Stuck open thermostat, red crap inside the WHOLE cooling system!

On a recently purchased '96 ST1100 (standard), the PO-seller told me that the bike was "cold blooded." I wondered why. I found the overflow tube (at the rad filler neck) to be severely corroded, split & plugged up with red crap. Based on info from this forum, I suspected that the thermostat was stuck open. I removed the thermostat & found that it was stuck open due to SEVERE neglect from the PO-seller (a retired motorcycle riding instructor). There was also a lot more of this red crap inside the WHOLE cooling system! The PO-seller was using tap water for a long time instead of coolant (antifreeze & distilled water). In the pic, the old t-stat is on the left, the new (OEM) one on the right. I replaced the t-stat & rad cap with OEM parts. I also ran some Prestone Radiator Flush through the system to clean out all the old red crap. I followed the instructions for "HEAVY DUTY CLEANING" (a 4-day process). I just finished a high speed road test. No more "cold blooded" engine. The cooling system is now working normally. The engine runs GREAT. This bike is VERY HAPPY now!

Well done. Hopefully the neglect will not show up in other systems! Safe riding.

Good catch and good work! My concern at this point would be deterioration of the vanes on your water pump. Keep an eye on the temp guage/traffic/ambient air combinations. Wide swings from really hot at a traffic light to normal under way may indicate a pending problem.

I'm glad the fix worked and all is well.

It is now your civic duty to warn the rest of us if the PO is trying to sell other bikes.

Glad to hear it's working, and +1 on watching the water pump vanes as a potential issue.

dkruitz said:

snip .... +1 on watching the water pump vanes as a potential issue.

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to his

motofisch said:

I'm glad the fix worked and all is well.

It is now your civic duty to warn the rest of us if the PO is trying to sell other bikes.

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I can't tell you all about this particular guy because I just don't know. Consultation for buying used motor vehicles could be an occupation!
To avoid buying "other people's problems" you have to be real good at lie detection & judging human nature.
One clue for me on this particular purchase, when I asked the PO-seller, "Does the bike need anything?" He seemed to get very defensive (like he was trying to hide something).
Another clue, the PO-seller was vague when I asked him about repair & maintenance history on the bike. These are critical questions from a buyer to a seller.

Timothy1959 said:

......To avoid buying "other people's problems" you have to be real good at lie detection & judging human nature.

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Sometimes there is no lie involved. My PO was a corporate pilot and obsessive about maintenance. Bike was in showroom condition. He had no time to work on the bike himself (except for cleaning/dusting it!) and all maintenance was performed at the dealer and he had kept every single invoice for it.

All I can say now is that I would never take a bike to this dealer......

MidLife said:

Sometimes there is no lie involved. My PO was a corporate pilot and obsessive about maintenance. Bike was in showroom condition. He had no time to work on the bike himself (except for cleaning/dusting it!) and all maintenance was performed at the dealer and he had kept every single invoice for it.

All I can say now is that I would never take a bike to this dealer......

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So you discovered that this particular dealer service department is incompetent?

Would definitely not recommend!. Oil way overfilled, brake lines poorly bled for instance. PO only rode during day time and never noticed the headlights had not been adjusted (about 20 ft ahead in highest position!). They even managed to botch up the Electric Shield Conversion (2003 model) which caused the sub harness to fry.......

I thought back about this because of your mentioning the crap in the cooling system. The bike started leaking water through the weep hole on the way home! My local dealer who worked on the problem mentioned there was crap in the system too (although far from what you are describing). Couldn't fault the PO for that...except maybe for his trusting this dealer!

MidLife said:

Would definitely not recommend!. Oil way overfilled, brake lines poorly bled for instance. PO only rode during day time and never noticed the headlights had not been adjusted (about 20 ft ahead in highest position!). They even managed to botch up the Electric Shield Conversion (2003 model) which caused the sub harness to fry.......

I thought back about this because of your mentioning the crap in the cooling system. The bike started leaking water through the weep hole on the way home! My local dealer who worked on the problem mentioned there was crap in the system too (although far from what you are describing). Couldn't fault the PO for that...except maybe for his trusting this dealer!

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It sounds like you noticed some poor workmanship from a bike dealer. I have noticed the same things!
Like many other things, there seems to be a wide range of quality for service shops. Some are award winning while others should be shut down.
Unfortunately, with maintenance it takes TWO. The vehicle owner (must regularly request the service) and the shop (must properly perform the service).
THAT is why it is so important for the buyer to ask the seller about the service & maintenance history of the vehicle.
It's also good if the seller has receipts to back up his claims!
My $.02

Jim Van said:

to his

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to his to his

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Oldbikefixr said:

Good catch and good work! My concern at this point would be deterioration of the vanes on your water pump. Keep an eye on the temp guage/traffic/ambient air combinations. Wide swings from really hot at a traffic light to normal under way may indicate a pending problem.

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The temp gage reads normal during all types of riding (HWY, CITY, etc...).

Timothy1959 said:

The temp gage reads normal during all types of riding (HWY, CITY, etc...).

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Congratulations! Looks like you worked it out.

Oldbikefixr said:

Congratulations! Looks like you worked it out.

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THANKS!

I've succeeded in improving the functioning & performance of this bike. The engine ROARS like a lion when I open the throttle!
The handling is SUPERB with the new tires. (Thank you Bridgestone!)
The speed & acceleration of this bike is FANTASTIC. The whole bike is stock.
The cooling system works much better now and desperately needed attention. The problems were all caused by neglect from the PO.

There is STILL a very small but persistent coolant leak. I will make a new post for that problem.