Technique for starting from a standing stop

[Mikedo]

Now you've nailed it. Also practice dumping the clutch with high RPMs, if the rear wheel spins the launch is quite smooth and the engine sounds great at about 8000-9000 RPM. Oh and lean forward to keep the front wheel down.

I’m doing my best learning to not shift until the redline limiter cuts in.:wink:


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[DavidR8]

Thanks. I'll make sure and tell the local constabulary that I'm just learning.


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[JimGregory]

I'll bet there is something going on with the bike. No idea what though. David knows how to ride. I don't pay any attention whatsoever to my RPM's but I just know how not to lug it. I am sure David does as well.
I will say that my BMW RS fairing has different bits and bobs that vibrate at different RPM's. Very annoying tracking them down and somewhat impossible. My ST is quiet though.
David you desperately need to try another ST or have another ST owner try ours.

 

[ddemair]

Re: Technique or engine problem?

I filled up this morning. Had an all time high for city driving of 25.5 mpg.

Other than 1 ride at a pretty steady 60 mph for several hours (where I got 49 mpg), I've never gotten the high gas mileage that others have reported, but I've never gotten as low as 25 mpg either. My lows are in the high 30's, but more typically in the low 40's. I enjoy brisk acceleration and I figure that's the explanation for the mileage I get.

There's something about your bike's gas mileage that just doesn't sound right.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks Jim and Ddemair.
I'm 51 and I've been riding/driving since I was 12 years old, the vast majority of that time driving manual transmission vehicles.
Dad taught me how to double-clutch on his 8 speed, 1968 Ford F-150. (Hoping no one jumps in and says that an ST1300 engine doesn't have torque like a V8)

So you're bang on that I know how to ride and how to not lug an engine.

The best mileage I've managed was 48 mpg on a 65 km loop. I will say that I've managed to go from a low of 21.9 to 25.1 mpg after discovering that the #4 spark plug lead was loose.

The only things left for me to do is a starter valve sync, check the HT leads and coils and go over the entire bike with a torque wrench.
If that doesn't sort the issue then I guess I'm stuck with sub 30 mpg in town. Oh well.


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[JimGregory]

Thanks Jim and Ddemair.
I’m 51 and I’ve been riding/driving since I was 12 years old, the vast majority of that time driving manual transmission vehicles.
Dad taught me how to double-clutch on his 8 speed, 1968 Ford F-150. (Hoping no one jumps in and says that an ST1300 engine doesn’t have torque like a V8)

So you’re bang on that I know how to ride and how to not lug an engine.

The best mileage I've managed was 48 mpg on a 65 km loop. I will say that I've managed to go from a low of 21.9 to 25.1 mpg after discovering that the #4 spark plug lead was loose.

The only things left for me to do is a starter valve sync, check the HT leads and coils and go over the entire bike with a torque wrench.
If that doesn't sort the issue then I guess I'm stuck with sub 30 mpg in town. Oh well.


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I average 34mpg, (shown) mostly back roads lately. I ride faster then the slow guys and slower then the fast guys. Perhaps when I am well into my dotage that will improve but probably not.

 

[DavidR8]

I'll bet there is something going on with the bike. No idea what though. David knows how to ride. I don't pay any attention whatsoever to my RPM's but I just know how not to lug it. I am sure David does as well.
I will say that my BMW RS fairing has different bits and bobs that vibrate at different RPM's. Very annoying tracking them down and somewhat impossible. My ST is quiet though.
David you desperately need to try another ST or have another ST owner try ours.

Thanks Jim, there is another fellow local to me who recently joined the forum. I'm trying to connect with him.

 

[JimGregory]

Thanks Jim, there is another fellow local to me who recently joined the forum. I'm trying to connect with him.

Send him down here when you are done. I have never rode another or even seen one up close either.
I did see a black one pass my truck on a crowded highway one day, I think. He was slicing through traffic so fast I barely caught a glimpse.

 

[jfheath]

I'm a bit embarrassed to ask this question but here goes:
If I increase the rpm to about 2000 or so there is a real clatter, almost like I'm lugging it. Above 2200 rpm or so it's a bit quieter.

It seems illogical to me that I can pull away away at 1500 rpm without any noise, yet 2000 rpm sounds like a bucket of bolts being rattled.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this David ?

I just revisited the thread and noticed that yours is a 2005 model. I have owned 2 St1300s, both from new. A 2006 A6 and a 2013 A9.

The A6 always used to pink badly when under load, and when hot. After prolonged uphill rides the engine just felt weird - can't describe it, but the few times it happened i decided it was time to let it cool down. I had it checked out. Normal apparently.

Most of the time it would purr along quite happily, but it did not have the low down pulling power that I enjoyed on either of my previous ST1100s. Tight uphill hairpins would require a lot of clutch control. If I didn't keep the revs up it would clatter away and sounded as though it was about to stall.

I tried a few things which helped. Quality Fully synthetic oil seemd to be better, and if i was heading onto the continent, i would use slightly thicker grade 10w-40 rather than 10w-30 ( have ingot that the right way round ?) .

