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August 6^th, 2008
Another Road Trip
with an Early Christmas Present

muse@bikerenews.com

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After two day trips to cover five of the 2008 Virginia Grand Tour (VGT) stops, I was ready to check off the last 10 stops. I arranged to have a four day weekend, so that I would not have to be rushed to complete the stops, and would not be forced to make onto the interstates to make up for lost time.

Besides getting a late start on Friday morning (8:00 AM), I had a side stop I needed to make in Fredericksburg. I decided to take I-64 to I-95 to get the business part of the trip out of the way, before I started my adventure.

Everything was going great until I got up to Yorktown. Unexpectedly, traffic came to a screeching halt (literally). In the next hour, I traveled a total of 8 miles. The cause of the delay was a highway repair truck that had broken down in the right lane.

Once I got pass the breakdown, traffic opened back up and I made good time up to VA-3 in Fredericksburg. My destination was Fredericksburg Motor Sports (FMS) (www.fmscycles.com). You may remember in one of my earlier articles, I mentioned that FMS had changed out a flat tire for me. While FMS was changing my tire, I spotted a new 2007 Honda ST 1300 on their showroom floor.

The ST 1300 had been one of my choices for a new bike. After being back into motorcycle riding for 4 ½ years and covering 28,000 miles, I had come to the conclusion that my riding style and needs as a rider who likes to tour had changed from my Sabre.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the Sabre, but one of the things that my respected Biker eNews colleagues and I agree on is to determine the type of riding you’ll be doing, buy a bike to match that style, and then don’t expect the bike to perform in a way that it wasn’t meant to perform (i.e., cruisers aren’t sport bikes). My Sabre has been a great bike and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a mid-size cruiser. The fact is that I’m looking to do fewer event rides and more Virginia scenic road trips.

Since I was on a trip, and just at the "research" stage of my new bike phase, as soon as my tire was changed, I hopped on the Sabre and continued my trip. The next weekend a Red Knight ride was scheduled, and two of the members showed up on their ST 1300s (Dave and John). Both of them mentioned that they knew of a used 2004 ST 1300 for sale. I figured there was no harm in checking out the bike, so I got the number of the seller. Later in the week, I called and got the details.

Still doing "RESEARCH", I decided to call FMS and get the "out the door" price on the 2007 ST 1300. After getting a figured, I called my favorite local Honda dealer (Honda of Norfolk) and asked what they could do. While they were willing to deal on the price, Honda (corporate) was completely out of 2007 and 2008 ST 1300 with Anti-Locking Brakes. You may have guessed by now that I had quickly moved pass research and was now firmly in the "PURCHASE" phase.

Getting back to my side trip to FMS, I walked into the store and was greeted by a salesman, Josh. He asked if he could help, and I told him I hoped he could sell me the ST 1300. I gave him the price that Honda of Norfolk would have sold me one for (if they could have gotten one), and asked if he could beat it. He did, we shook hands, and I became the proud owner of a new 2007 ST 1300.

I told Josh that I couldn’t pick up the bike until the next weekend, because I was in the middle of a bike trip. I asked if he could get me a Helibar Raiser (they move the handlebars up 1" and back 2"), and have them installed before I picked up the bike. He said yes, and we had another deal.

During the following week, I ordered a Honda Top Box and Bag from Dual Sport Touring located at Deal’s Gap (the only place to buy a Honda Top Box in the USA). I also ordered some Motorcycle Larry Highway Blades and a Throttlemeister. I stopped at Honda of Norfolk and ordered internal soft bags for the hard saddlebags from my favorite Parts Manager, Linda.

Fast forwarding a week, my brother Danny gave me a ride up to FMS to pick up the bike. He picked me up at 8:00 and after a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast, we were on the road. The ride up I-64 and I-95 was smooth sailing. We did notice that the south bound traffic on I-95 was backed up for several miles, and decided that the better decision would be to return home on US-17.

We got there around 11:00, and Josh, the salesman, was waiting by the door. He gave me the remaining paper work, and a short demonstration of how to remove, lower, and replace the seat. He showed me how to remove the saddlebags, and how to set the clock, fuel indicator, and trip meter. Within 45 minutes, we were on our way with a new bike and two FMS ball caps.

The ride back down US-17 was pleasant. Of course, it didn’t take long for my butt to let me know that it was missing my custom Mustang seat on the Sabre. The ST 1300’s stock seat leaves a lot to be desired. I knew I’d have to change it out, so I had made arrangements to borrow a fellow ST 1300 rider’s seat (John O), so I could ship out my seat to be modified by Spencer’s Moto Care. I shipped it out Sunday night, but that didn’t do much for my sore backside on Saturday.

After traveling down to Newport News, we stopped at Phil’s house to pick up the rack plates he had made to reinforce my tail rack so it would support my truck box. The design was right on the mark. I had no doubt the Sabre would break before the tail rack with Phil’s plates would break.

Of course, we had to spend a little time walking around the ST 1300 and admiring what a wonderful bike it was. He said all of the nice things, and I acted humble. Phil took a picture of the bike, and I told him about all of the modifications I had planned. He was impressed, I was proud, and Danny was in a hurry to get home. I thanked Phil again for the plates, and we headed back to Virginia Beach.

Oh yeah the trip, I hope you’ll forgive me for getting carried away with my Christmas present story. I’ll let you know about the rest of the trip next time. But thinking about my new ST 1300, I couldn’t help signing along with Robert Johnson,

It's the last fair deal goin' down, last fair deal goin' down,
It's the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord,
On that Gulfport Island Road.
Eh, Ida Belle, don't cry this time, Ida Belle, don't cry this time.
If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime,
She wouldn't cry, but the money won't mine.

Until next time, ride safe and I hope you had a Merry (July) Christmas too!

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