Article [13] ST1300 - Middle Cowl Removal Procedure and Tips

crazykz

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Ok I know this has been written up before but I wrote this up for a friend so I decided to post it here too.

There's a bunch of the little push/pull rivets for the plastic. Go here for a complete layout:
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?73238-ST1300-TupperWare-Worksheet

Since this is the first time you're taking the bike apart I recommend putting all screws back in the hole they came out of if possible. This helped me memorize where they all went. If someone has taken it apart before they may not be in the right places but at least they fit somehow in those spots.

Here's all you need:
#2 Phillips screwdriver
5mm hex (T handle works great for this but some bolts have shallow heads so press hard)
8mm nutdriver or socket

Here's the order (Diagram on page 58 of the Service Manual PDF, or Page 2-2 by the manual's page number)
1. Remove Mirror Housing
2. Remove Lower Cowl
3. Remove Inner Cowl
4. Remove Lower Inner Cowl
5. Remove Tip Over Wing
6. Remove Middle Cowl

1. Remove the mirror housing. It pops off and it's held in place by spring clips. It also has a tether. (You don't need to remove the mirror. Just the housing)
- Hold the front of the mirror housing (the side with the blinker lense) in one hand. Then with a swift movement hit the outer point of the mirror housing with your other hand. Hit the mirror housing so that you're striking it on the mirror side moving towards the front of the bike. It will pop right off. You do basically the reverse to put it back on except you hit it on the tip aiming towards the bike. It's easier to show than explain but you'll get it. I usually line up the top two posts, smack them on, then do the bottom post. You have to smack is pretty hard sometimes. Don't be shy. :)
- The mirror housing has a tether. You can unscrew it from the mirror but be careful not to let it fall into the fairing. Or you can pop it out of the fairing without unscrewing it but that is a little trickey. For the first go around I would just unscrew it and then make sure it stays in place.

2. Remove the lower cowl
- Just remove all the push rivets on the underside of the lower cowl at the front of the bike. That way you're not guessing which ones to remove. There's about 5 of them.
- Then remove the 5 allen bolts along the lower cowl. 2 are narrower then the other 3 and 2 of the wider ones have shoulders. The third doesn't.
- Last remove the one push rivet that is near your ankle if you were sitting on the bike. Leaving this push rivet in place makes it easy to remove without having to hang on to it. Put this rivet in first when putting it back on so you don't have to hold it in place. You push the center of the rivet in with a screwdriver tip or something and then grab around the head to pull it out. To put it back in you push the center pin so the head is sticking out of the push pin and the forked teeth are flat. Put the rivet in the hole and then push the center pin in with your finger to lock it into place.

3. Remove the inner cowl
NOTE: If you are removing the right inner cowl there is a temperature sensor connected to it. There is a molex connector on the wire harness that you can remove and leave the sensor on the inner cowl. However some people find it easier to just remove the screw holding the sensor to the inner cowl.
- There are 4 push rivets along the edge of the inner cowl as it follows the middle cowl and one screw. One is up under the headlight assemebly. Three of the push rivets have bigger heads then the forth so they are easier to grab. The one with the shallower head is the one that goes in up by the screw under the headlight assembly. Remove the screw also.
- Then there are 2 push rivets on the top of the inner cowl which can be felt if you are standing beside the bike and reach around the inside corner of the fairing pocket up by the top triple clamp on the bike. You may have to turn the handlebars to get to them. You push the center of the rivet in with a screwdriver tip or something and then grab around the head to pull it out. To put it back in you push the center pin so the head is sticking out of the push pin and the forked teeth are flat. Put the rivet in the hole and then push the center pin in with your finger to lock it into place.

4. Remove the lower inner cowl (technically you only have to remove the screw and push rivet for the side you're removing).
- This is the piece right behind the front wheel. There's two push rivets and two screws. Just remove the rivet and screw on the side you're taking off. You may need a stubby screwdriver for the screws on this one.

5. Remove the tip over wing
- Remove the 5mm allen on the underside of the wing. Then pull the wing off by grabbing the rear of the wing and pulling straight out. It hinges on a catch on the front of the wing.
NOTE: This allen screw is different from all the others. Don't get it confused!!!
- Since you're here remove the 2 8mm bolts on either side that are underneath the wing. Remove the bushings too if they don't stay in place.

