Building up electrical spares

[gcos]

Hi All, -
Maybe someone would know a few answers to the following query. My 99 ST1100 non abs is all working very well, and in no small part with help from many posters on this great site. However, as it and I are getting older, I am afraid at some point I will need something that is not available, and cannot be easily worked around. I am trying to build up a few electrical spares, and I determined that all the HT coils are the same through the years. Now I am looking at the ECU, as I fear if that went south then I would be really stuck. So does anyone know if the 90 - 96 non abs ecu is the same as the 96 - 2002 non abs unit. There is quite a difference to prices on ebay, and obviously I don't want to waste money either way. I cannot find a parts fiche that lists the ECU to compare.
Many thanks in advance.
Gerard.

 

[Upt' North]

Gerard, I can't answer your question but the site below should provide your answer.

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-st1100_model297/

The left hand switchgear is also troublesome if you can find a new one somewhere. I bought one about 6 years ago for about £80.00. Think it was from cmsnl.
Good luck.
Upt.

 

[gcos]

Gerard, I can't answer your question but the site below should provide your answer.

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-st1100_model297/

The left hand switchgear is also troublesome if you can find a new one somewhere. I bought one about 6 years ago for about £80.00. Think it was from cmsnl.
Good luck.
Upt.

Thanks very much UPT.
I found the basic unit on that site, it is listed under 'Front Cowl' - I was looking all the time under 'Electrics'!! I will go through the various model options to compare older and newer modwels without ABS.
Very grateful for your help,
Gerard.

 

[GGely]

One feature that most of these sites have is a cross reference to other models that use the same part number. So, although you may be looking for an item for the ST 1100, it may also fit the VR 750 as an example. This has helped me many times.

I’ve only ever ordered once from CMSNL, since they are on the wrong side of the freight pond for me but it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

I ordered the upper and lower mounting bolts for the rear shock (getting the last upper in captivity, I believe) and received all sorts of cool swag, including a large picogram with a history of their business, with the shipment. My favourite is a key ring with a moulded version of their logo figurine. Outstanding!

 

[Erdoc48]

ABSII is newer and hopefully would be expected to have a longer service life than ABSI. That said, my 94 ABS gave me issues for some time, parts are not to be found (and I likely would not trust eBay used parts for this application), and it brakes just fine (now as a non ABS bike) as I disconnected the ABS from the bike (all pumps and hardware is there, just electrically disconnected it all)- I can’t troubleshoot it properly as I was getting different codes at different times, lots of flashing lights, and can’t isolate the issues (and yes, maybe the ABS ECU is cooked). I ride now very comfortably with it all non functional and the 94 is a non ABS bike now. The issue with all ST1100s is that the newest ones are near 22 years old and parts availability will continue to dwindle. I just keep using mine and expect I’ll expire before my STs do.

 

[Uncle Phil]

ECU on a ST1100? What does it look like?

 

[SMSW]

I'm not familiar with the 1100"s, but if @Uncle Phil is not sure what the ECU looks like I suspect it doesn't exist (he has 8 of these bikes, riding 4 of them actively and the remainder are for parts - this summer he swapped engines in one of them).

Aside from the minor problem of maybe there is no ECU on a carbureted ST, the ECU failures have happened mostly on 1300's up through 2007 model years. Perhaps you are talking about the ABS sensor/brain or whatever that is called? If you do buy replacement parts, especially used ones, I'd suggest swapping yours for the replacements to test them before you need them.

 

[jfheath]

@gcos

Fowlers is one of the biggest Honda Parts suppliers in the UK. Link to the 1100 non-ABD pages here.

Fowlers Parts | Genuine Motorcycle Parts & Spares

If buying new (haha), Honda have the parts market legally sewn up - all dealers quote the same price - give or take a bit for postage. Its pointless shopping around. DavidSilver might be worth a call - I believe that he buys up old stock.

Whatever - the parts fiches are relevant to UK and European bikes.

 

[Mellow]

ECU on a ST1100? What does it look like?