I also noticed that higher octane fuel helped a lot. Here in the uk we typically have 95 and 98 RON. Using 98 helped a lot. The label on the tank gave the impression that 95 was just about Ok, but when I compared it with the label on a Usa model, and did the conversion our 95 RON would not have been in the acceptable range!

The 1300 is able to take E10 fuel. 10% ethanol. Its hard to avoid in Europe, but is not common in the Uk. But that was horrible. As if someone had fixed a set of wind chimes to the bike. And setting off would be the worse.

And a trick my police instructor gave me. "Let the engine spin, John. Ride it in the higher rev range - keep it above 5,000 rpm for a while." I did exactly that on the long ride home from my course, and after 30- 40 minutes the feel of the engine suddenly changed. Like throwing a switch to make everything feel looser and more responsive. This was on the 1100, but i did the same thing on the 1300 every now and then, to good effect. This too improved the pinking.

And then, after a few years, it just stopped doing it. I dont remember when - i guess around 40,000 miles.

This is all from memory. But i can look up the details if you want, i still have my records. I have never had any of these issues on my A9. After 2008, the Ecu was changed, and the engine has much more usable power at lower revs, and i dont have to take uphill hairpins with my fingers feathering the clutch. It just turns in and powers out, like - well, like the 1100 !

Not saying this is the same as your situation, but it may be related.

 

[Igofar]

David, Did my bike make any rattling noise when I pulled away from you on one wheel?
On our ride up the hill, I don't think I ever got out of 2nd gear, and the RPM was always around 4,000 RPM.
Maybe you just need to run it in a little more.
Your always welcome to come back and ride on some of our back roads with all the pine cones, pine needles, broken branches, rocks, banana slugs, dead squirrels, rocks and sand...
You'll be so busy dodging stuff, you won't have time to think about the bike

 

[Jim Van]

Maybe you have a loose exhaust manifold cover or some other part that is rattling at that RPM. You should be able to start off very smoothly & quietly using low RPM's. To be brutally honest, having to rev the engine at 3-4K RPM's is ridiculous, IMHO.

 

[Igofar]

I never said that I had to rev the engine at 3 - 4K RPMs, only that it likes being run like that.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks John and Larry.

Nope I didn't hear any rattles Larry!!!

It has gotten better as a result of more time on the bike as well as an oil change, starter valve sync.

I only run premium which is 95 RON here in Canada.

I think I am/was expecting that because the ST has more displacement than my Tiger, it would also have more low end torque. Interestingly both bikes have virtually the same displacement per cylinder, the Tiger having a tad more at 318 cc's per vs 312 cc's for the ST. Not enough to make a difference.

Riding the 2015 RT for a week gave me another data point. It's displacement is similar to the ST except only two cylinders. It definitely required revs to make any kind of power. Once wound up it felt very similar in power to the RT.

So I'm coming to realize that in fact the ST needs to be ridden much the

 

[Trapperdog]

Did you ever get to the bottom of this David ?
.

The A6 always used to pink badly when under load, and when hot. After prolonged uphill rides the engine just felt weird - can't describe it, but the few times it happened i decided it was time to let it cool down. I had it checked out. Normal apparently.
!
.

lucky guy.

 

[T_C]

To be brutally honest, having to rev the engine at 3-4K RPM's is ridiculous, IMHO.

Keeping the front tire off the ground is not totally ridiculous.

 

[Tacoland]

Does it only make the bucket of bolts sound when the clutch is engaging? How about disengaging or shifting? Has the clutch ever been serviced?

 

[jfheath]

.... having to rev the engine at 3-4K RPM's is ridiculous.

If you have never tried that trick that I mentioned of riding for half an hour at higher revs (5K), it is worth it doing in my experience. I still do it every now and then, and it always makes the engine feel so responsive afterwards - not just for the rest of the day, but for a good while afterwards.

But I am often late in changing into 5th, and tend to do it only if I don't need the response. But I do stick to the speed limit, so 5th is sometimes not necessary.

 

[DavidR8]

Does it only make the bucket of bolts sound when the clutch is engaging? How about disengaging or shifting? Has the clutch ever been serviced?

It only made the sound when pulling away at 2000 rpm. 1500 no sound. 2200 no sound. I think that that particular rpm is not it's happy place [emoji4]


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[Jim Van]

I never said that I had to rev the engine at 3 - 4K RPMs, only that it likes being run like that.

Now you have my curiosity piqued. Why does the ST1300 like to be run like that ? It seems to me the clutch would object - just sayin .......

 

[caldercay]

Watch some of the Police Rodeo meets on youtube, and LISTEN to what they are doing with their engines. Most of them Pin the throttle at 4,000 RPM, and keep it there, then simply ride the bike with the friction zone etc.

Are you referring to a police agility course competition? If yes, I've been to them on-premise. And it's understandable they have to keep the R's up and slip the clutch - they're making tighter turns, at low speeds, but at a faster pace, than any of us would do on "normal" roads on a daily basis.

I paid attention to how i leave a dead stop. 1,000-1,500 r's, clutch out, typical throttle increase. The bike has no qualms with my method. I use the same method with the Wing, though it's more at 2,000 r's two-up