Different Take On Heat Issues - ST1300

okckeith said:
I got a little warm today riding my Triumph Tiger. I stopped and drank a Gatorade and ran cool water over my wrist, face and neck. I was surprised I was feeling a little hot. It was only 86. I rode my ST yesterday in 90 degree temps no problems. I did put a set of Baker Wings on it. They sure do help.
I was noticing the heat from the Tiger on the top of my legs. So I climbed back on for the final 30 minutes to get home. I said I am going to try riding with my knees spread away from the tank. It made a world of difference with the heat on my legs. Just wanted to share. I never thought about doing that before. Thanks for the suggestion.
If you think your ST is hot' come ride my Tiger.
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Not sure the year of your Tiger; however I will say that my 2006 Tiger 955 throws off a lot of heat. I put my heels on the ends of the pegs so that I'm not so close to the bike and some air can circulate.


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jmcarruth said:
Mylar bubble wrap under the seat and tank works wonders. Beware though, it is conductive.
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I've done this with the 2012 & the 2010. Does seem to keep the tank cooler!

Riding with my brother to Oregon last week was lots of fun. We hit that 108/110F stuff riding up US101. We were sure glad to get into Fortuna, where the temps were 15F cooler! :D

The whole week in Hillsboro/Beaverton were in the mid 80's. Our ride up to Mt St Helen's was a very comfortable ride! I think the lowest we saw was maybe low 70's up near the mountain!

The 2012 did great for most of the trip, but coming home it started vibrating also. I need to tear off the tupperware and do some major maintenance to it! It turned over 14,000 on the way home Sunday!

And coming home at night, the temps in the central valley were in the mid 80's, Gorman and the rest was 70+
 
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I've resorted to wrapping bubble style insulation around my shins when the weather is > 100F. At least when I'm wearing shorts under my riding overpants. Never had to do that with overpants over jeans.
 
DavidR8 said:
I believe we need to see some pictures!


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I just insert them into my boots and under my pants. Can't see anything externally, other than the funny bulge in my legs! ;-)
 
The question I have is has anyone went from no faring deflectors to adding them and what was the noticed heat affect. I know some believe the deflectors help direct the heat away but has someone experienced this on the same bike. The reason I ask is my 05 tha had deflectors installed when I got the bike seems considerably warmer (hot) when compared to my 03 with out deflectors. I've ridden the 03 for 13 years 120,00 miles and the 05 4 months 2,500 miles. I never understood the heat issue expressed by some until riding this 05. At this point if I knew the deflectors could be removed without damage to the paint I think I would remove them.

Jeff
 
The deflectors cause the air to be redirected away from the rider, leaving him/her sit in a still air pocket (kinda like an eddy behind a rock in a stream) and this then allows the heat from the engine to rise up and be felt more. IMHO
 
Thats what ive always thought and now seems to be confirmed , in my mind anyway. Now to decide if I want to try to take them off.
 
Deflectors are only there for one reason to keep the cold air off you, and rain of course. I personally think they work great on the 11 at 70f and in the rain but I would gladly cut them off with an angle grinder once it gets hot, just the same as taller screens.
Upt'North.
 
Upt' North said:
Deflectors are only there for one reason to keep the cold air off you, and rain of course. I personally think they work great on the 11 at 70f and in the rain but I would gladly cut them off with an angle grinder once it gets hot, just the same as taller screens.
Upt'North.
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I have ridden both with and without the deflectors on the ST1300's and they keep more heat off of you. :tc1:
 
Something I noticed the other day, after changing my oil. I couldn't, for the life of me, get the plastic cover back on the valve cover, chalk it up to being tired, sore, or the several beers I consumed......but I rode it to work the next morning, sans cover. The heat coming off the right side was intense, literally burning my leg. I've since reinstalled said cover and inspection panel, and it's back to normal. I'd love to have access to a wind tunnel and do some temperature testing.
 
