The other Pan
Honda’s transverse V4 has gained a cult following since its inception thirty years ago. As well as countless private owners, it was the choice of law enforcement agencies, breakdown services and others for many years…
The Americans seemed fairly happy with the
Honda Gold Wing, which had attained cult status since its introduction in 1973, but the Europeans had a slightly different view, and Honda was well aware of it. The Big H was also well aware of the market dominated by BMW – let’s call it sports touring – and the need to produce a motorcycle that Europeans could embrace. Enter the
Pan European, or ST1100.
That story began in December 1989 with the announcement of the all-new V4 that shared practically nothing – not even the engine – with other Hondas. Well, perhaps the engine had its origins in the unit that had appeared as the V45 Sabre in 1983 and had evolved in the variants such as the VF750F and various racing models, but there was a major difference. The crankshaft in the ST1100’s 1085cc engine ran fore and aft, rather than across the frame. One month after the announcement, the first examples were rolling off the production line and into dealers’ showrooms.
Looking more closely at that engine, it was said at the time that the ST concept had been inspired by the CX500 twins that appeared in the late ‘seventies. These too were longitudinally placed in the chassis, with the cylinder heads poking out below the fuel tank, and with the clutch mounted at the front of the engine, for, it was claimed, ease of maintenance. In the case of the V4, the cylinder heads did not poke out from under the fuel tank, because that gigantic reservoir, holding 28 litres, was located in the centre of the chassis, under the forward section of the seat, in Gold Wing fashion. Where the fuel tank usually sat was the airbox connecting the four 32mm vacuum diaphragm carbs. The clutch rotated in the opposite direction to the crankshaft, thereby partially cancelling the torque reaction from the
engine. A 90-degree, 16 valve V4 with 360 degree crank, the engine featured a patented method of driving the twin overhead camshafts; a single belt operated pulley on both cylinder heads, driving a gear that operated both inlet and exhaust camshafts. Valves were set at a narrow 32 degrees included angle that created a compact, efficient combustion chamber. The front-mounted belt drive reduced the engine width compared to Honda’s usual approach of camshafts chain-driven from the centre, which had the advantage of allowing three main bearings on the crankshaft instead of four. Like the CX500, the ST featured a cassette-style gearbox. In accordance with the European-mandated horsepower ceiling, the engine was limited to 100 PS (98.6hp), which was exactly the same as the VF750, but achieved at 7,500 rpm. The actual peak power may have been stifled somewhat, but there was an impressive 107.8Nm of torque on hand at 6,000 rpm.
The blueprint
Honda’s PR stated that it had set four main objectives; silence of operation, overall smoothness, fuel efficiency and the quality of the power delivery. Taking the last first, the power delivery that culminated in turning the rear wheel was transferred through no fewer than four dampening devices, including the rubber cush drive in the rear hub. Also in the train were the spring-loaded clutch hub, and two ramp-type dampers; one located at the rear of the clutch, and the other in the shaft drive to the rear wheel. The smoothness objective was enhanced by the V4’s inherent ability to cancel primary imbalances. Tall gearing meant lower revs in the cruising range – the ST1100 was red lined at 8,000 rpm which kept piston speed down. Further factors in the smoothness equation were rubber mounts for the handlebars and footrests. Chassis-wise, the ST1100 sported a conventional mild steel round-section tube frame with a 1555mm wheelbase. Up front sat front forks with a cartridgestyle damper in the right hand leg only, with an anti-dive device called TRAC by Honda in the left, and equal eight springs on both sides. The centrallymounted fuel tank prevented the use of Honda’s Pro-Link system, so on one right side of the swinging arm sat a Showa single shock with a three-position rebound damping adjustment and variable spring pre-load.
Honda tried to bring plenty to the table with the ST1100, including money-saving features such as 25,000km intervals for checking valve clearances.
The cam belt drive was also cheap and relatively simple to replace at 100,000km intervals. There were sensible touches like the rear view mirrors (which incorporated the front turn indicators) that popped off their mounts, rather than broke, when bashed, and with a motorcycle this wide, that could be frequently if manoeuvring it in and out of tight spaces. Standard 35 litre panniers were large enough to hold one full face helmet each, plus other gear. When the panniers were detached, the mounting lugs on the chassis were covered by flaps which fold down. Should the owner prefer to only mount the panniers on certain occasions, such as trips, Honda offered replacement body panels that could simply be slipped into place where the pannier cavity was. Honda also offered two colour-matched top boxes as optional extras. Instrumentation was generous: speedometer with odometer and trip meter, tachometer with 8,000 rpm red line, coolant temperature gauge, fuel gauge, warning lights for low oil pressure and side stand, high beam, turn signal and neutral lights.
