you can count them on the fingers of one hand - and we have two of them on this forum. The stories of mechanics who have failed to properly repair these bikes are legion, the number of lauded mechanics are few and far between.
 
Yea 4 cyl shaft drive bikes have about gone the way of the Dodo. Sad situation for those of us that prefer that flavor.

Both of my current bikes are chain drive (although one is still a 4 cyl,) and I have just learned to live with the chains. It's an "oh well I give" situation. For a non-mechanical guy like me, its better living with a chain, than with a 20 year old bike that something will most likely go really wrong on. There is a 1986 Goldwing Interstate down the street from me with a 4-sale sign on it. 48,000 miles looks in good shape for $2500. I've considered it, but would I really trust taking off on a trip on it? I don't think so. Then there's the weight thing. Had heavy bikes, Harleys, ST 1300, FJR. I'm done with behemoths, so I'll stick with newer smaller lighter weight bikes and put up with the chains.
 
unknownroad said:
I'm going to try flushing the system, but the fluid looks pretty fresh. I got pressure back overnight, so maybe if I stick to short rides.
Click to expand...
Head over to here, as it's a good article on how to bleed the clutch.;)

Article [13] - ST1300 - Clutch Fluid Replacement | ST1300 Articles

This article and related pictures where performed on a 2006 ST1300, non ABS. Fluid replacement for ABS models is exactly the same. This article is for fluid replacement only. If you have clutch problems or, need to replace clutch components, those should be be taken care of first. Service...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
Around 5560 or so. Time of death: 5672 :o-o:
Click to expand...
Sounds like a classic, I forgot to tighten the oil drain plug.:oops:

My first oil change never went that well when I tried it at 12 or 13 years old
 
Last edited:
I looked at an older Triumph last week but a new ECM is no longer available for it. I’m glad I had to replace my 07s ECM when I did, as they also are no longer available. When I got my ST1300 it was a basket case, old bikes like this usually are. I wouldn’t buy an old bike if I couldn’t do the work on it myself.
 
unknownroad said:
Ready for a story?

So about a month ago I bought a beautiful blue 2004 ST1300A with less than 6,000 miles on it. It had spent about six months with a specialist in Atlanta being gone through after many years off the road, and in the meantime the owner had bought a Goldwing and decided he liked it better.

Seemed like a great deal, a 20-year-old Honda in like-new condition. What could go wrong?

The engine seized after I'd ridden it less than 100 miles.
Not sure exactly what happened, but it sounded like something bouncing around in the left head.

The seller was a real straight shooter who is apparently well off. He refunded me the purchase price, said to sell the bike and give him the proceeds. Whoah.

But I really liked the ST1300, the bike came with a bunch of extras and I'd already ordered a few bits to make it my own.

So I found another ST, this one a red 2005 non-ABS model with 16,000 miles about 2 hours away. Not quite as minty as the 2004, but it had been ridden a lot more recently and everything looked good.

Hauled it home, hit my favorite local road... and about 30 miles out the clutch started getting soft.
Managed to nurse it home in second after pumping the clutch a few times at a stoplight to get it back into gear. I'm guessing the slave cylinder.

But now I'm seriously questioning my life choices.

Hope y'all are having a better weekend than me!
Click to expand...
Maybe you shouldn’t be questioning your life’s choices as much as how you ride a 20 year old bike that has been sitting for years, recently serviced, and possibly ignored a break in period?
 
Igofar said:
Maybe you shouldn’t be questioning your life’s choices as much as how you ride a 20 year old bike that has been sitting for years, recently serviced, and possibly ignored a break in period?
Click to expand...
Igofar said:
And I’m betting whoever bought it was told it was a Honda, ride it like you stole it :rofl1:
Click to expand...

Where is all this coming from? I'm a middle-aged touring rider, I treated the bike with respect.
 
No disrespect towards you my friend, the bike was parked/neglected for 16 years, and one of the best ST guys in your area did a good job bringing it back to life, and I’m pretty sure he gave the guy who sold it to you explicit instructions that the bike needed to be run in gently, as you would a brand new bike etc.
But I’m guessing the guy who flipped it (ooops I mean sold it to you) didn’t mention any of that to you.
So my question to you, middle age touring rider, did you run it in gently, or just ride it “normally” like you would without a run in period?
Again, no disrespect towards you, as you were probably a victim of whoever sold it to you.
Sorry you had that experience.
As far as the clutch goes, again, older bike, probably neglected and not serviced correctly, or on time, and now your dealing with the fallout.
Contact John (he PM’d you)
He can help you with the clutch, and explain everything else you will need to know about your 2nd ST.
You can trust John.
 
It sounds a little bothersome to buy two bikes and they both have issues, but it shouldn't be completely unexpected. That is a great bit of luck that the man who sold you the 2004 is such a good guy too.

Tires, brakes, and fluids are the most common. However, I think you will end up with one or maybe two very nice bikes that your gonna like a lot.

Is WNC over by the Murphy, NC area?
 
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