Honda ST1300

It's a full size tourer, the ST1300. It made the VFR800 parked in its shadow at Honda MPE look quite compact. From behind the big screen the cockpit feels expansive and accommodating; the extensive range of instruments and controls add to the "flightdeck" impression. Once you get it rolling though, the usual transformation occurs - all competently-designed big bikes seem to lose weight and bulk on the move and, whilst they don't become "poetry in motion", they perform responsively and with grace, as all good bikes should.

SOLO IMPRESSIONS
A 1300cc engine, regardless of its type, packs plenty of punch. So pulling out to join the evening peak traffic, in its last few hundred metres at highway speed, before it arrives at the suburban speed limit, was a piece of cake. The ST has bags of acceleration; interestingly, as is the case with a lot of bikes with physical presence, the tin-toppers notice it and tend to give you room. Nice.

Soon there was the chance for a bit of the usual lane-split strategy as the traffic became constipated on the approach to the ring-road entrance. Not the big H's cuppa at all - it's less about the bike's overall size than the unusual way the fairing wings, incorporating the mirrors, are positioned quite low, ahead of the rider's hands. The mirrors work fine but they're down around car-mirror level. So it's inhibiting for lane splitting. If, like me, you do a daily commute involving a lot of lane splitting on clogged major roads and freeways then the ST wouldn't be a logical choice as your only bike.

 The torque on tap from the V-four is huge and accessible. It doesn't care what gear you're in - it just goes when you open the throttle. Five speeds in the box are more than enough. It lopes along at an indicated 120km/h with a lazy 4000rpm on the tacho in top. The gearchange works fine. It feels a bit clunky, but consider this: When what you're doing is disengaging, then engaging sliding-dogs, all robust enough to cope with a 1300cc engine moving a 289kg bike, you should expect to feel a heavy-duty geartrain at the other end of the lever.

GROWLING, NOT HOWLING
The engine is a real gem. The fuel-injection system is well managed. It's smooth and responsive. The recent test of the VFR800 reminded me that Vee-configured engines have totally different acoustics to in-line versions. This big V-four reinforced the distinction. With exhaust noise having been engineered into the background these days, I'm talking about induction noise and mechanical noise from the engine structure. If you can say that in-line fours howl, I reckon it's fair to say that V-fours growl. In response to a bit of stick this big feller really GROWLS. At full cry, up past the torque peak, on its way to max power, its rising growl has lots of texture - it's like straddling a 125 horse coffee grinder. Awesome.

The complex, coupled ABS brakes are very effective. The feel is quite different from good sports-bike brakes. In effect there is very little feel in terms of initial bite and feedback. What you are aware of is massive retardation with no drama. It's just that there's a sense of remoteness - the technology seems to separate the pilot from any direct relationship with caliper function. But they really work.

TWO FOR THE ROAD
A quick weekend dash from Melbourne to Mt Gambier and back for the "Seniors" road race meeting at the "Mac Park" circuit was the test ride for the co-pilot and me on the ST. Leaving Melbourne after lunch on the Friday, two-up, with the top box and the two panniers loaded, showed the big Honda in its element. Up front you barely notice you've got company. The screen and fairing are very effective. There's no wind noise and the weather-protection performance was top notch. When we rode into moderately heavy rain I didn't stop to put my waterproof pants on; we just kept powering on. Half an hour later we emerged from the rain with my legs and boots still more-or-less dry. Interestingly, the same fairing wings (with the mirrors), that limit its lane-splitting ability, proved to be a bonus on the open road. They shelter the rider's gloved hands from the rain but also from the cold wind blast. It's worth mentioning though at this point that, for its $24,590 price tag, you'd reckon Honda could throw in heated grips and cruise control as standard on the ST.

The bike is magnificent on the open road. Passing is rapid and effortless. Handling is stable and predictable. It's beautiful through sweepers - just play with the magic of countersteering and over it goes and through it glides. There's no wallow.

It's not lazy at initiating turns - it responds to steering inputs well for such a big guy. The combination of its competent suspension and the standard Bridgestone Battlax BT 020 tyres dealt well with fast touring in the rain.

The weight of the bike and a drivetrain that's fairly high-inertia calm the bike down on take off and under acceleration out of slow corners. I didn't notice any wheelspin even on enthusiastic uphill starts in the rain.

 Fuel consumption is fine: Cruising at around 120km/h with a full load would get you about 17 kilometres for every litre.

Our first refill was at 350 km when the low-fuel warning started flashing. It took 21 litres so, if the tank really holds 29 litres as specified, you could safely plan for 400 kays on a full tank if you could ignore the flashing warning - a bit of judiciously-applied masking tape for long trips perhaps.

The bike's intended playgrounds are the autobahns and autostradas of Europe (it's called the Pan European there) where more enlightened authorities pay greater respect to the judgement and skills of their motoring citizens. It would be a natural 200km/h tourer in appropriate conditions. Apparently though, by the time you up the ante to cruising even at 160km/h the fuel economy drops into single digit figures (less than 10km/l).

While talking readings I've got to say I loved the bike's analogue instruments. Well done "Big H". All chief engineers who allowed stylists and marketing gurus to out-manoeuvre them by imposing digital speedos on riders should crawl off into their nearest deserts and expire. When you're riding efficiently and safely, you don't have the time to look down for numbers to read. You're doing a quick scan for needle positions. After a short acquaintance with a new bike you've memorised where the needle is pointing at 60, 80, 110 etc. So, in an era when you need to monitor your speed frequently, there are safety issues in forcing you to look down at a hard-to-read, often scrolling, LCD number in a little window.

The optional top box and standard hard panniers swallowed heaps of gear. There was some heavy rain on the trip home that provided a good test for their weather-sealing abilities. No leaks. A big tick. The lock on one pannier had a mind of its own though - it always latched fine but was a bit reluctant at times to let you have the key back.

 Not being a techno-junkie I wasn't beside myself with joy knowing that the screen height is adjustable on the move - it's electrically driven. I was to discover though that it can be a real bonus. Just over the SA border, in the dark, the screen was covered in rain and insect pâté, and my visor was fogging up. By lowering the screen a few inches, raising my visor and looking under my visor and over the screen a beautiful clear view was restored. The wind and rain were still deflected above my helmet by the screen's shape. Fabulous.

RIDING SHOTGUN
The co-pilot was full of praise for the ST1300 passenger experience. She loved the comfort. It felt like a home-away-from-home. She liked the overall stability during some swift wet-road running along the wonderful winding road through the hills between Hamilton and Casterton. She was also impressed by the way it handled overtaking moves. You're only out there very briefly. Even with a full load it's very quick.

The Honda ST1300 is your tourer's tourer.

A-ONE

B-TWO