Greetings from Georgia

[oilspot]

Hello!

I purchased my 2006 ST1300ABS in June and started doing some "routine" maintenance to get it ready to ride. Of course I rode it before I bought it and didn't note any issues, so hopefully this was all preventive maintenance... It had about 42,000 miles on it; but I think I got a good deal. It came with a Helibar Riser w/Outlet (and Ram Ball mount) and switchblade style highway pegs. Prior Owner also put in a Turbo Tom fuel pressure regulator which hopefully isn't a problem.

Once I got it home I did the easy stuff like oil changes, brake & clutch fluid changes, lubed the throttle cables- then I started reading the forums... and got busy:

• Cleaned the Radiator
• Replaced the coolant
• Replaced the Plastic coolant Tee (which was on its last legs)
• Replaced the Thermostat
• Replaced Air Filter
• Replaced Fork Seals (and bearings)
• Replaced Fork Oil
• Installed Tipover Bars (GW style)
• Cleaned a Lubed Windshield Cables & Motor
• Serviced Rear Shock
• I also replaced most of the Tupperware from Black to Red due to some damage on one of the black panels (new panels were cheaper than bodywork).

Then I added a few farkles while I had it apart:

• Switched all bulbs to LED
• Wired the Givi Box to Brake Lights
• Installed Quarter Harness
• Installed additonal aux outlet in side glovebox
• Istalled Heated Grips
• Installed Grip Puppy padding on grips
• Installed LED strips in Side mirrors for extra turn signal visibility

So One thing I've read about is synchronizing the throttle bodies? Is there a way to determine if this is needed? Someone said it might make the engine run cooler?? This is something I haven't done before, so I might take it to a Honda mechanic if it looks real complicated or requires a tool I don't have... I'd be interested to hear anyone's thoughts.

I'm also attaching a picture. It's the only one I have at this point. I will eventually get a few more decent pictures.

 

[shadowknows977]

Throttle synchronization is pretty easy considering everything else you've done. Check out the articles section. Recommend getting a "Carbtune" for the job.

 

[Nexus]

Greetings from Maryland!

Nice bike. Looks clean. Are those black saddle bags? I've never seen that before (on a red bike). I'll be waiting on those extra pics.

Those look like MCL highway pegs. They are, IMHO, over engineered compared to PSR's highway blades (although PSR's are longer and, possibly, more comfortable). You can't purchase them anymore, so ckunt youself lucky.

What's in the kegs? Should we have the next STOC rally finish at your place?

Sorry, I have no knowledge about your actual question. i.e. synchronizing the throttle bodies.

 

[Bikeric]

Welcome to the forum from Cornwall UK! Nice looking bike you have there.

 

[ToddC]

Welcome from WA STate.T

 

[oilspot]

Greetings from Maryland!

Nice bike. Looks clean. Are those black saddle bags? I've never seen that before (on a red bike). I'll be waiting on those extra pics.

Those look like MCL highway pegs. They are, IMHO, over engineered compared to PSR's highway blades (although PSR's are longer and, possibly, more comfortable). You can't purchase them anymore, so count youself lucky.

What's in the kegs? Should we have the next STOC rally finish at your place?

Sorry, I have no knowledge about your actual question. i.e. synchronizing the throttle bodies.

Hello! I was born and raised in Maryland - but haven't been back in a few years...

The two tone bike was not planned. I had to replace some tupperware and prefered the red color to black. I don't have the money to replace the saddlebags, so I might wrap them or something so they blend with the red a bit better. My fuel tank is also black because there is nothing wrong with the tank besides it is the original color...

I brew beer as a hobby and volunteer to host my club's whiskey barrels. We currently have two, aging different beers. Barrel aging gives homebrew a whole new flavor. I can't officially share "club" beer; but I usually have something on tap and happy to share with any fellow ST riders passing through Savannah. Cheers!

 

[Nexus]

Hello! I was born and raised in Maryland - but haven't been back in a few years...

I'm a recent implant.