6. Finally, remove the middle cowl
- Once you've got all the other crap off there are two screws in a horizontal line below the mirror to remove
- Then remove the two screws that are under the fairing pocket lid towards the front of the pocket
- Now remove the one 5mm allen that is in the center of the cowling just above the valve cover.
NOTE: This allen screw is different than all the rest. Don't confuse it with any of the others. It is also not the same as the one for the tip over wing. You have been warned.
- There are a couple catches by the mirror and the headlight assembly. Make sure you don't break them. I usually pull the rear of the cowling out a little first and then work my way forward. Make sure the fairing pocket is open. The hinge on the fairing pocket will prevent you from pulling the cowling straight off so focus on getting around then the continue working forward.
NOTE: When putting the left middle cowl back on make sure that the wiring harness connector is tucked into it's holder on the fairing pocket.
NOTE: When putting the cowling back on work from the front to the rear. Put the catches in place then work around the fairing pocket hinge and then place the post at the rear of the cowling in it's hole. Then put in the one 5mm allen in the center of the cowling just above the valve cover. That will hold it in place while you line everything else up. Once that's done you can start putting things back together.
 
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This is a great resource...thanks so much for doing this.

I've had my plastic off three times and helped another ST'er reinstall his plastic. So, I'm not a virgin, but I'm not an old hand either. Here's what I keep running into when reinstalling the plastic: I find that the left middle cowl is a royal pain to attach. In particular, there's a small tab at the very front of the middle cowl that won't fit as tightly as I think the design of the bike calls for. It always feels like there is something hung up under it and that is preventing me from getting as tight a fit as I'd like. Anyone else observed this???

As I read crazykz's write up here I noticed he said to keep the fairing pocket open because the hinge will interfere...maybe this is what I keep overlooking?
 

Mellow

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This is a great resource...thanks so much for doing this.

I've had my plastic off three times and helped another ST'er reinstall his plastic. So, I'm not a virgin, but I'm not an old hand either. Here's what I keep running into when reinstalling the plastic: I find that the left middle cowl is a royal pain to attach. In particular, there's a small tab at the very front of the middle cowl that won't fit as tightly as I think the design of the bike calls for. It always feels like there is something hung up under it and that is preventing me from getting as tight a fit as I'd like. Anyone else observed this???

As I read crazykz's write up here I noticed he said to keep the fairing pocket open because the hinge will interfere...maybe this is what I keep overlooking?
The left side is the side that has the holder for the wire loom on that side and that probably adds to the difficulty and the feeling it doesn't all push into place perfectly. Also, many folks tend to put it on and miss the small tab hear the headlight.

Ya just gotta do it about 10 times before you're an expert... lol.. by then, you've broken off a tab that was getting in the way anyway. :rofl1:

I'll never forget the look on hueydriver's face when I popped off his mirror cover with the palm of my hand...
 
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I'll never forget the look on hueydriver's face when I popped off his mirror cover with the palm of my hand...
hehe. "why did this mad man just smash my mirror of my bike" LOL.

Something rare for me I just took all the plastic off didn't have any spare parts when it went back together and actually found one I dropped into the black hole about 6 months ago.
 
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crazykz

crazykz

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Mellow is right. There is a holder for the cable harness on the back of the fairing pocket. If you don't line that up it might feel squishy going back on as it pushes back out.

Curt
 
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The tab by the headlight is the one I am talking about...I'd like to have the fit there be tight and it seems to a) have a small, but noticeable gap and b) be a bit loose.

I suspect that there is an "ideal sequence" of how the fasteners (clips, pins, screws and bolts) get re-installed and tightened....that is, its not just which pieces get installed first, it also matters how the pieces are "locked down".

I also suspect that one of the holes into which one of the plastic clips is attached is no longer providing as tight a hold on the clip as when it was new.
 

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You can take 10 STs that same model year side-by-side and every one will have a gap here and there that the others don't have. It's just the plastic. The more you ride and it's exposed to the sun as well as cold conditions you'll have small gaps here but some may disappear over time.

Given all the parts involved, Honda does a pretty good job. I prefer they spend their time on the engine vs the plastic if you know what I mean.
 
