for a long time I've had the top protective plastic cap off the bike. and the bottom intact. recently I've undertaken replacement of the bearing set. the first time I turned over the T.T. I got a lot of water pouring out of it. it seems that over the years it has been collecting water, and left a bit of rust and slurry in the bottom 3-4" of the tube. my intentions are to scrape out all that I can, blow everthing clear, and then fill up the tube with some sorta oil to stop any farther rusting . then drill the bottom cap to drain and finally cap off the top( hole in the bottom will probably be left unplugged). my questions here is, what kinda oil( rustoleum could be a candidate but I'm unsure if the paint can be fully absorbed by the left over rust) would be best to do this? I would rather use something that I already have on the shelf, but if there is a product that excels for this I might be willing to make a trip out to buy.
arresting rust in my triple tree
- Thread starter the_gr8t_waldo
- Start date
To me, it's unusual that you should be collecting water in there. There should be a dust seal on top of the top bearing, and if all bearings are greased, including the seals, water should not penetrate I wouldn't think. I really haven't heard of it happening unless it's a feature of ST11's that I don't know about................ however if it's been "years", could be just lack of grease in the bearings and seals..........
I would just regrease all the bearings provided they are not rust pitted (otherwise replace), ensure the seals are there and OK, and you should be good............. I would also consider this to be a more frequent maintenance item than "years". ST13 manual says inspect every 8000 miles, which I will interpret as check the torque, regrease as necessary. FJR manual says check torque every 6000 and regrease every 20,000 kms or 12,000 miles...... a bit of overkill IMHO. My personal habit is check when new or new-to-you and every two years for grease, I check torque as annual winter/spring maintenance.
I would just regrease all the bearings provided they are not rust pitted (otherwise replace), ensure the seals are there and OK, and you should be good............. I would also consider this to be a more frequent maintenance item than "years". ST13 manual says inspect every 8000 miles, which I will interpret as check the torque, regrease as necessary. FJR manual says check torque every 6000 and regrease every 20,000 kms or 12,000 miles...... a bit of overkill IMHO. My personal habit is check when new or new-to-you and every two years for grease, I check torque as annual winter/spring maintenance.
the following is NOT an ST1100, but will do for a picture. http://www.motorcyclesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/50b926d421e6a_ZX14-lower-triple-tree.jpg in the pic the plastic that's normally in the top is missing like my own st1100 and the bottom of mine has the OME plastic cap...this creates a, "cup" that in my case has been collecting water. the resulting rust and slurry is what I want the oil to stop from progressing any farther. cosmoline comes to mind, but for the life of me, I'm clueless as to here to buy it, other than online. fwiw- the bearings reside on the outside of this tube and any water that gets into 'em will drain to the outside of the tube and will not be much of an issue..at least as long as gravity continues to work it's charm
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So If I understand correctly you are saying water was in the Bottom triple tree stem that goes up through the neck of the frame. I have two ST1100's at the house a 1991 and a 2000. Both have the plastic off of the bars. The 1991 does not have a plastic plug in the top of the stem and the 2000 does. I would say clean the inside of the stem with something like lacquer thinner to dry it out and get rid of any oil and grease. Rise it a couple of times and let it dry out. I would leave as is and when installed put a plug in it.
ST1100Y
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+1...
There are dust-seals at the top and the bottom: http://www.pan-europe.utvinternet.ie/parts/steering_stem.htm
Some marine lube takes care of the final sealing...
yes grabcon , although I should of included ..... on my bike the two piece trim plastic that covers the aluminum cover plate and partially surrounds the handle bars& ign sw. assembly, have been discarded by the P.O. so that he could mount a set of after market handlebars . so I have assumed that there always was a plastic plug to cover the top of the tube. I already have a cap that'll fit, just didn't what to seal it up without trying to address the corrosion inside of the tube. it turns out that cosmolene is pretty expensive, these days. but there's other products that'll protect
Personally I would just clean it out and keep it dry. They don't come from Honda with anything inside the stem. I think mine also have a plastic plug in the bottom of the bottom tree. Maybe pull that out and look inside to see just how bad the corrosion is. I don't think grease will do much, if anything it could trap moisture and make it worse.