Hiya All,
I asked about this on a FB group, but didn't receive information to help me resolve it. But I did learn something.
Here's the issue, followed by what I learned (if the information was accurate).
- A couple weeks ago I lifted the tank to check the air box and air filter. Air filter was still new-ish (only a couple thousand km) and still VERY clean, although I did remove it and blow air through it in the reverse direction to remove 1 small fly and 1 dandylion "parachute" seed. Some dust came out, too. Some of you will likely caution and hate me for this but I'll take it as it is. The air filter is good. I also checked the snorkels to ensure there were no critters of any sort. They were fine. And I cleaned the oil overflow (oil change had been done recently and perhaps he slightly overfilled, which was likely good because it dripped oil for at least a week until I brought it to my local auto mechanic only 30 seconds away from my house who tightened the drain bolt - the oil changing motorcycle "professional" didn't tighten it enough and told me, "Sometimes they drip for a few days, but it will stop." BS!! Thanks for a sub-professional job and for not taking responsibility. Now I have a big patch of oil on my concrete driveway! Does anyone know what I can do to "dissolve" or remove this oil patch...?? I tried oatmeal and sand, but they did nothing.)
- So, after completing my airbox maintenance, the next time I ran my tank down to low, the digital display stayed on 3 bars for a LONG time, then it jumped to a single flashing bar. It bypassed the 2 flashing bars completely. Since then, it completely bypasses the 2nd bar, but it does stay "stuck" on 3 bars for a LONG LONG time.
What I learned: Someone on a FB group stated the the ST13 gas tank has two gauges - one float style gauge in the upper tank, then an electronic sensor gauge in the lower tank. It was suggested that the float gauge somehow got into a position where it gets stuck at the 3 bar position instead of continuing to sink lower to yield a 2 bar position.
This seems logical, and that my most recent maintenance operation, possibly due to the amount of gas in the tank, unfortunately put the float in a non-ideal position causing it to act this way. I would be surprised if something actually "broke down", since this bike is a 2014 single owner (likely purchased in 2015 or perhaps even 2016) low km well-maintained garage-winter-kept bike that, in spite of my various diagnostics, has not shown anything at all to be flawed.
IF indeed the float is simply stuck in a bad position, is there any simple way I could dislodge it and free it up to normal operation. I was thinking of "fishing" with a 10 gauge stiff electric wire (of course cut carefully enough such that the copper is not protruding at all from the insulation, and such that there will be ZERO chance of scratching since the plastic insulation would be the only portion contacting the inside tank walls).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
(Oh, and please don't bother responding if you're just gonna say, "oh, I don't follow my gauge at all... I just check the amount of km I drive," or "gauges are approximate anyway, don't use them". Those answers are NOT helpful at all. I want to FIX it, not learn to just live with something that is broken. The gauge was working PERFECTLY until I noticed the difference after my recent maintenance. Thank you!!!)
I asked about this on a FB group, but didn't receive information to help me resolve it. But I did learn something.
Here's the issue, followed by what I learned (if the information was accurate).
- A couple weeks ago I lifted the tank to check the air box and air filter. Air filter was still new-ish (only a couple thousand km) and still VERY clean, although I did remove it and blow air through it in the reverse direction to remove 1 small fly and 1 dandylion "parachute" seed. Some dust came out, too. Some of you will likely caution and hate me for this but I'll take it as it is. The air filter is good. I also checked the snorkels to ensure there were no critters of any sort. They were fine. And I cleaned the oil overflow (oil change had been done recently and perhaps he slightly overfilled, which was likely good because it dripped oil for at least a week until I brought it to my local auto mechanic only 30 seconds away from my house who tightened the drain bolt - the oil changing motorcycle "professional" didn't tighten it enough and told me, "Sometimes they drip for a few days, but it will stop." BS!! Thanks for a sub-professional job and for not taking responsibility. Now I have a big patch of oil on my concrete driveway! Does anyone know what I can do to "dissolve" or remove this oil patch...?? I tried oatmeal and sand, but they did nothing.)
- So, after completing my airbox maintenance, the next time I ran my tank down to low, the digital display stayed on 3 bars for a LONG time, then it jumped to a single flashing bar. It bypassed the 2 flashing bars completely. Since then, it completely bypasses the 2nd bar, but it does stay "stuck" on 3 bars for a LONG LONG time.
What I learned: Someone on a FB group stated the the ST13 gas tank has two gauges - one float style gauge in the upper tank, then an electronic sensor gauge in the lower tank. It was suggested that the float gauge somehow got into a position where it gets stuck at the 3 bar position instead of continuing to sink lower to yield a 2 bar position.
This seems logical, and that my most recent maintenance operation, possibly due to the amount of gas in the tank, unfortunately put the float in a non-ideal position causing it to act this way. I would be surprised if something actually "broke down", since this bike is a 2014 single owner (likely purchased in 2015 or perhaps even 2016) low km well-maintained garage-winter-kept bike that, in spite of my various diagnostics, has not shown anything at all to be flawed.
IF indeed the float is simply stuck in a bad position, is there any simple way I could dislodge it and free it up to normal operation. I was thinking of "fishing" with a 10 gauge stiff electric wire (of course cut carefully enough such that the copper is not protruding at all from the insulation, and such that there will be ZERO chance of scratching since the plastic insulation would be the only portion contacting the inside tank walls).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
(Oh, and please don't bother responding if you're just gonna say, "oh, I don't follow my gauge at all... I just check the amount of km I drive," or "gauges are approximate anyway, don't use them". Those answers are NOT helpful at all. I want to FIX it, not learn to just live with something that is broken. The gauge was working PERFECTLY until I noticed the difference after my recent maintenance. Thank you!!!)
