Nova-Scotians...

[The Dark Shadow]

Hiya All,

I wonder if any of you other Nova Scotian st1300 riders has experience doing full brake re-conditioning...

I gotta get my brakes fixed... Gotta! Can't ride it now, and it is my main method of transportation. Without my motorbike, I'm on my bicycle to and from work and to get supplies.

Back disc is getting hot, hot, hot...!!

Thanks.

 

[Sadlsor]

Well, it doesn't take 3 or 4 years of reading (most of) everything here, to see the common threads (Yes! that was a pun) in ST-related tips, tricks and pitfalls.
The SMC, while reliable enough when maintenance is looked after and routinely addressed, is certainly in the Top Three of issues, if not THE TOP most common issue. The symptoms are only a few things, but the back disk heating up is right up there, waving the red flag, and screaming "Do it now! before you really knacker the brakes, including calipers pistons and pads."
Oddly enough, mine after sitting unridden in my brother-in-law's garage for about three years, did not start showing me problems until I'd brought it to Alabama and had actually ridden it nearly a month. Usually the problem begins to show rather immediately upon bringing home a used 1300.

 

[SMSW]

Oddly enough, mine after sitting unridden in my brother-in-law's garage for about three years, did not start showing me problems until I'd brought it to Alabama and had actually ridden it nearly a month. Usually the problem begins to show rather immediately upon bringing home a used 1300.

Your post suggests the bike came from outside Alabama? And your neck of the woods has fairly high humidity, correct? I'd hazard a guess that your brake fluid sucked up sufficient water vapor from your home's environs to gel to the consistency of cured silicone caulk.

 

[Sadlsor]

Your post suggests the bike came from outside Alabama? And your neck of the woods has fairly high humidity, correct? I'd hazard a guess that your brake fluid sucked up sufficient water vapor from your home's environs to gel to the consistency of cured silicone caulk.

Except my sister and bnl live in Georgia, right next door.
A distinction without a difference.
At least insofar as climate is concerned.

 

[Tdinova]

Where are you.. is it the back disc getting hot. 1st put your bike on the center stand. Lay aside the left side of your bike.. while rolling ur back tire with ur foot push the front caliper forward at the top, does it stop the rear tire.. it should. Do a full flush again. Make sure you tilt the SMC when needed.

 

[The Dark Shadow]

Where are you.. is it the back disc getting hot. 1st put your bike on the center stand. Lay aside the left side of your bike.. while rolling ur back tire with ur foot push the front caliper forward at the top, does it stop the rear tire.. it should. Do a full flush again. Make sure you tilt the SMC when needed.

Back disc is getting hot. Bike was slowing down with clutch pulled in going down a hill at 80kph. Felt like a good chance the brake was dragging. My local shop, the "experts", pshawed away my statements of Igofar's sage wisdom and experience about these brakes. I went for a brief drive, hardly used the brakes at all, and the front left was 76 degrees, front right was 84 degrees, and back was 105 degrees (this he said was in farenheit). At the shop, we put it on the centre stand and they rotated the back wheel. It didn't roll at all unless you applied strong force. They said, "Well, shaft drive you're moving more components blah blah blah..." After I drove home and used the brakes a bit more, the back brake was too hot to touch for more than half a second.

The issue sounds exactly like what Igofar and others have described about this bike's main idiosyncrasy, and Igofar stated that many "pros" will say it is "normal" when it is not. My fuel mileage still seems to suck, and that would make sense if my brakes are always applying 10% pressure...

One would also expect the front right and front left brakes to be equal or closer in temperature.

 

[Tdinova]

I ride on EBC braks and have zero issues..

 

[Kevcules]

I think you found your "poor fuel mileage" problem. Dragging brakes will kill fuel ecomnomy. The wheel should rotate fairly easily.
More than likely an SMC problem.
Good luck

 

[Al st1100]

there is at least 50 smc posts/problems. top bar , articles, st1300

 

[The Dark Shadow]

there is at least 50 smc posts/problems. top bar , articles, st1300

Trouble is, this work is too much for me to handle, and the dumb a$$ workers at the local shop won't listen to the truth and experience of what I passed along from sage members of this forum. The back wheel is clearly having pressure on the brakes and is really hard to spin, but the owner of the local shop and 2 other guys are saying "oh that's normal"...

So, I can't do it... And I can't find anyone to do it for me...

Maybe I should just sell this bike, eat the loss, and get a bike that is easier and more conventional to maintain.

My motorcycle is my main transportation... Without it, it is troublesome to go to my meagre work site, get supplies, and get groceries... AND take the long way home for my mental health...

I'm grounded now... And it feels like ****... ;-(

 

[Tdinova]

Where do u live in NS. I'm in Lunenburg co

 

[The Dark Shadow]

Where do u live in NS. I'm in Lunenburg co

I'm in Dartmouth.

 

[Fawlty]

owner of the local shop and 2 other guys are saying "oh that's normal"...

Unfortunately, that is often the normal response. Good luck Hope it gets sorted properly.

 

[Mellow]

One of the best parts of the ST1300 is how well the brakes work, but one of the worst parts is how they don't work.

Given it's your only form of transportation it probably gets year round duty and being in an area where you possibly have lots of corrosive road treatments doesn't help, along with salt in the air.

Don't take it to any shop for anything other than tires, and sometimes even that is a stretch, they don't know the design / function of the brake system.

