I have a 2007 st1300 with 32k miles and has been running extremely well for the past 2 years, only recently have i had a poor mileage issue, last week i got only 150 miles out of a tank, changed gas station dealer and mileage did not get much better, probably 200 for a tankful. thermostat went to 3 bars and stayed there after a few minutes, after reading alot of posts, i flushed system twice with distilled water and replaced with brand new honda OEM thermostat from bike bandit, bike ran great for a week, fuel mileage went back to almost 300 miles per tank, temperature bars went to three within 3 minutes, took a long 300 mile ride this past sunday, again good mileage, no problems, this morning, temp is 75 degrees in florida, bike starts, a littlke smoke from left exhaust for about 2 seconds, has trouble reaching idle speed and FI light comes on, turn bike off, restart it and FI light clears, start riding down the road and stop bike, shut it off and tried to restart, it would not start unless i twist throttle a little bit while pressing starter, rode a few miles , temp bar reaches 3 bars but no heat coming off engine, finally after 20 miles i start feeling heat come off engine and at stoplight fans kick on. AND as a final note, when i replaced the thermostat, the old one was NOT stuck OPEN, it was CLOSED when i took it out......sorry for the long post, but i really like this st and hate to change to another brand because im losing confidence with this bike not leaving me stranded somewhere.
Replaced Thermostat
- Thread starter MarkJ
- Start date
Your t-stat is not bad if you are hitting 3 bars. Sounds like that was always the case. Changing the fluid is a good idea as is supposed to be done every 24 months.
This sounds more like fueling issues from bad or not great gas. Some bikes have a hard time starting once in a while and some don't, fuel injected bikes are probably the worst for this intermittent issue but it's not a major issue, the bike does start but sometimes take some throttle to get it going... every bike I've had has done that sometimes except the Valky (carb) and shadoe (carbs)..
This sounds more like fueling issues from bad or not great gas. Some bikes have a hard time starting once in a while and some don't, fuel injected bikes are probably the worst for this intermittent issue but it's not a major issue, the bike does start but sometimes take some throttle to get it going... every bike I've had has done that sometimes except the Valky (carb) and shadoe (carbs)..
Did you burp the baby? Recheck your coolant level...........use some SeaFoam in your gas....how's it run otherwise? Remember to put the ground wire back on the t'stat housing? Didja check the air filter? Rodent trash? We need more info..........good luck............ff
when you removed the old t-stat, was it short or long? when they stick open, they extend. Did you clean any black paint out of the coolant system, and remove the black paint from the pipes on the radiator before putting it back together? Did you burp the air out of the system?
As far as the FI light and symptoms go, sounds like you simply need to pull the airbox assembly and replace the vaccume hoses and clean the 5 way tee, then do a TB sync, I'm betting all your issues will go away after that.
I'm available on the white courtesy phone if needed :call: PM me a contact number if you need to chat.
Igofar
As far as the FI light and symptoms go, sounds like you simply need to pull the airbox assembly and replace the vaccume hoses and clean the 5 way tee, then do a TB sync, I'm betting all your issues will go away after that.
I'm available on the white courtesy phone if needed :call: PM me a contact number if you need to chat.
Igofar
i ran the new coolant with the cap off for a good 5 minutes before putting radiator cap back on, i have some sea foam i can run thru system, but i dont think i need to do that continously?, or is everyone doing the seafoam thing weekly?, i didnt need to uhook the grounding wire when i replaced t-stat, i left all that connected, replace with a brand new honda oem filter just before i replaced t-stat.....air filter bay was very clean, no debris......im concerned that for 2 solid years i have had no problems, now , im having issues with almost every tank full, and i am changing gas stations and always run premium, is anyone else in florida having similar issues?
im sure it was closed when i took it out, i saw a posting on this site that showed an open t-stat and it did not look that way, i did clean the black paint off the radiator and connecting pipes and ran the bike for a good five minutes before replacing radiator cap, i can certainally replace the hoses and 5 way valve.
i will replace the hoses and 5 way tee and post the results.....thank you guys.
thank you for offering, i will contact you if i continue to have issues.
Be sure to check your coolant level when you do the 5 way tee......5 minutes might not be enough to fully open the new stat and burp all the air out.......good luck..............ff
You're certainly not alone (I went from great mileage to similar mileage as yourself):
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?137501-Arggggh!!-Running-on-3-cylinders-!-Video-included
(I'm in Texas, with the heat and humidity in full swing (though not at the 95-100*, 90% stage yet)).
I haven't posted back into my original thread as I'm not done with the bike. I have all the tupperware off doing other things, but the main intent is to do a TB sync (oops, I mean starter valve sync).
Other things I've done: changed plugs; checked HT wires and coils and various sensors; flushed \filled the preload adjuster (nothing to do with bad mileage, but hey. ..).
The fuel filter\gasket shipped yesterday, so will install that as soon as it's here.
I had a 'Busa with a similar issue years ago. It was suggested to me to use a potentiometer on the IAT - I did so and it worked! The idea was dial it for "summer" and then "dial it back" for winter.
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
Smoke or steam? Condensation that's accumulated while the bike was sitting will evaporate and be forced out relatively soon after starting. This is a normal thing in winter and early spring when the overnight temperatures dip a bit. Yu're someplace where the air is humid, so you may accumulate a little more than the rest of us.
You might want to pull the air box and make sure the joints in the starter valve linkages are clean and operate freely. I had a few days of had starting problems like you describe (although without the FI light) that stopped happening after I had the air box off for something else and cleaned them up.
Checking to see if the ECM has stored any fault codes would be useful. The procedure for doing that is here: CLICKY. Let us know what you find out.
Nothing out of the ordinary there. The cooling system in this bike is very efficient, so don't expect it to be pouring out tons of heat immediately after start or while you're moving.
Again, that's expected. Dunk it in a pot of water, add heat and it should open at around 185 degrees.
Other than having your battery go dead (easy to do, DAMHIKT), you'd have to work pretty hard to get this bike to strand you. So far the only real problem you seem to have is difficult starting, but it does start, and whatever's causing it is probably curable.
But if you're that shaken, I'll give you $12.50 for it.
--Mark