Heat from Bike

[Rob Hephner]

OK, I have watched on the forums for some time now the discussions about the heat issue and what everyone offered as a solution. At the same time I also looked up the oil leak issue due to the fact that I did have a leak.

I prepared the bike to drop off at my dealership and since they would be tracing an oil leak I decided to leave the fairing and lower cowl off of the bike. The ride to the dealership was about 25 miles, through city traffic and some freeway.

Let's put it this way, yes it is an engine and yes it gets hot. I noticed no real difference from full dress to naked bike so I am not sure what the removal of just the lower cowls will have but I will try.

I do agree that the bike gets a little hot on the shins, but my V-Rod makes it a little hot on the bottom of my leg. As far as I can tell I am not going to get burnt. Sure cooler would be better, but I could drive a car, I guess....

 

[Carl_T]

See my post in "Considering the ST1300, Need Advice". If you are bothered you might want the fairing extenders. It sure is nothing I'd personally ever go cutting up a fairing brace over as some suggest. The Honda fairing extenders add a tad of buffetting with the windsield up. I happen to like the looks and the extra cold weather hand protection.

 

[Rob Hephner]

See my post in "Considering the ST1300, Need Advice". If you are bothered you might want the fairing extenders. It sure is nothing I'd personally ever go cutting up a fairing brace over as some suggest. The Honda fairing extenders add a tad of buffetting with the windsield up. I happen to like the looks and the extra cold weather hand protection.

So, your suggestion is to make it hotter??

Let me summise--

Normal with all fairings = Hot
All fairings and lower cowl removed = Hot (same as before)

I live in Mesa, AZ I do not need cold weather protection...

 

[DWJ Honda]

weather protection

Carl, any photos available of what your bike looks like with the extra fairings on the sides and rearview mirrors? Sounds cool.

DWJ

 

[AZST]

Rob,

I feel the heat...but agree with you, that it seems no different than some other bikes that I have ridden. The stop and go stuff in this AZ climate can get uncomfortable, however, the heat felt on my legs is not awful...and when I wear my Joe Rocket Revolutions-- no big deal at all.

Could it just be a tolerance issue from one rider to the next??

BTW...out of curiousity, which dealer do you use?

--Bryan
04ST1300A
STOC# 5197

 

[hondarep]

Another Hobbes-ian Dilemma

I share the sentiments of most of the other replies thus far.

It's a heat-producing engine wrapped in shrouding which keeps the warm air from dispersing freely into the atmosphere, with a fan under the shrouding blowing the air around even more to keep the coolant happy.

While I wish it could be otherwise, the chosen exit for a lot of that heat is real close to your legs and foward motion is going to enhance that even more.

So.. having said that, does it really suck that much? No. I can live with it - even in the stifling Virginia Heat n Humidity festival we call summer.

I mean look at the options - you COULD be riding a cruiser and have a 500* pipe under your leg making some other body part unhappy. (or melting rain suits like mine did) I would prefer to have a warm leg and an ST1300 under me than a poser bike and a comfortable shin any day.

The way I see it is I am thinking too much about riding and navigating to worry about my warm legs.

 

[Don-STOC237]

So, your suggestion is to make it hotter??

Let me summise--

Normal with all fairings = Hot
All fairings and lower cowl removed = Hot (same as before)

I live in Mesa, AZ I do not need cold weather protection...

Is summise a word?

Anyway, I've been using fairing extenders similar to these on 3 different ST1100's for many years now.

The first year I had them, I took them off in the summertime. Then I found out how much they helped in hot weather.

In the winter, they direct the cold air away from your legs and knees and give you a larger pocket of comfort.

In the summer heat, they direct the engine heat and other heat away from your legs and knees and give you a larger pocket of comfort.

I don't use the hand protecters that come with the kit.

 

[Carl_T]

So, your suggestion is to make it hotter??

That?s not really the effect with mine (but mine is not hot as bikes go anyway, just some warmth). As you can see from these pictures the extra fairing edging directs the heat from the heads more away from the rider. The extra warmth of hands from the mirror ones is nice in the snow country where I live, it does not make hands hot in warm weather). If I need some air I put the windshield down. Since I wanted the fairing extenders, the look of the mirror ones added on, tie in with the fairing extenders. that was another benefit to me. They balance the fairing edging visually.

Since the fairing extenders add a tad of extra turbulence to the rider it helps in the summer (though I may cut the bottome of the windshield more to modify that).

Here are some pictures of how the Honda wings look installed on an 05. Forgive the unwashed bike.

One thing I will say is if you do not keep the extensions cleaned, and put on some Honda cleanup, or better yet Armorall (or equivalent with UV protection) they can go grayish looking, which I don?t like (they start out a tad grayish like the saddlebag black). So, I hit them up every so often with some protection/shine in a can.

Before installing them I could feel some warmth from the heads riding slow through leathers. With them on I feel nothing even with jeans.

