Hi everyone
I have recently brought myself a lovely ST1100, I've been wanting one for years and have been a firm believer in the 1100 being touted as the better ST .
To give some kind of background; it was kept in a barn for 4 years, had 104k miles on the clock and was in pretty good condition once you got through the dust. A carb clean, replacement fuel pump and remedy for the famous seized alternator and I was on the road! I've done about 1000 miles on her now and despite the trepidation of such a big bike found that she handles beautifully and I am fully on board with those that say they are fantastic!
Sadly recently she has been overheating
It all started on a pretty hot day, I noticed that she was getting to about 3/4 on the temp gauge and that was unusual - normally she took the age to even register anything and then got to about 1/4 unless in traffic when she could climb to 1/2, possibly 3/4 at the most.
I had a look down (for some reason) and there she was loosing water from the overflow hose on the expansion tank.
Things have not got any better; I've had a good look round many forums and decided this was the best to join and also saw some other riders withsimilar issues and some 'cures' for it.
So far, I have:-
Yes, the fan IS running - I can't say exactly when it cuts in but it's there and sometimes has some visible effect on the temp gauge.
Last run out she was well up into the red and I was on the verge of pulling over when I got close enough to where I was going to gently get her the rest of the way. When I stopped her, you could hear the boiling water fizz and bubble back into the expansion tank and then see it spew over the floor
She still rides/runs OK, I think that she's possibly running a little rough when at high temp, however, that could just me being paranoid at that stage; if I wanted to give her some beans and go quick, I am confident that she'd still respond.
I'm at a total loss - head gasket has been mentioned to me as I say and I could really do without that expense and I am sure that the K-Seal would have had some effect even if only a temporary fix.
If this was a car I would be straight down the auto-factors for a new water pump, however, every bit of info I have heard or read says that it simply won't be that, it's certainly not leaking and I'm pretty sure that it's not noisy.
So, sorry for the essay, I just feel I can ask for HELP! better if I give all the facts/info straight off.
Please can anyone help???
I have recently brought myself a lovely ST1100, I've been wanting one for years and have been a firm believer in the 1100 being touted as the better ST .
To give some kind of background; it was kept in a barn for 4 years, had 104k miles on the clock and was in pretty good condition once you got through the dust. A carb clean, replacement fuel pump and remedy for the famous seized alternator and I was on the road! I've done about 1000 miles on her now and despite the trepidation of such a big bike found that she handles beautifully and I am fully on board with those that say they are fantastic!
Sadly recently she has been overheating
It all started on a pretty hot day, I noticed that she was getting to about 3/4 on the temp gauge and that was unusual - normally she took the age to even register anything and then got to about 1/4 unless in traffic when she could climb to 1/2, possibly 3/4 at the most.
I had a look down (for some reason) and there she was loosing water from the overflow hose on the expansion tank.
Things have not got any better; I've had a good look round many forums and decided this was the best to join and also saw some other riders withsimilar issues and some 'cures' for it.
So far, I have:-
- Checked and topped up where necessary, the water/coolant levels
- Checked the return hose from/to the rad/expansion tank, it looked clean but a little bit perished at the join with the rad so cut an inch off.
- Brought a new rad cap (direct from Honda dealer)
- Taken out the thermostat and given it a boil to see if it opens OK - YES and I have not bothered to put it back in yet either.
- Lastly the other day I gave the whole coolant system a good flush out with the garden hose, replaced the coolant/ water at approx a 50/50 mix and also used some K-Seal as someone had mentioned the head gasket and figured it couldn't do any harm (also 'bled' the coolant system of air by allowing her to run up to temp with rad cap off etc).
Yes, the fan IS running - I can't say exactly when it cuts in but it's there and sometimes has some visible effect on the temp gauge.
Last run out she was well up into the red and I was on the verge of pulling over when I got close enough to where I was going to gently get her the rest of the way. When I stopped her, you could hear the boiling water fizz and bubble back into the expansion tank and then see it spew over the floor
She still rides/runs OK, I think that she's possibly running a little rough when at high temp, however, that could just me being paranoid at that stage; if I wanted to give her some beans and go quick, I am confident that she'd still respond.
I'm at a total loss - head gasket has been mentioned to me as I say and I could really do without that expense and I am sure that the K-Seal would have had some effect even if only a temporary fix.
If this was a car I would be straight down the auto-factors for a new water pump, however, every bit of info I have heard or read says that it simply won't be that, it's certainly not leaking and I'm pretty sure that it's not noisy.
So, sorry for the essay, I just feel I can ask for HELP! better if I give all the facts/info straight off.
Please can anyone help???