My fuel tank is also black because there is nothing wrong with the tank besides it is the original color...

Sounds kinda cool actually. Sort of like some of the police versions but red. Still waiting on pics.

... but I usually have something on tap and happy to share with any fellow ST riders passing through Savannah. Cheers!

Heh heh, road trip!

 

[TipSTer]

Welcome to the forum from Mpls

 

[aniwack]

Greetings from Atlanta!! Throttle Body Syncs are ALWAYS encouraged when doing any work under the tank and to resolve rough riding and the issue with the engine running rich causing excessive heat. I've got all the tools and the maintenance table is always at the ready if you find yourself wandering towards the mountains.

 

[Sadlsor]

Howdy from next door in neighboring Alabama. But Savannah is so far from Birmingham, it's just like you were in a different state altogether!
I like the red -- good find!

 

[SmashVol]

Greetings from just up the road near Chattanooga.

 

[Popgun]

Hello! I’m from Savannah but now live in VA. Next time I go back (will most likely be Christmas) I should get some free beer!! What part are you in? I’m a Southside boy. Home was just off Montgomery Crossroads, close to Waters Av. Sold the parents house last year.

I‘ve done the sync once after buying the tool. I got an electronic one that was recommended on the board and followed the instructions on here. It was not hard once you get to the throttle bodies. I was already inthere as I was installing an MCCRUISE cruise control.

 

[dduelin]

Welcome and congratulations on your new bike and the work performed already. I live 120 miles south of you and often ride in SE GA inland to west of Valdosta. We should meet for coffee or lunch sometime.

EDIT to add that I have a 4 column intake synchronizer that you can use if you need a tool for the service. I'm semi-retired and could ride it up to you one of the next three mornings 8/14 - 8/16/23. Otherwise it would have to be next week.

The starter valves in Honda PGM-FI throttle bodies only affect fuel mixture or air/fuel ratios when starting and when idling. The starter valves are set inside by-pass circuits around the throttle plates so the engine receives the correct amount of air and fuel when the throttle plates in the intact tract are closed. Once the throttle is opened the starter valves have no effect on off idle rpm mixtures or engine heat. A synch job is indicated if idle is uneven or rough. Considering the work you have already done on your ST a TB would not be difficult.

A note - it has become somewhat controversial to speak to this as it is commonly believed that a starter valve synchronization does affect AFRs above idle but Honda gives a very detailed description of PGM-Fi in the 1998 & up VFR800F Service Manual in Technical Features pages 526 to 539 that refutes any of that. I can't reproduce it here due to copyright but a search for a PDF of a Honda VFR800F Service manual will lead right to a copy online. Page 538 diagrams and explains the function of starter valves. Honda choose to delete this information in the ST1300 Technical Features section of the Service Manual but the FI of the VFR800F is functionally identical to the ST1300. By the 2002 debut of the ST1300 PGM-Fi was standard on Honda motorcycles expected to meet US and European emissions still five years away so I guess it wasn't needed in the manuals anymore.

Honda PGM-FI fuel injection system attempts to maintain the ideal 14.7 to 1 fuel air ratio but lets the engine run a little richer under certain conditions but it has catalytic converters for NOS emission control that won't live long with rich mixtures. Because it’s a closed loop system with sensors paired to the ECM it adjusts the AFR to changes in intake temperature, altitude, rpm, and throttle position. Higher altitude equates to less oxygen or a richer mixture. If the ECM wasn’t able to adjust fueling accordingly it would run richer at higher altitudes like carbureted engines do but Honda's fuel injection adjusts for changes in basic parameters it is programed to. This is important to understand how the programmed fuel injection defeats attempts to change the AFR by leaning or enriching outside of the fuel mapping within the ECM. If it were possible to lean the AFR above idle the ECU detects it primarily with the downstream O2 sensors and adjusts fueling to compensate back to the fueling map in the ECM.

 

[Obo]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[klaproth]

Welcome to the forum from another Georgian!

