I know you'll have read a
lot of posts by now, and absorbed a lot of info. I've read all that info, and tried out a lot of the fixes, and I have a little grasp of the situation.
I have had my ST1300 since 2011. I did notice the heat the first summer I had it. It was not really very comfy to ride above about 85*. Even then, it was warm, and at slow speeds, pretty unbearable.
1. I added an Ivan's FCE, which supposedly cut the heat a bit, and eliminated the throttle "grab" from a closed throttle. Result: no change, or little enough change that it is not noticeable.
2. Did the Don Ferarrio insulation job. Luckily, I had all the materials already, it did not cost me anything. Took about 6 hours to do it all, and put it all back together. Result: no big change, with the only exception being that sealing between the seat and the tank made it a bit cooler on my more sensitive areas. Removed the whole insulation job about 6 months later.
3. Added Gold Wing vents to the side of the fairing, per Whooshka's instructions. Result: not a huge decrease in the temperatures, it does make a slight difference though.
4. Added Air Wings. This is so far, the most improvement I have seen. By adding the Air Wings, ( I made my own, for about 7$), I channel fresh air up to my thigh area, and it seems to move the hot air away.
5. I did call Igofar ( Larry), who gave me a whole list of things to do, to make it run cooler, and I faithfully performed every maintenance item, but to no avail- the bike seems to be about the same temp. These items included replacing the thermostat, coolant, using Denso plugs as opposed to the iridium NGK plugs I was using, adjusting the counterbalancers, replacing the inner cowls, and balancing the throttle bodies. Thanks to Larry, though, the bike does run smoother, and gets better mileage. ( Thanks, Larry!!)
6. Beaded seat cover: BIG improvement. You don't notice it until you ride on it in coolish weather, or forget to put it on in warm weather. Once again, I made mine from a beaded car seat cover, about 9$ at wal-mart. Also makes it easier to ride long distances. It complements the Air Wings.
If you find some startling way to reduce the heat, PLEASE let us all know!