Honda's dream of V4 dominance extended beyond the sport bike and racing arenas. In 1990, alongside the all-new 3d-gen VFR, the company unveiled their fresh take on the large-displacement sport-touring segment, the ST1100. A completely different engine as compared to the VFR-series, this one was built for heavy-bike duty and mounted longitudinally.
Already ahead of the full-sized touring pack with the iconic Gold Wing, Honda probably saw Kawasaki's success with their Ninja-based Concours (1986) and thought they could do one better. Slotted just below the Gold Wing, the ST would be lighter and nimbler, catering to the rider who didn't need or want the bulk of the Wing. All the makers eventually joined in, expanding the popular sport-touring genre we still enjoy today.
After 11 years the ST1100 was overdue for an overhaul and the ST1300 was born for 2002. The engine had grown a bit and counter balancers added to allow the engine to be bolted directly to the frame, acting as a stressed member. This was effectively Honda's first use of fuel injection on a large-production model. The engine enjoyed a long run through about 2012 (police edition) in the ST series and was then retuned and used in the CTX1300, a bagger model. Here's some specs for the engine as used in the ST1300:
• 1261cc, 71ci
• 90-degree V4
• 4-valve, chain driven cams
• Programmed Fuel Injection
• Bore/stroke = 78x66mm
• Compression = 10.8:1
• HP = 117 @ 8000 rpm (U.S.)
• Torque = 86 lb-ft @ 6500 rpm (U.S.)
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