Ageing gracefully
The ST1100 found quick favour in its primary market of Europe, but less so in USA where one magazine road tester rather unkindly called it, “A sort of Gold Wing with a German accent.” One area where the ST1100 definitely made friends was with the police forces around the world, including Australia, where for a time it pushed the BMWs off the top of the hit parades. As always, the sale of the ex-police models bolstered the second hand market and many of these are still in use.
The ST1100 continued in production with detailed changes (including ABS with linked front and rear brakes plus Traction Control System post-1995) until 2002, when it was replaced by the ST1300 (actual capacity 1261cc), and also known as the STX1300. The new model featured a twin-spar aluminium frame and aluminium swinging arm, fuel injection with 36mm throttle bodies and a Euro-3 compliant catalyser exhaust system, along with a horsepower boost to 117hp, with torque up to 117Nm. In fact the engine, and the majority of the rest of the bike, was all-new, 60mm shorter (achieved by moving the alternator from the rear of the engine to between the V of the cylinders), and with chain drive to the camshafts instead of belt. It was produced until 2013 and was extensively used by police forces and emergency units around the world. However some police forces reported handling problems (branded ‘Pan Weave’ by the press) that could mutate into a violent high-speed wobble which was blamed for several crashes. Honda went deeply into assessing the reasons for this phenomenon, and decided that at least part of the problem was caused by improper weight distribution in the various luggage facilities.
Being seated
For the 2019 Vintage Japanese MC Rally on the Queensland Gold Coast, VJMC president John McNair generously offered his ST1100 to Mr and Mrs Editor for the Saturday ride. Not having ridden one before I immediately accepted. John’s bike is a 1992 model purchased about eight years ago in Coonabarabran and then shipped to his home on the Gold Coast, as he recalls. “I had to do a bit of work on it and I’ve done some repainting. One of the shrouds covering the protection bars that are on each side was missing and I thought I had found one but when I got it, it turned out to be the same as the one I had, and each side is different. They look daggy without them. This is the model before they came out with ABS. I like the torque in it, where you can just be riding along something like the New England Highway going down to Tamworth and you just roll it on in top gear and it just pulls away. I don’t know what the top speed actually is, but I have been on a few reasonably long trips, like one down to Batemans Bay in 2011, and it is very easy for the speed to creep up to 140, because it is so quiet. The fairing was obviously designed for the autobahns in Europe, because the faster you go, the less turbulence you experience.”
Our ride didn’t include any autobahns, in fact quite the opposite, winding through the narrow roads up the hills to Beechmont and back to the Gold Coast. This area had been badly hit with floods in recent times and much of the route was under repair, but part of the return section allowed me to stretch the legs of the ST1100 and experience that silky smooth, virtually silent ride. I felt the brakes were fairly uninspiring and given that this machine is meant to carry considerable weight, its no wonder that this area was addressed on later models with ABS and the linked braking system. But generally, the ST performed with aplomb, handling well with a fresh front tyre (and despite feeling a bit undersprung at the front) and pulling lustily whenever
it was called upon to do so. The ST is certainly no lightweight, at 318kg with a full tank of fuel, but it doesn’t feel heavy, thanks mainly to keeping the mass down low. Once underway, you forget about the weight completely as you cruise off into the sunset. Thanks for the ride John!
Long distance voyagers
Sydney-based Ken and Sue Kearns are ST1100 veterans, having owned two and covered more than 20,000km in Europe in 2003/04 during a 12 months European riding vacation. That bike was an ex-police 1998 model with 40,000km already on the clock, purchased at auction in 2002. Ken saw it later advertised on the far north coast, flew from Sydney, purchased it and rode it home. After a thorough service the bike was shipped to UK where the couple based themselves.
The big trip saw them motor through France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, then back to England before embarking on a Scandinavian leg that took in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Lapland before catching the ferry back from Kristianstad to England. With their adventure concluded, the ST1100 was shipped back home to Sydney where it was pressed in local service before being sold to Ken’s mate, Michael Andrews, former top motorcycle photographer whose photos have graced these pages since issue number one.
But that was not the end of the ST1100 liaison, because the much-travelled red model was replaced with a newer 2002 version (the last of the 1100s before the 1300 was introduced), still in original white, also ex-NSW police, which Ken and Sue still own.