When the weather is nice, a lot of bikes gather at Michael’s Bar & Grill in Chapel Hill, NC on Sundays.  My friend Charles had never been there, so we decided to go today.

Heading out on the XX. This was the first time I had ridden it in over a month, and it took a little while to get used to it again. I don’t remember the footpegs being that far up and back.

I met up with Charles at 9am, and we headed toward Chapel Hill, taking the scenic route by Jordan Lake.

Various bikes at Michael’s.

6 Cylinder Honda something…

Trip Stats.

The Givi topcase on the ST1300 was shortlived.  The Hondaline topcase matches the bike and the side cases; the Givi looked out of place. 

I ordered it from CruiserBackrest.com on Wednesday, and it was at my door Monday. Quality and fit/finish is great, just as is expected from Honda.  I’ll let the pictures tell the rest…

The time had come to perform the first oil change on the ST1300.  It’s almost as easy as changing the oil on the XX.  The XX requires removing no body parts at all, and the ST requires removing a small access panel on the right side of the bike to reach the oil filler cap.  Oil change went without a hitch, so now I’m good for a few thousand miles.

I also got around to installing the Hondaline saddlebag scuff pads that my dad gave me for my birthday.  Installation was very easy, and they should add an extra layer of protection against rocks and passenger’s feet.

After reading feedback on several touring forums I picked up a set of Grip Puppies from California Sport Touring, Inc.  I haven’t had a chance to ride with them yet, so I’ll have to give my evaluation later.
Update: I ended up removing the Grip Puppies. I didn’t like the squishyness. I feel that I have better control of the bike with the stock grips.

I needed to get some miles on the ST so I could do my first oil change, so I decided to ride down to Irmo, SC (near Columbia) to visit my dad for the day.   It’s about 250 miles each way, and we rode around town some while we were there also.  (My dad rides a Honda VTX.)

Very happy with the ST as a long distance bike so far.   I was fairly comfortable for the entire trip, however an upgraded seat and windscreen may be in my future to improve it even more.

 Trip stats:

(And as you may know, the top speed of the ST1300 is about 140mph, so the top speed on the GPS was a glitch. )

Installed the RAM base from CycleGadgets.com on the left clip-on and mounted my Garmin StreetPilot 2720 GPS.  I got the RAM base with an extra ball; not sure what (if anything) I’ll use it for yet.