An old guys initial impressions of a 2012 ST.

Stantdm

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
174
Location
Belle Fourche South Dakota
After having all the fluids changed and new plugs installed we got a decent enough weather day to take the bike out for a few hours. I had ridden this bike about fifty miles, all on pavement, before but this would be it's first gravel road run along with some paved road.

I am 5'10 with a 31" inseam and find the bike just a couple of inches too high to back it up with my feet while on the seat. I traded off a Kawasaki Vulcan and some $ to get this and while it is lighter by a fair bit than the Vulcan it feels heavier. Anyway it was a gusty crosswind day but the ST handled very well although sometimes we were moved over a bit. The bike is much quicker than I originally thought going from a cruising speed of 65 mph to "Wow" in a heartbeat. Torque is great and acceleration from stop signs can be quite a bit of fun. On pavement stability is good, controls and brakes work well but the rear brake location will take some getting used to coming off of a cruiser. It is closer to under your foot on the ST and on the cruiser it was a few inches forward with your foot on a running board. At highway speeds the windshield seemed okay but the wind gusts made it difficult to tell how it would be in calm weather.

When on the gravel the ST really was impressive. Rock solid in hard packed gravel and not prone to the rear wheel breaking loose with smooth throttle application. Takes the deeper gravel at roads edge or middle in curves just fine. Cornering ability is oddly similar to my dirt bikes but with more stability. This bike takes stutter bumps where trucks and cars have braked coming up to a stop sign or down a steep hill easily.

I think I was most impressed with how well this bike does on both pavement and gravel with no thought on your part. The cruiser I traded off wallowed in gravel and wasn't happy suspension wise with the bumps that you find on back roads. I live in an area where you can easily find fifty to hundred mile runs on gravel and dirt. Mostly through rolling ranch country. I don't trail ride a lot and there are better bikes for that than the ST but on back roads and two tracks it is very good.

I have ridden other adventure bikes but not extensively enough to make a mental comparison between any of them and the ST. A word on me...... I am in my 70's and have ridden street bikes since I was 14 and dirt bikes a few years less. I raced motocross as an amatuer when I was in my forties. When I looked for a new bike that would do it all I found this forum and read a bit and it is why I added the ST to my potential list.

I will ride this more when warm weather arrives and then decide what needs to be done about the seat height issue with either seat adjustment or linkage...... or both.
 

azb

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2017
Messages
76
Location
Directly above the center of the earth
The seat has two positions, I would start by making sure the seat is already in the low position. It's easy and quick to check and change. Just pop off the seat and check if the plastic bit under the seat is on the front holes or the rear holes.

You can also take out a bit of preload in the rear shock to lower the height a bit. Just to see if you can get used to the bike before you start spening money changing things.

Good luck, it's an impressive bike to be sure, and incredibly reliable.
 

escapefjrtist

Searching for Dry Roads
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
1,418
Location
Snohomish WA
Before you make any changes get a few [hundred] miles on the bike and get used to it. I'm the same size as you. With a Penske shock on mine, the rear height is a little higher than stock. Yeah, touching the ground is a challenge but unless you're planning to ride single track off road it's not a big issue.

Congrats on the '12 and enjoy!!

~G
 

Stantdm

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
174
Location
Belle Fourche South Dakota
Thank you for the advice. I do plan to ride it for a time to see how it goes and before I start changing stuff around I will probably lower the seat (it is on the highest position) and adjust the shock a bit. I can also adjust the front fork height a little according to a mechanic I use. ( Not much but a little)
 

Tenman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
2,102
Location
Natchez Ms USA
I'm a gravel road runner too. Tires make all the difference. Stock battlewings sucked for anything but the road. I broke my Madstad the other day and put my stock windsheild back on. It was like riding a naked bike after having a Madstad 22"
 

Stantdm

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
174
Location
Belle Fourche South Dakota
I'm a gravel road runner too. Tires make all the difference. Stock battlewings sucked for anything but the road. I broke my Madstad the other day and put my stock windsheild back on. It was like riding a naked bike after having a Madstad 22"
This bike came with fairly new Heidenau K60 Scout tires. They seem to have very good grip on dirt and gravel. The day I put some miles in on gravel it was moist and the bike tracked well and there was no front end push.
 

twinrider

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
1,882
Location
Yokohama
This bike came with fairly new Heidenau K60 Scout tires. They seem to have very good grip on dirt and gravel. The day I put some miles in on gravel it was moist and the bike tracked well and there was no front end push.
I ran K60s on my '12 S10. They're OK on gravel but they'd be better on dirt without that band on rubber running down the center of the rear tire. They wear like iron and grip like it too, so be careful on slick roads.
 

azb

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2017
Messages
76
Location
Directly above the center of the earth
If the seat is on the highest position, lowering it will make a significant difference. A friend wanted to ride my s10, but was concerned about the height since he's pretty short... like maybe 5'6" or 7". With the seat lowered he was good to go and rode it several hundred miles with no issues.
 

Sierra1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2016
Messages
14,819
Location
Joshua TX
….I am 5'10 with a 31" inseam and find the bike just a couple of inches too high to back it up with my feet while on the seat....
I'm going to echo azb's advise. I too have a 31" inseam, but I weigh 300lbs. I have to set my preload on the high side. Mine is an ES, and when I change preload from my son's setting to mine....I can feel the bike raising. There's a significant height difference between low & high preload on mine....It's like the same for yours. You probably want to check in the manual for the recommended setting(s) for your weight. If you didn't adjust it already, there's no telling what it's set at. I also have the seat in the low position. My feet are not flat on the ground, but there are no issues. Enjoy.
 

Checkswrecks

Ungenear to broked stuff
Staff member
Global Moderator
2011 Site Supporter
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
11,489
Location
Damascus, MD
Welcome aboard and congrats on the new ride. btw - You are not the oldest around. ;)

There are threads around here about all the ways people have lowered the seat height. Mainly, dog bones, sliding the forks in the clamps, and lower seats (iirc Seat Concepts sells a kit too).

The K60 is a really tire for gravel, made better with a dremel tool by cutting out the center ridge. It also is hard rubber that lasts forever on pavement. It's an older tread design so you'll probably find most of us have moved to other tires. There's an entire sub-forum here just about tires and wheels.
 

Stantdm

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
174
Location
Belle Fourche South Dakota
I ran K60s on my '12 S10. They're OK on gravel but they'd be better on dirt without that band on rubber running down the center of the rear tire. They wear like iron and grip like it too, so be careful on slick roads.
Thanks for that information. The pavement was dry but I do ride a fair bit in wet conditions so it is good to know.
 

Stantdm

Active Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
174
Location
Belle Fourche South Dakota
Checkswrecks,

I will look at the center band on the rear. I did notice it when I was looking the bike over before I bought it. It was kind of shiny compared to the side tread which used to mean that the person who rode it didn't corner too hard. I will pay more attention to it now. Thanks.
 

Checkswrecks

Ungenear to broked stuff
Staff member
Global Moderator
2011 Site Supporter
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
11,489
Location
Damascus, MD
They do wear square till they handle like truck tires. This one's not yet too bad. On wet roads it can hydroplane pretty easy which was one reason so many of us moved to other tires.


This is a Mitas E07 and you can see the round bottomed cuts to make it better on wet roads.
 

twinrider

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
1,882
Location
Yokohama
The rear would break loose on me without warning on slick roads. It was also the only tire that would cause the TC light to flash when I gunned it hard. If you ride a lot of dirt/gravel as well as tarmac, I would recommend the Shinko 804/805 when it comes time to change out the K60s. Good grip and handling on sealed and unsealed roads.
 
Last edited:
Top