Look in the mirror?

 

[ST1100Y]

DavidSilver might be worth a call - I believe that he buys up old stock.

CMS seems to be the one buying up all and everything... seem DS collaborates and purchases there as folks receive their order in CMS boxes (like the -323- 4-4 exhaust replicas)...

 

[gcos]

ECU on a ST1100? What does it look like?

Hi Uncle Phil,
Please see attached image. Maybe in all I think I know, I don't know very much- I took this to be an ECU, but is it only the spark amplifier from the pickups? If so, then i feel rightly stupid. Don't be afraid to agree!!
Gerard.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

but is it only the spark amplifier from the pickups?

Its proper name is ignition control module. It is a CDI module, that is a capacitor discharge ignition module.
It does the same job as the distributor breaker points and capacitor did in the days before electronic ignition systems.

 

[gcos]

Its proper name is ignition control module. It is a CDI module, that is a capacitor discharge ignition module.
It does the same job as the distributor breaker points and capacitor did in the days before electronic ignition systems.

Thanks Andrew,
So I am stupid! Guilty of over thinking things again. Of course I can see my error now, and I really should have known, having had a few CDI bikes. Can I use the excuse that some items are sometimes incorrectly described on ebay? (No, I didn't think so). Thanks again for all replies.
Gerard.

 

[St-Gerard]

Better to ask a stupid question then having to fix a Stupid Mistake! Cheers Gerard P.s you beat me joining by a couple of years

 

[Uncle Phil]

Not a problem as I never saw an ECM or heard of one on a ST1100.
But then I could have missed it as I have missed other things.
AFAIK, that particular piece has not fail that I've heard of - at least not for me in 470,000+ miles on ST1100s.

 

[DannoXYZ]

Pretty sure it isn’t CDI ignition, those went out of fashion in ‘80s due to short spark duration that would often not fully trigger combustion.

Honda calls it “transistorized ignition system” more often called TCI using inductive coils. As confirmed by coils being powered full time with ECU grounding them to fire.



If we scope trigger line from ECU, we’ll see there’s no high-voltage pulses. Rather just battery-voltage most of time with short grounding pulses to fire coil.

 

[DannoXYZ]

I am trying to build up a few electrical spares

ECU appears to be fairly reliable. Stock up on:

- alternators, perhaps gather all parts for 40a upgrade
- extra RR
- do red-wire bypass
- replace starter-solenoid connector with tin-coated version before it fries on you. Seal opening at back of connector with silicone since wires funnel water into connector & solenoid.

I’ve found this site to be good source of parts:
Baboon.eu - ST1100 RR

 

[gcos]

ECU appears to be fairly reliable. Stock up on:

- alternators, perhaps gather all parts for 40a upgrade
- extra RR
- do red-wire bypass
- replace starter-solenoid connector with tin-coated version before it fries on you. Seal opening at back to connector with silicone since wires funnel water into connector & solenoid.

I’ve found this site to be good source of parts:
Baboon.eu - ST1100 RR

Yes, I see what you mean about the TCI, which is an accurate description.
Alternator was 40amp anyway, but I did have to replace it as it cracked and got stiff. Red wire done and fuse box load reducing relay installed. Just trying to plan for what might happen in the future. Many thanks again for all the replies.
Gerard.

 

[Upt' North]

Yes, I see what you mean about the TCI, which is an accurate description.
Alternator was 40amp anyway, but I did have to replace it as it cracked and got stiff. Red wire done and fuse box load reducing relay installed. Just trying to plan for what might happen in the future. Many thanks again for all the replies.
Gerard.

I knew what you meant with ECU Gerard, it's a fairly generic term, at least over here and every one on Ebay will be listed thus.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Pretty sure it isn’t CDI ignition, ......

I don't know, I only know that Honda refers to it as such.
I doubt that it is the same capacitor type as the old pre-electronic ignition style. The fully electronic version are capable of much higher voltage spark as well as more precise spark control along with better ignition timing control.