The throttle body synch ( as Dave says) only affects the idle, and slightly off idle. It really does not affect heat output from the bike, ( yes, these bikes ARE warm to ride in southern heat), but it will make it run much smoother at idle. I borrowed a local ST'ers Carbtune to do it. You can probably buy a Carbtune AND another keg of beer for what the shop will charge to do this procedure.

 

[Peppermint]

Welcome from Montreal! Congrats on the bike, she's a beauty!

Patty

 

[dduelin]

...... the issue with the engine running rich causing excessive heat.

This is backwards. Rich mixtures run cooler than lean mixtures unless the AFR is leaner than stoichiometric ideal of 14.7 to 1. Even then exhaust gas temperatures continue to increase as the mixture it leaned until the engine is receiving a super lean AFR of more than 16 or 17 to 1. The ECM will never allow a mixture above 14.7 to 1 so it's moot.

 

[oilspot]

Welcome and congratulations on your new bike and the work performed already. I live 120 miles south of you and often ride in SE GA inland to west of Valdosta. We should meet for coffee or lunch sometime.

EDIT to add that I have a 4 column intake synchronizer that you can use if you need a tool for the service. I'm semi-retired and could ride it up to you one of the next three mornings 8/14 - 8/16/23. Otherwise it would have to be next week.

The starter valves in Honda PGM-FI throttle bodies only affect fuel mixture or air/fuel ratios when starting and when idling. The starter valves are set inside by-pass circuits around the throttle plates so the engine receives the correct amount of air and fuel when the throttle plates in the intact tract are closed. Once the throttle is opened the starter valves have no effect on off idle rpm mixtures or engine heat. A synch job is indicated if idle is uneven or rough. Considering the work you have already done on your ST a TB would not be difficult.

A note - it has become somewhat controversial to speak to this as it is commonly believed that a starter valve synchronization does affect AFRs above idle but Honda gives a very detailed description of PGM-Fi in the 1998 & up VFR800F Service Manual in Technical Features pages 526 to 539 that refutes any of that. I can't reproduce it here due to copyright but a search for a PDF of a Honda VFR800F Service manual will lead right to a copy online. Page 538 diagrams and explains the function of starter valves. Honda choose to delete this information in the ST1300 Technical Features section of the Service Manual but the FI of the VFR800F is functionally identical to the ST1300. By the 2002 debut of the ST1300 PGM-Fi was standard on Honda motorcycles expected to meet US and European emissions still five years away so I guess it wasn't needed in the manuals anymore.

Honda PGM-FI fuel injection system attempts to maintain the ideal 14.7 to 1 fuel air ratio but lets the engine run a little richer under certain conditions but it has catalytic converters for NOS emission control that won't live long with rich mixtures. Because it’s a closed loop system with sensors paired to the ECM it adjusts the AFR to changes in intake temperature, altitude, rpm, and throttle position. Higher altitude equates to less oxygen or a richer mixture. If the ECM wasn’t able to adjust fueling accordingly it would run richer at higher altitudes like carbureted engines do but Honda's fuel injection adjusts for changes in basic parameters it is programed to. This is important to understand how the programmed fuel injection defeats attempts to change the AFR by leaning or enriching outside of the fuel mapping within the ECM. If it were possible to lean the AFR above idle the ECU detects it primarily with the downstream O2 sensors and adjusts fueling to compensate back to the fueling map in the ECM.

I’m home the next few days if you are up for a drive. I am providing Patriot escort for a funeral Monday morning but can probably meet you somewhere in south Savannah almost any afternoon.

 

[dduelin]

I’m home the next few days if you are up for a drive. I am providing Patriot escort for a funeral Monday morning but can probably meet you somewhere in south Savannah almost any afternoon.

I will PM you to arrange something. This time of the year and especially this year if I'm riding I'm leaving the house about now and getting home by 11 to avoid the heat of the day. Driving the car is another matter. Maybe I can bribe the wife to drive up there with me with the promise of a lunch somewhere down on River Street.