Igofar said:
During this terrible heat spell we've been having for the last week or so, I got to go for a short ride, and as luck would have it, ran into two older gentlemen riding their ST1300's as well.
All three bikes were stock (shields / exhausts) and all three of us had stock seats.
During a rest break (108 degree temps) we were drinking water and talking bikes. Other than the wickedly hot air blowing into my face, I was OK with the heat coming off the sides of the bike.
The other rider, agreed and was ready to push on, however, the third guy was complaining about how HOT his bike was (more so than the hot wind in his face) etc.
The two guys switched bikes and we went another few miles then switched back. The guy that complained about how hot his bike was, made the same complaint about the guys bike he just rode too.
I switched bikes and only rode for about 10 miles, but found it to be about the same as mine etc.
This got me thinking :think1: all our bikes had the same shields/pipes/seats, we were all traveling at the same speed, on the same roads etc.
We were all wearing normal jeans (Levi, Lee, and Wranglers) I was wearing sneakers, both of them wearing MC boots.
At the next stop (Gizdich Pies) we discussed the heat issue.
Since switching bikes back and forth, I felt we got a fair comparison of different states of tune (air filters - TB sync - oil) etc. So that should not make a difference since two of us rode the offending HOT bike and were OK with it, while the guy on the hot bike stated that both ours were just as hot.
Our first thought is maybe he is just sensitive to heat? Is he on any medications that make him sensitive to heat more than us? (this has been the case for one member that I know of) etc.
I then noticed something that I had not thought about prior, While (I) ride, I position my legs with the balls of my feet on the riders pegs, and my heels on the platform of the passenger peg mount, and this gives me just a two or three inch gap between my thighs and the tank, allowing air to flow through in this area. Rider number two also keeps his knees and thighs off the tank. However, Rider three, with the heat issue, was riding as far forward as possible, and clamping down both of his thighs tight against the tank, sealing off all air flow from this area. This is why he felt our bikes were just as hot as his, and we felt his bike was no worse than ours etc.
Now to be fair, this guy was short, and what my doctor would say overweight (obese), so he had no choice in the matter. he was unable to ride without his leg resting against the frame/tank etc.
This just made me wonder, is our riding position causing heat issues for some folks? I also noticed that if you put the seat in the high position, it creates a gap of about an inch between the seat and tank, and lets air flow better too.
So, If your having heat issues with your bike, you may want to consider experimenting with your seating position or seat height.
Igofar

NOTE: this observation is in no way implying that some bikes don't run hotter than others, or that only large riders have these complaints. This was just three guys comparing bikes and talking about causes of heat and possible solutions.
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I too feel the engine heat so after searching the google machine about this "hotly" debated topic [emoji12] I came across your post and realized that I position myself on the bike just like the other rider so it makes sense to me that if you position yourself to the heat source then you're going to feel hot! I just was not aware of my own actions until you pointed it out in your story but I will now be able to make a more conscious effort to scoot back a bit.

I have yet to test this out because my bike is currently down but I couldn't wait and decided to have a look at the seat adjustment instead. I took a before and after photo and it illustrates the air gap just as you have described. The bike will still be hot but at least my......well let's just say I'll feel a lot cooler. Thanks for the suggestion!

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Hi All. New to the proceeding here but I've been following your group for some time. I recently (and finally) got to buy a nice, used '05. I too am enamored with the heat discussions and possible solutions. while slogging it out thru Sacto with a nice round 100 degrees on the dash, I was feeling the sources with the off hand.

It seemed to me the air coming out of the grated duct from the radiator was by far the largest culprit, followed by the vent in the black lower around the headers. I did the pipe wrap last year and there was some improvement. I also lined the air-box area under the tank with HVAC insulation and foil tape at the same time. All made slight improvements although no major "AH HAH" moments.

I think I would like to try some kind of deflector on the fairing, ahead of the radiator exhaust area that would create a downward flow to deflect the radiator flow down and away. As I was riding, I also formed a scoop with my hand in order to direct cooler air in to mix with the radiator exhaust. Knees spayed looked hilarious I'm sure but, again, I was mixing cooler air with the radiator flow.

I haven't been on a similarly faired bike so I don't have any references. My VFR was only hot around town when the fans kicked in.
 
If you are looking for an "AH HAH" moment, PM me a contact number and I'll call you. We live really close to each other, and I may be able to teach you more about your ST than you'll ever want to know :rofl1:

Better yet, why don't you contact me, and bring your bike over to the OCD garage and let me whisper it for you?
 
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Igofar said:
If you are looking for an "AH HAH" moment, PM me a contact number and I'll call you. We live really close to each other, and I may be able to teach you more about your ST than you'll ever want to know :rofl1:
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Willing to share the secrets more broadly?
I'm happy to call you.


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The heat coming off the bike don't bother me much. It is noticeable though. I use the MCL highway wings and it helps a bunch. When riding in cooler weather, I don't think we'll complain about the heat.
 
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