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Something rare for me I just took all the plastic off didn't have any spare parts when it went back together and actually found one I dropped into the black hole about 6 months ago.
I have this part figured out. I set aside a small zip lock bag and label each bag with the plastic part name (Right Middle Cowl, Left Lower Cowl, etc.) . Each fastener from the part gets put in the bag and the bag is sealed up. The plastic part worksheet tells you how many fasteners there are per piece..no mystery and no missing or extra parts. It's worked like a charm all three times I've had my plastic off.
 
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Once I get that tab and everything lined up at the headlight I hold it in alignment and put the screws in up there then work my way along the rest of it.
Kind of a pain to get that clear boot on the harness connector into the retainer for the left side without having that boot roll up.
Don't know if anyone has any tricks for that?
 
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You can take 10 STs that same model year side-by-side and every one will have a gap here and there that the others don't have. It's just the plastic. The more you ride and it's exposed to the sun as well as cold conditions you'll have small gaps here but some may disappear over time.

Given all the parts involved, Honda does a pretty good job. I prefer they spend their time on the engine vs the plastic if you know what I mean.
I know what you mean. However, I suspect that there's a mountain of engineering that goes into designing and fabricating that plastic.
 
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Once I get that tab and everything lined up at the headlight I hold it in alignment and put the screws in up there then work my way along the rest of it.
This is what I have tried...I'd have thought that once that tab is correctly inserted, the screws by the mirror would lock the front tab of the Middle Cowl in place. However, I find that it does not...that the front tab separates from the headlight assembly. And because of this I have speculated that there was something underneath the plastic that was pushing the tab out of alignment and creating a gap there. Which makes me nutz.
 

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I do remember that on my 03 I didn't have to do this but on my 08 I've always had to:

When putting the front pocket screws in, the two hidden when the door is closed, I have to push inward to get the screw holes to line up. I think that's due to that wire loom/holder. Doing that seemed to make the gaps in the pocket area not as big. On some bikes there are no gaps in that area. Not sure if that helps but sometimes it's just knowing where your bike needs to be kicked... LOL
 
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A bunch including figuring in the shrink rate of the molten plastic as it cools.
That also varies with injection time, pack pressure cool time and a few other of the dozens of machine settings.

Ball park figure out the projected area (the shadow it would make if facing flat side to the sun) in square inches.
Multiply that by 3 tons. That's the size of the molding machine that has to push the two halves of the mold together to make the part.
That a pretty large $$ molding machine to make that particular part. Stab in the dark maybe 750 ton molding machine.
 
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A bunch including figuring in the shrink rate of the molten plastic as it cools.
That also varies with injection time, pack pressure cool time and a few other of the dozens of machine settings.

Ball park figure out the projected area (the shadow it would make if facing flat side to the sun) in square inches.
Multiply that by 3 tons. That's the size of the molding machine that has to push the two halves of the mold together to make the part.
That a pretty large $$ molding machine to make that particular part. Stab in the dark maybe 1000ton molding machine.
Don't know what this means, but I'd say that you can figure the cost in cubic dollars.
 
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You need one of these to make the cowl LOL.
10,000psi says you can sqeeze 102% of plastic in a 100% space.
Parts don't come out the exact same size as the mold cavity depending on process parameters theres some wiggle room.
 

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a bear pushed over my (2007) bike (yeah, i had food in the side case after returning from a trip) and smashed the right middle cowl. any advice on where to get a new one? cheapcycleparts.com has it listed for $385, which doesn't seem so cheap. while i have it removed, is there any maintenance i should be doing?
 

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a bear pushed over my (2007) bike (yeah, i had food in the side case after returning from a trip) and smashed the right middle cowl. any advice on where to get a new one? cheapcycleparts.com has it listed for $385, which doesn't seem so cheap. while i have it removed, is there any maintenance i should be doing?
You may find it here cheaper http://www.ronayers.com/LOWER-COWL-C499109.aspx
 

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Honda couldn't have made it any tougher to get all that plastic off the 13.
No doubt, A LOT has to come off just to get at the MIDDLE COWL!! But the worksheet is great, AND after U do it a coupla times- it goes pretty smooth.
Still, I deal with ALL the TUPPERWARE as little as possible!
The lower inner radiator cowls are on the shelf, and i'm tempted to remove & store those plastic spark plug covers. AND lookin for more.
 
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A question on reassembly: My inner cowl remained attached until I removed the middle cowl, and then it dropped away. QUESTION: in reassembly, do I first attach the middle cowl and THEN the inner cowl?
 
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