Drilling inner fairing
- Thread starter Auron
- Start date
ToddC
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Same as it always was, modifying the fairing to increase air flow does little to mitigate feeling heat in the seat area. Some guys disagree with this, but I'm reporting what the consensus was. Note that Larry, i.e. igofar, was adamant that a good tuneup would do more than cutting holes.
@ToddC, please pass the popcorn.
@ToddC, please pass the popcorn.
I'm one of those wimps that notices heat no matter what. The ST is a warm bike for those that it bothers and not for those that it doesn't, completely subjective. If it helps 5% I'd be willing to do it. Now if it makes it worse, that's another story. 
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I'm one of those wimps that notices heat no matter what. The ST is a warm bike for those that it bothers and not for those that it doesn't, completely subjective. If it helps 5% I'd be willing to do it. Now if it makes it worse, that's another story.
What year is your ST1300?
IIRC, some guys have said it does nothing, and at least one reported more heat in the seat area. Once you do it, you cannot go back - fairing parts are rare.I'm one of those wimps that notices heat no matter what. The ST is a warm bike for those that it bothers and not for those that it doesn't, completely subjective. If it helps 5% I'd be willing to do it. Now if it makes it worse, that's another story.
07’ It’s not nearly as hot as the ‘12 I had briefly. That sucker was insanely hot, much much worse than my 07. But like I said, I’m a wimp and prefer it to be as cool as possible. My tb’s are synced, never check the ‘12. Guessing they were WAY off
I'm one of those wimps that notices heat no matter what. The ST is a warm bike for those that it bothers and not for those that it doesn't, completely subjective. If it helps 5% I'd be willing to do it. Now if it makes it worse, that's another story.
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In a nutshell.....cartoon version....The inner cowls serve a purpose of DIRECTING air into the radiator, so the cooling system works as designed.
By removing, or cutting these pieces up, you are no longer directing air into the radiator, and you'll find the front wheel/fender does a great job of blocking, and restricting air flow into the radiator etc.
The air then is directed straight back into this dead air space, which ends up getting heated up by the engine, which in turn heats up the side of the gas tank and frame etc.
It turns the entire area into a giant heat sink.
There are MANY different things that cause heat on these bikes, and several of them are easily fixed, without damaging stuff etc.
Just some of the things could be as simple as spark plug type and heat range, what type of seat you have on the bike, and what position is it in?
What size the rider is, and does the riders clamp down on the tank with his thighs?
Have the pair valve reeds been cleaned? are they no longer allowing air to re-circulate and cool things down?
Does the bike have an aftermarket exhaust? A K&N filter causing it to run lean?
What altitude is it operated at? What type or grade of fuel is used?
What type of oil is used?
What type of coolant, and is the T-stat frozen open?
How long does it take to reach the first bar on the temp gauge?
To date, there has only been TWO ST's that I have not been able "fix" to the owners satisfaction, and ONE of these turned out to be caused by Thyroid medication, and once his meds were changed, the heat was no longer a problem, and the SECOND one was because the rider was very short, and over weight, and kept the seat in the lowest position, and forced his riding position to straddle the tank and reduce air flow around his body.
His bike was ridden by two other riders (myself included) and heat readings were done, and his bike was no hotter than the other two bikes, and he complained that the other two bikes (mine included) were just as hot etc.
If you want to reach out and talk to me on the white courtesy phone, I'd be glad to try and help you figure out how to correctly tune your bike.
I have removed MANY inner cowls that had pieces cut out of them, cut into frames, holes drilled in them, and replaced missing cowls, and I was able to reduce the heat in all these bikes.
By removing, or cutting these pieces up, you are no longer directing air into the radiator, and you'll find the front wheel/fender does a great job of blocking, and restricting air flow into the radiator etc.
The air then is directed straight back into this dead air space, which ends up getting heated up by the engine, which in turn heats up the side of the gas tank and frame etc.
It turns the entire area into a giant heat sink.
There are MANY different things that cause heat on these bikes, and several of them are easily fixed, without damaging stuff etc.
Just some of the things could be as simple as spark plug type and heat range, what type of seat you have on the bike, and what position is it in?
What size the rider is, and does the riders clamp down on the tank with his thighs?
Have the pair valve reeds been cleaned? are they no longer allowing air to re-circulate and cool things down?
Does the bike have an aftermarket exhaust? A K&N filter causing it to run lean?
What altitude is it operated at? What type or grade of fuel is used?
What type of oil is used?
What type of coolant, and is the T-stat frozen open?
How long does it take to reach the first bar on the temp gauge?
To date, there has only been TWO ST's that I have not been able "fix" to the owners satisfaction, and ONE of these turned out to be caused by Thyroid medication, and once his meds were changed, the heat was no longer a problem, and the SECOND one was because the rider was very short, and over weight, and kept the seat in the lowest position, and forced his riding position to straddle the tank and reduce air flow around his body.
His bike was ridden by two other riders (myself included) and heat readings were done, and his bike was no hotter than the other two bikes, and he complained that the other two bikes (mine included) were just as hot etc.
If you want to reach out and talk to me on the white courtesy phone, I'd be glad to try and help you figure out how to correctly tune your bike.
I have removed MANY inner cowls that had pieces cut out of them, cut into frames, holes drilled in them, and replaced missing cowls, and I was able to reduce the heat in all these bikes.
Just because you were able to get the four injectors even, does not mean you addressed ALL the issues that may be contributing to the cause of your heat.Mine looked just like yours, you walked me through it. Verified by a second homemade meter. Still too hot, heat is subjective just like everything else our bodies sense.
Perhaps we should talk again?
I don't think it's subjective at all. If you feel it you feel it and if the heat bothers you — it bothers you. For whatever reason the heat from my 2010 hasn't bothered me at all. Was my bike built on a Monday or Friday or mid-week I don't know. It just doesn't. Riding in the cold — that's another story. A chapter then is that I can't feel the bike helping me at all.
Unless you're talking about the effect of holes relieving the heat being subjective. On that note I don't remember seeing any temperature measurements. Is there a difference/is it significant/how much is significant might be addressed with some careful measurements.
? That was my point. It's subjective, not objective. Subject to personal experience, not objectively a bike issue as Larry suggests.
That seems to be subjective to me.
It seems like a consistent problem I have been hearing since I started riding in the 70s, some complain of heat and some don't. The ones that do always complained and the ones that didn't....,, didn't. What they rode did not seem to matter.
Except if they liked the bike it wasn't a problem, if they didn't it was too hot and had a lot of other problems.
But, I have run into that with all motor vehicles though, if you like it, it is wonderful and dependability was not an issue. If you did not like it, it was a piece of crap no matter how dependable it was.
Go figure, this is an opinion, which pretty much means it has no real bases in facts, truth or even remotely resembling other than something to not depend on.
Except if they liked the bike it wasn't a problem, if they didn't it was too hot and had a lot of other problems.
But, I have run into that with all motor vehicles though, if you like it, it is wonderful and dependability was not an issue. If you did not like it, it was a piece of crap no matter how dependable it was.
Go figure, this is an opinion, which pretty much means it has no real bases in facts, truth or even remotely resembling other than something to not depend on.
That's a really, really good point. We like to talk ourselves into all kinds of reason to sell and move on. Then the wife says "hell no" and you start telling yourself how great it is.