GoldWing World    

2002 "early release" 2003 Honda ST-1300: VaporWare until now ...

I've always loved big bikes, constantly upgrading to larger ones until I finally was proudly riding my GL-1500 from Texas to various coasts.  Then I saw my dream bike, the X-wing and began to lust after my "perfect" bike - but of course Honda chose not to make the X-wing and my heart sank.  I still was hoping that the 2001 Honda Gold Wing would be my dream bike and I TRIED to love it, but it still looked too clunky and weighed almost 900 lbs - NOT what I was hoping for, and although it was a vast improvement over my 1500 I didn't think it was a $13,000 dollar improvement. 

I had seen the FJR-1300 from Yamaha when it was released in the UK and thought it might work, but Yamaha continued to refuse to bring it to the states (that's changed now, darn it!) and I was ready to upgrade - then the surprising happened: Honda updated another bike I'd considered and passed on as slightly too "tame" the ST-1100.  At first it looked like they were going to pull a Yamaha on me and not bring it to the states for a few years and I fumed, but then the announcement came that it would be an early release 2003 model available in the summer of 2002!  I placed an order thinking this would be my ideal bike.

Slightly smaller than my wing but not geared exclusively for smoothness and comfort it promised to be the sporty long-distance touring bike that I crave, my only concern is that the US release makes no mention of the radio and CD-player available on the UK model - perhaps Honda is afraid it will compete with the Wing if they give it those extra amenities? SO the 2001 International Motorcycle show comes to Dallas and off I go to get my question's answered.

Will a radio be available like in the UK? Will the accessories available in the UK be available here? Why did they change the display from the LCD and take all the "cool" stuff off?  No, Don't know, don't care.  That's the attitude the Honda reps took.  In fact the ST, a bike I'd already placed an order for was on a pedestal where you could see it but not touch, all this while Harley was literally disassembling their V-rod for anyone who wanted a look! 

After explaining my concerns and finally forcing the Honda reps to pay attention to me I discovered that there would BE no radio etc. and that the changes from the UK model were indeed so the bike wouldn't compete too firmly against the Wing.  Estimated pricing? About $16,000.00 - the base Gold Wing model pricing!  I was shocked, and with the added slap in the face of not being able to even sit on the bike to get a feel for it I reluctantly concluded that I should wait on the ST.  Which left a rather large hole in my riding arsenal - I still had my Gold Wing, but had already sold my CBR in preparation for the upgrade.  To read about what I did and what I'm currently riding go to HERE.

So, the long-awaited and much desired ST-1300 has lost at least one and perhaps more would-be owners due to "Big Red's" lack of concern for their customers.  Until this year I had been an almost exclusive Honda rider and had assumed I always would be.  Customer service is important to me though, and with the lack of response I'd received numerous times to letters and issues from Honda coupled with their sales staff's attitudes I have grudgingly come to ask whether or not ANY bike is good enough to justify mistreating your customers ... Big Red hasn't "lost" me, but I'm no longer an avid fan.

VAPORWARE?:

Rumor had it that this bike didn't even exist in drivable form as of the time of the original announcements, and no-one in the UK where it supposedly was already being sold OWNED one - it did eventually come out but is not a match for the FJR, and since they chose not to include the radio or other features to 'compete' against the Wing it simply is not the right bike for me.

Jan 21, 2002