Absolutely Superb at what it does and it does what it says it will on the can , the build quality is superb with the exhausts absolutely spotless after 7 years of age and so far absolutey nothing has gone wrong on her at all, she sits laid up in winter but fires up with a press of the button every time, i have just changed the brake fluid this winter and boy what a job ! so unless you have a vacuum bleed kit don't even attempt it ? all other maintenance is ok for a competent home mechanic but the shims are best done at a dealers as they do them all the time (from my experience on my ST100) but just a check is simple enough and so far at 18k none of my shims want adjusting.The 1300 can be a little choosy as to what tyres it likes although i have never had a weave But it does seem happier on Bridgestone's but my last set i put on are Michelin Pilot 3 and they are excellent , very stable with good grip in the wet and they seem to be long lasting and wearing evenly , just replaced the battery and i just check the regulator rectifier volts now and again as with all Hondas these are prone to failure , I've got Honda heated grips that are excellent and a wind deflector kit that works well, both the wife and i use heated clothing and the pan seams to put out enough electrical power for these.It handles very well for a big bike and has plenty of grunt for overtaking we have toured all the Alps and Pyrenees as well as the Mediterranean and dolomites without a hitch , all the luggage is 100% water tight and the lights are also very powerful for night riding and another big bonus in poor weather is the superb adjustable screen that all but keeps you dry while on the move, i like the none gadgeted up philosophy of the ST1300 you just go from A to B in comfort (I have a Triumph Explorer with all the bells and whistles on it and only end up using the mileage trip ?)so the pan does what i want when i want it too and you can pick up some good bargains now days, i would have another one no doubt about it a very trusty steed indeed

I commute on mine 70 miles every day come rain or shine and it's never let me down, I've never had the 'Pan wobble' and it really has been a pleasure riding it. Did a tour around Denmark, Norway and Sweden on it last year with a mate on his GS Adventure and we were getting nearly identical fuel milage (MPG) I was getting around 320 per tank. Added a HeliBars kit with a Ram mount for satnav before the tour, I'm 6'3" and I was noticing a bit of shoulder cramp on long journeys before - much better now. The only other farkles I've added are a throttle rocker from Nippy Normans - marvellous piece of kit for £10 and a Fender Extender for the front mud guard.

I'm currently trying out different tyre brands - I can get about 8,000 miles out of a Dunlop on the rear, just had Continentals on and got 6,000 miles on the rear - it's slow research :-)

I've put the 'additional equipement availability' rating as low because it comes with pretty much everything you need so not many farkle suppliers seem to offer anything much specific although a larger altrernative for the standard panniers would be nice. Also a low rating on 'off road capability' because why would you take one of these much further than the gravel in a car park?

Have fun
Harv