WARNING!!!!! - Rear Shock Issue Can = Lost Pannier - Or Possible Brakes Loss!!!

WARNING! - Rear Shock Issue Can = Lost Pannier - Or Possible Brakes Loss! UPDATED!!!

UPDATE! - THIS IS A REAR CALLIPER FITTING ISSUE - CLICK TO SEE POST BELOW!!!

Hi All,

Last year I mysteriously lost (and never recovered) a pannier off my bike - which has done just under 100,000km. The pannier was locked on and mysteriously the latch securing the pannier (holding it down) was bent up, allowing the pannier to exit the bike. I put it down to the pannier not being secured properly and/or perhaps the upward pressure from me checking the pannier was secured bent the latch. I replaced the pannier. How wrong was I???

On a recent trip to the South Island I heard a funny noise coming from the rear of the bike. The bike was fully loaded including a top box. Preload was set to full. I stopped a couple of times to check it and couldn't see anything. It was only when I got my wife to bounce the bike while I was looking underneath that I discovered the issue. The rear suspension was allowing the bike to travel so far down (without "bottoming out") that the rear brake calliper was hitting underneath the pannier. Where it was striking was right where the hose enters the calliper (including the bolt securing the hose to the calliper).

My old pannier was constructed of stern stuff. So in that case the latch was bent and the pannier exited the bike. My new one was of less stern stuff, so the calliper actually punched a hole in the bottom of the pannier, and that was the noise I was hearing. Worst case scenario I could have lost my brakes doe to damage to the hose. I could also have lost another pannier.

I thought I was really important I posted this on here to warn other owners to keep an eye out for this issue.

Regards to all and Happy New Year

Interesting observation. Glad you solved it... quite a mystery after losing the first pannier.

DougieNZ said:

The rear suspension was allowing the bike to travel so far down (without "bottoming out") that the rear brake calliper was hitting underneath the calliper. Where it was striking was right where the hose enters the calliper (including the bolt securing the hose to the calliper).

Click to expand...

Do you mean... "...that the rear brake calliper was hitting underneath the pannier"?

Not saying the bike's suspension is at fault, but if you have never "recharged" the preload cylinder and or changed the shock, that could be part of the issue in the suspension. I'm not going to speculate or comment on weight of rider and or pillion....

paulcb said:

Do you mean... "...that the rear brake calliper was hitting underneath the pannier"?

Click to expand...

Quite right. I have amended my original post.

vinny said:

Not saying the bike's suspension is at fault, but if you have never "recharged" the preload cylinder and or changed the shock, that could be part of the issue in the suspension. I'm not going to speculate or comment on weight of rider and or pillion....

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No, I have never recharged it. Could be that is the issue? So would losing/not recharging oil be the issue here. Is the ram the main part of the suspension or the spring? It has done quite a few miles and I have read a lot of negative stuff about the OEM suspension.

I was one up (I am a slightly larger than normal chap) and did have a bit of gear on board.

The OEM spring is around 800# I think. When I bought my replacement I put on a 1300lb unit. I'm about 230 and the bike seems to be handling much better.

Yes.. the stock spring is severely undersized for the real world and definitely not scaled for 2-up unless you are really small and light.

DougieNZ said:

No, I have never recharged it. Could be that is the issue? So would losing/not recharging oil be the issue here. Is the ram the main part of the suspension or the spring? It has done quite a few miles and I have read a lot of negative stuff about the OEM suspension.

I was one up (I am a slightly larger than normal chap) and did have a bit of gear on board.

Click to expand...

The preload oil being low or non existent is a known issue with the ST-1300... so even though you might have had it cranked up all the way, it may not have been very effective.
Also, the shock does loose some of the dampening capability over the years/miles. When I get a little more time, I'll try to search the forum and post the links to the preload fix.
There are several good choices for a new rear shock... A search on ebay may net you a decent price on a replacement.

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?106715-ST1300-Pre-load-Fluid-Replacement&highlight=

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?109391-ST1300-Setting-rear-shock-rebound-adj-VIDEO&highlight=

I think you nailed it Vinny......

ToddC

I'm surprised the hard stop limit wasn't engaged, regardless of the condition of the rear shock, to prevent contact with the bag or any other part of the bike. that would be inexcusable from an engineering point of view. I've bottomed my rear suspension a couple of times quite hard but there are no witness marks on the underside of the left bag. Seems to me something additional is wrong/bent or it's a non-OEM shock?

Perhaps Honda is depending on the rubber snubber on the rear shock? I would be surprised, but if that is the case perhaps the OP's has rotted and fallen away?

Hi - yes I have to say I found it quite amazing that the suspension didn't "bottom out" before the calliper could come in to contact with the pannier. Sounds like something has failed. I will get it checked out. I was surprised, as I had never heard of this happening to anyone else. I didn't think the design should let that happen. Thanks for the advice - appreciated. It is certainly an OEM shock.

dduelin said:

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?106715-ST1300-Pre-load-Fluid-Replacement&highlight=

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?109391-ST1300-Setting-rear-shock-rebound-adj-VIDEO&highlight=

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting those links, Dave. Had company coming for dinner and I had to put the apron on...

Maybe the bike has been lowered with a shortened shock. The standard shock length shouldn't allow hard parts to hit or pinch brake lines. I'm like Jeff, certainly I have bottomed out my shock before. It's not pleasant but nothing broke or bent.

wjbertrand said:

I'm surprised the hard stop limit wasn't engaged, regardless of the condition of the rear shock, to prevent contact with the bag or any other part of the bike. that would be inexcusable from an engineering point of view. I've bottomed my rear suspension a couple of times quite hard but there are no witness marks on the underside of the left bag. Seems to me something additional is wrong/bent or it's a non-OEM shock?

Perhaps Honda is depending on the rubber snubber on the rear shock? I would be surprised, but if that is the case perhaps the OP's has rotted and fallen away?

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing Jeff. Since I don't have a 1300 I'm not familiar with the setup in the first place, but putting a hard stop in the path of potentially interfering components seems like suspension design 101, doesn't it?

Hi Guys. It is with some embarrassment that I update this thread. I have found the solution thanks to a suggestion from one of my Aussie friends (I posted this in the OZ ST Owners Group also. It appears that when I refitted the rear brake calliper some time ago. I missed putting the front holding bolt through the brake calliper. So it was sitting just to the rear of where it should have been, enabling it to come in to contact with the pannier under fully loaded conditions.

I feel like a bit of a tool (I'm sure my Aussie friend that did this also won't mind me saying this) as an indentured tradesman in a former life, but i will leave this up here to warn others in case it could happen to them.

I was wondering how Honda could have designed a bike like that - the easy answer is they didn't!

Regards To All - and thanks for the advice on this.

Adrian

Just glad it was the pannier and not worse.

Don't worry about it Adrian, we've all done stuff like that. You don't learn all the stuff we know at our age without making a few mistakes along the way.

Like the plumber that says they've never had a leaky pipe must not do much work! Happens to all of us ha ha

Well that is a lesson that you learned from, no harm no foul.

paulcb said:

Don't worry about it Adrian, we've all done stuff like that. You don't learn all the stuff we know at our age without making a few mistakes along the way.

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Plus one!!!