Honda ST series

For the minibike series, see Honda Dax.

The Honda ST series, also known as the Pan-European in Europe, is a duo of Sport Touring motorcycles comprising the ST1100 and the later ST1300.[1]

Following the launch of the Gold Wing, which was very successful in the US, Honda's marketing team perceived that the European market (hence the "Pan European" moniker) would appreciate a lighter, sportier, and more manoeuvrable motorcycle.[2] Introduced in 1990, the ST1100 was given a water-cooled 90-degree V4 engine mounted inline, instead of a flat-four engine (as in the Gold Wing). The ST1100 gained most of the Gold Wing's other characteristic engineering elements, such as shaft drive, a full fairing and integral panniers. Introduced to the European market a year before it was available in the United States, the ST1100 supplied within a sportier package the features required by touring riders, thereby filling a niche between the Honda VFR750F sports tourer and the larger Gold Wing.[1][3][4]

Its successor, the ST1300, (also called the "Pan-European" in Europe), was introduced in 2002, becoming available in the US in 2003. Production continued through the 2012 model year. In November 2013, following deletion of the ST1300 from the model line, Honda announced the CTX1300, a cruiser motorcycle powered by a version of the ST1300's engine modified for better fuel economy and increased torque at low RPMs.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b "Road Test: Honda ST1100 v. ST1300".
  2. ^ Visordown quote: "The Honda ST1100 Pan European was one of those bikes that quietly got on with doing the job it was designed to do. And that was to provide something just short of a full-dress touring bike in a slightly more manageable (and cheaper) form, at the behest of the European, not US, market. [1]
  3. ^ "HONDA ST1100 PAN EUROPEAN (1989 - 2001) Review".
  4. ^ Four for the Road / In which we answer a most obvious question: Do you really need a true sport-touring motorcycle to go sport touring?, Motorcyclist, retrieved 2009-10-25
  5. ^ Burns, John (4 November 2013). "2014 Honda CTX1300 and CTX1300 Deluxe- First Look". Cycle World. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  6. ^ "2014 CTX1300 Overview". Honda Powersports. American Honda Motor Co. Retrieved 18 February 2014.