Lurker, new user from The Netherlands

[Sweetlake Jake]

Hi there,
After a long time lurking decided to subscribe to the forum. I am from The Netherlands, 53 years young and i have a 2004 silver ST1300. Been riding VFR for a couple of years but the ST1300 is waaaayyy... different... i have had the ST1300 since september 2023, it already caught fire, 2x dead battery and an almost completely empty fueltank... so much fun...
Anyway, this forum looks like it packed with info so got some reading to catch up on.

 

[Bikeric]

Welcome to the forum from Cornwall UK! Maybe someone on here has a spare fire extinguisher for you....?

 

[Obo]

Welcome to the forum!

Over here 2003's were silver and 2004's were blue.

Catching fire does not sound like fun at all!

 

[dduelin]

Welcome to the forum! Electrical issues are becoming more frequent on ST1300s and hopefully you find the answers you need before total immolation occurs.

 

[ibike2havefun]

Welcome from Maryland in the U.S. of A.

i have had the ST1300 since september 2023, it already caught fire, 2x dead battery and an almost completely empty fueltank

Sounds as if your bike is suffering from serious neglect and possibly abuse (not by you, of course), except maybe for the empty fuel tank... You've got some maintenance to do. This is the right place to learn about pretty much every issue you're likely to encounter, and how to correct it.

 

[diferg]

Welcome from Southeast Georgia USA.

 

[Sweetlake Jake]

Thanks all, the fire was caused by overheating due to a failing bobine (?, i don't know the correct english word, the coil that send a spark to the the ehh... sparkplug) for the left cylinders. It was a small fire but caused damage nevertheless. All is fixed now, the machine rides great again. Since then i installed a small fire extinguisher just to be sure! Batteries can be fixed, so that's not an issue anymore. The fuel was weird: i still had 70km+ according to the indicator... guess not! Never trust your indicator!

 

[SMSW]

Welcome aboard. There have been a few threads about bad fuel level indicators. IIRC, the problem is with a thermistor at the bottom of the lower fuel tank. You will have to do a search for this...it is not a frequent problem.

 

[ST1100Gold]

Welcome from N.E. Scotland

 

[Fred Primmer]

Welcome from Ontario, Canada. I have a blue 2004 ST1300. This forum is the place to be for all things ST.

 

[ToddC]

Welcome from WA STate....

 

[Upt' North]

Welcome from Northumberland, England.
Waving straight across the water to ya.
Upt.
Coil?

 

[catcher]

Welcome! From New Brunswick, Canada. So I must ask, have you ever been to my part of the world? When I visited Nederland a couple times, I enjoyed seeing where my parents grew up - a long time ago.

 

[Sweetlake Jake]

I have never been to Canada, i have been to the USA once. I do have relatives livi g in the USA, though i do not know them. My family is splintered, i have no more family left.

 

[Sadlsor]

Howdy from the Southern State. Yeah, some will say there are "several" Southern States, but I don't live in those.
The fires I read about have been related to a malfunctioning SMC which locks the rear brake, which when sufficiently ignored allows friction to build up intense heat. When things on the bike begin to melt, with or without accompanying flames, that's more excitement and adventure than I care for.
Thanks for checking in! Don't be a stranger.
I mean, we're all strange to some degree, but I think you know what I mean...