I'm thinking about a tourer for next year, I have a 900ss but want to take that apart for restoration so am thinking about an ST while that's off the road. Would the ST2 be just fine, or is it worth going for an ST4 or even the ST4s with it's Ohlins setup? Just looking for some advice really. Sorry if this question has been asked before.
It depends how fast you want to go IMHO. ST2 has the 2 valve engine from the Paso. ST4 has a variant of the 4 valve 916 engine, 4s has the larger 998? engine. All give you a lot of bike for the money. I've not toured on mine, and trips out over 60 miles I start to get strain on my wrists due to the riding position. If I was touring, I'd consider some riser pads for the handlebars.
I owned an ST4s for 10 years, never let me down in nearly 30,000 miles. If you can afford it and find one, the Ohlins makes an awful lot of difference. I raised the rear ride height so the back wheel was just off the ground when the bike was on the centre stand which quickened up the steering. The engine was out of the 996 which really made the difference when making progress. Only drawback I can think of is that it is a trifle porky, the one time I had to lay it down having stalled at a junction, I was trapped underneath it until a couple of big blokes shifted it enough for me to wriggle out. No harm to the bike or me but bugger me it was hard to pick up. Andy
Any TBH, they're all good and for me the pick of the bunch would be an ST3S if you can find one. The ST2 isn't as flat as a fart as most people think and goes very well with a DP EPRROM, pipes and filter. My ST2 has bar risers, Corbin seat, stainless everywhere some carbon trinkets, panniers EPROM/Pipes and filter and a Zero G screen and the wife reckons it's just as comfy as our FJR, finally I've fitted a battery lead kit and Motorbatt battery to improve starting I can now leave it for a month or two go to it and it fires up just fine and the starter isn't struggling. 4 and 4S add complication to the mix with DOHC and Desmoquattro. The ST3 is very good indeed and the non adjustable front end except for pre-load is still good. The motor is strong pulls like the 2 on the bottom and goes nearly as good as a 4 (916/996) on the top end. The ST3 has Panniers, Sargent seat, rad guards, stainless everywhere some carbon and pipes for effect not performance gain as TBH it's quick enough for its intended purpose. Later models 3/4S have better weather protection with the redesigned fairing. If you want the trinkets go for an S but TBH having two non S' in my garage doesn't bother me none and add to that unless you're going to get a good deal as S prices seem to be silly go for a standard 2/3/4. Things that are good are panniers, DD headlight conversions, taller screens, better seats and of course good service history. Hope this helps Buddy, as I've said already it just depends on what you want and whether named components are a priority as they're all good. My ST2 is going up for sale in the new year after a belt/oil change. I'll be looking for 2.5k as it's fully sorted.
I had an ST4 which was an excellent bike. I did 3000 miles in 10 days on it touring Italy. The only drawback is service costs, but if you can do some of it yourself no problems.
Really? The only headlight I've ever had that's worse than my ST4s is the MTS1200 (2010). Or is yours a DVT?
Really? Wow - are we living on the same planet? (small damp rock, third one out from a yellow M dwarf star…). AFAIK, the 2013 has the same lighting setup as the 2010, and mine really does have the worst lights I've ever had since my 1957 Royal Enfield. Dip is short range and has a poor spread, whereas main is only any use for illuminating itinerant UFOs, certainly not the road ahead. The only thing that helps is Johnw's wiring mod that puts both sets on together on high beam, but the whole thing is fundamentally limited by poor reflector design.
Had quite a few St best are the st4s or st3 have you considered a early Multistrada 1100s cracking bike and quite cheap
Early Multistrada are an acquired taste they are a cracking ride had my last one 4 years did 60k miles used it for everything never let me down, simple to service plenty of cheap parts around Would recommend
It really is depending on preferences. If you want more performance, then definitely the ST4/ST4s. I wanted something cheap, also doing my own services, so went for the more simple ST2. I have an earlier version, so it does have the adjustable suspension, although I haven't touched it yet I paid mine £1600 here in Finland, and rode 6000miles with it last summer. I do not know if there are differences, but check also the insurance, for me the ST2 is cheap as chips to ensure. As I use it a lot to just go to work, I must say one thing that makes a difference are the paniers. I can fit my big laptop in there, so it really is easy to just go to work without having to have a backpack/tankbag. They are nicely designed and do not make the bike that large, so I can do some lane splitting quite easily even with them on. Currently the bike is waiting in the garage, as snow and ice ended the season a month ago, and now I will have to wait a little under a half a year to get it back on the street. So I will be checking and adjusting the valve clearences, as I did the belts last year. I think the most important is regular maintenance, you can get the belts from this forum.
?! I had an ST2, almost as bad as a 916! (When it worked!) Multi was epic in comparison, and the new DVT even better (LED)
Wife has an ST2, early one with all the suspension adjustment. Best headlight in the world with a Bi-xenon HID projector fitted. Has all the performance that anyone would legally need on the road, and it is not the sort of bike that anyone would take on a track.
Agreed Bob, Mine is an early one too and goes very well indeed, being a V twin it feels pokier than it actually is, leaves FJR1300s for dead on FJ club runs and they have twice the power. As daft as it sounds, it feels more like a Ducati than my ST3.