I'm assuming a new SMC and then brake bleed will solve your issues. But, I'd also pull the brake pads and clean the pistons w/strip of cloth and brake fluid, like using dental floss. Do not use brake cleaner! That is for non rubber parts and will make things worse, you can use that on the pads if you like to clean them up.

Once you have the parts in hand, it shouldn't be more than a half-day of work at most.

 

[Obo]

I'm assuming a new SMC and then brake bleed will solve your issues. But, I'd also pull the brake pads and clean the pistons w/strip of cloth and brake fluid, like using dental floss. Do not use brake cleaner! That is for non rubber parts and will make things worse, you can use that on the pads if you like to clean them up.

Once you have the parts in hand, it shouldn't be more than a half-day of work at most.

Sadly the cost of the SMC up here is more than double what it lists for in the US.

As for out riding season if you are lucky (and a bit crazy) you may get April - Nov for your riding season. The snow, ice and sub freezing temps kill Winter riding.

 

[The Dark Shadow]

One of the best parts of the ST1300 is how well the brakes work, but one of the worst parts is how they don't work.

Given it's your only form of transportation it probably gets year round duty and being in an area where you possibly have lots of corrosive road treatments doesn't help, along with salt in the air.

Don't take it to any shop for anything other than tires, and sometimes even that is a stretch, they don't know the design / function of the brake system.

I'm assuming a new SMC and then brake bleed will solve your issues. But, I'd also pull the brake pads and clean the pistons w/strip of cloth and brake fluid, like using dental floss. Do not use brake cleaner! That is for non rubber parts and will make things worse, you can use that on the pads if you like to clean them up.

Once you have the parts in hand, it shouldn't be more than a half-day of work at most.

I CANNOT do the work myself!! So, I'm up the creek with no paddle... The guy who just replaced pads and cleaned my back brake used brake cleaner. I seriously don't know this stuff, and can't do it. I'm a motorcycle rider (with very good skills and safety, although NOT exceptional "racing" style skills), but I'm NOT a wrencher. I can do some basic stuff, but I don't have tools or knowledge. What you say would take a half day would yield a non-operational motorcycle for a month or more... This is OUT OF MY CAPABILITY!!!!

PLEASE DON'T say it's easy or "just a half day's work". That makes me further upset!! It might be easy for you, but not for others. I started learning Japanese at age 30 and I'm fluent speaking/reading/writing... But I'd never have the audacity to say that "learning Japanese is easy - just a year and you can be fluent". It all depends upon the person and his/her natural attributes and aptitudes.

 

[The Dark Shadow]

Sadly the cost of the SMC up here is more than double what it lists for in the US.

As for out riding season if you are lucky (and a bit crazy) you may get April - Nov for your riding season. The snow, ice and sub freezing temps kill Winter riding.

I rode every month at least a day last winter... There was rarely snow in Dartmouth, and I do NOT ride when there is salt on the road. I wait until the heavy rains wash the salt away.

 

[The Dark Shadow]

If there is anyone near Dartmouth/Halifax who can help me, I'll pay...!!!

I'm gonna repeat, I CANNOT DO THE WORK MYSELF! Saying it is easy is like rubbing salt and vinegar into an open wound!

This is bringing me depression again...

 

[Mellow]

I CANNOT do the work myself!! So, I'm up the creek with no paddle... The guy who just replaced pads and cleaned my back brake used brake cleaner. I seriously don't know this stuff, and can't do it. I'm a motorcycle rider (with very good skills and safety, although NOT exceptional "racing" style skills), but I'm NOT a wrencher. I can do some basic stuff, but I don't have tools or knowledge. What you say would take a half day would yield a non-operational motorcycle for a month or more... This is OUT OF MY CAPABILITY!!!!

I basically hate living in my back-water home-town province of NS. Life here is crap. Too expensive... Rent/food... (Thankfully I have a house!!) Quality of professional work sucks!! Can't find work for myself... (350 job applications over 18 years trying and NOTHING...!!!) I applied for federal government immigration positions... Went to the passport office a few days ago to pick up new passport to go to Japan. Out of 20 workers, only 1 was a white man, and he was retirement age!! Meaning, they don't hire white men under the guise of "fairness and equity in employment". So even though white men are 35% of our population, we get our applications thrown into the B and C piles...

Anyway, back to my motorcycle, PLEASE DON'T say it's easy or "just a half day's work". That makes me further upset!! It might be easy for you, but not for others. I started learning Japanese at age 30 and I'm fluent speaking/reading/writing... But I'd never have the audacity to say that "learning Japanese is easy - just a year and you can be fluent". It all depends upon the person and his/her natural attributes and aptitudes.

No offense intended, sorry for your circumstances and hope something improves.

 

[The Dark Shadow]

No offense intended, sorry for your circumstances and hope something improves.

No offense taken, and I'm really happy to have people's input... But for me fretwork on a guitar and carving a heel or headstock is a piece of cake - I have the tools, experience, skills and confidence - however for others this task is from daunting to impossible. Serious wrenching on a motorbike is beyond my capacity... Hell, I can't even do an oil change... I don't have the socket sets to fit the drain plug, I don't have a place other than the road outside my house to work on it, I don't have an oil pan, and I have no place to throw the oil. It's cheaper and easier to pay someone to do it for me... And more serious wrenching is even worse...