As I said there is warmth on the right through the hole in the side (that is the sister of the one that the shock preload adjuster comes out of) if feet are back so toes are on the pegs. One day when I have nothing else to do, I?ll probably cut some black ABS to redirect it back.

 

[sherob]

Hey Carl,

The deflectors look nice on your :biker: but they look great on my

Until you get that GW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :biker:

 

[Carl_T]

So far the unanimous consensus around my bike is that they add something positive to the looks.

Of course since Red and black are the undisputed traditional colors of sex so, they look the hottest on the red ones :biker: :biker: :biker: (which are also still faster).

Besides you can?t shoehorn the extensions onto your wing Don. You?ll just have to ride the wing naked with untrimmed fairing (but your riding naked won?t make yours sexier, just make pedestrians close their eyes and shudder).

PS Don I posted the dog carrier for you in the wheelie thread I think.

 

[Rob Hephner]

Currently I use Town and Country, but this is my first Honda in AZ

Summise is a word in my world I guess. (Hey, you knew what I meant, right?)

And OK on the deflectors, I would not know unless I asked.

They sure look cool, so I probably will add then.


One final thing, I have the cruiser with the 500 degree pipe below my leg, its called a V-Rod.

 

[Rob Hephner]

Hey, and where do you buy those extensions?

Any websites?

 

[Carl_T]

I got mine here
Fairing http://hondadirectlineusa.com/stores/byProduct.asp?prd=Air+Deflectors&str=10&ID=941210297

Mirror http://hondadirectlineusa.com/stores/byProduct.asp?prd=Mirrors&str=10&ID=941210297

They were promt in their shipment.

There is an alternative (which I have no experience with at all) that doesn?t have the look but gives something to cover the side holes pre-made, along with small wings to deflect the head heat. It is cheaper by a lot, but again I don?t know how they work or don?t or whether you would like the look.

Scroll down they are the hot wings.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/ST1300prod.html

 

[AgSTreak]

The Calsci hot wings are function over form. They work but look terrible. I found that another Calsci product, the Calsci bellypan was very effective in removing a great deal of engine heat and also improves highway stability. In the colder months I remove the air scoop portion of the bellypan to increase the warm air that hits my legs. I've stopped using the hot wings entirely .
Like the silver color. the bellypan rules.
:biker: ------------->

 

[Carl_T]

John,
I have a few questions about the belly pan. Have you ever bottomed out the scoop on speed bumps or anything else (I already did the center stand two up)? How much time to remove for oil change? Does it really add stability?

I was a bit skeptical about it, but will reconsider if you really recommend it.

 

[AgSTreak]

The pan is held in by 8 push rivets and comes off quickly but does slow down an oil change some. I've been using mine almost as long as I've been riding the ST so I can't swear to a great improvement in stability but it does seem to help when I pass 18 wheelers on I84. I believe that the bellypan closes up the open area under the ST, reducing the parachute effect of the low turbulence coming off the truck's side and wheels. Following in a truck's wake I still get slapped around a bit though.
The scoop has never bottomed out, but I ride solo.
There is a a good deal more heat that hits my legs when the scoop is off. I can swear to that, especially on cold days. For that reason alone, I would buy one.

 

[Rob Hephner]

UPDATE

I have cut the inner cowls and dropped another 2K on the bike.

I have found that the heat is less and that if I tuck my legs in against the tank it seems to cool a little more. I tried that because I have yet to get the fairing extenders and was curious as to the effect. Once it was described it made sense.

One thing is for sure, the best benifit of cuttting the inner cowl was that the pockets are not a melting pot anymore.

 

[curmudgeon]

So, your suggestion is to make it hotter??

Before installing them I could feel some warmth from the heads riding slow through leathers. With them on I feel nothing even with jeans.

As I said there is warmth on the right through the hole in the side (that is the sister of the one that the shock preload adjuster comes out of) if feet are back so toes are on the pegs. One day when I have nothing else to do, I?ll probably cut some black ABS to redirect it back.

Hey Carl, have you had your bike in temperatures above 80? You say you don't notice the heat as much, but I thought you lived where the temps have been cold. Or at least I've seen comments from you about not being able to ride much due to the cold.

Phil

 

[Carl_T]

So far the STeed has been out on one 89 degree day, and one 76 degree day, no 90s or 100s yet though. The weather in NY spring and fall can go through some pretty wild swings. It's been on average from 40s to 70s mostly though.

Perhaps I'll sing a different tune when the real humid high heat comes, I don't know. To date my old Cruiser was hotter by a good deal.

Also to date the fairing extenders removed any heat sensation while riding from all except the hole I mentioned (I used to be able to feel some heat/warmth from the heads).

 

[Rob Hephner]

Give me a month or two...then we will all have everything we need to know about heat issues.

Funny thing is that we have yet to break 100 degrees yet this year, not that I am complaining.

I think you have a valid point with the fairing extenders Carl. Like I said, we'll find out soon enough.