Frame Near Legs Too Hot to Touch

RobbieAG

RobbieAG

Robert
Joined
Apr 4, 2014
Messages
557
Location
Greensboro NC
Bike
2005 ST1300
Mark me down as another owner with the heat issue. What I?m experiencing is heat on my calves and feet. I purchased the bike (2005 ST1300 64k miles all stock) last November. I haven?t used it on many long rides yet because I still have an ST1100 and I?ve been waiting until I put new tires on this winter. I?ve been realizing more and more after riding through the summer, that heat is an issue for me. Yesterday I went on a 220 mile ride in pleasant weather (temps around mid 80s) and the heat was really making the ride unpleasant (mostly two lane). When I was on the interstate, it wasn?t that bad. I don?t have heat issues with the 1100 at all and never had issues with my Nighthawk 750 when I had that.

What I realized is that the issue on my bike is that the frame near my calves and feet is extremely hot after riding a good while (it?s not so bad on shorter rides). It?s too hot to touch. It?s acting like a big heat sink. It?s not that hot air is blowing on my legs ? it?s their proximity to the hot frame that?s the problem. I?m wondering if that?s because the engine is mounted directly to the frame, or if it?s from the exhaust pipes (with catalytic converters) running under there. I suppose if it?s the pipes, a heat shield may help (or new exhaust without catalytic converters, but I?m not a fan of loud bikes). It doesn?t seem like other suggestions I?ve read about on here would help in this case. The tank area is not noticeably hot.

Does anybody else have this condition? I?m afraid this may be a deal breaker for me with this bike which would be a shame. I may have to designate this as my cold weather only bike. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Yea - Exact same thing on my '07. That Aluminum frame soaks up all the heat thru the Engine Mounts. I'm trying to design and install some thin steel baffles between frame and my boots. As it cools down outside, though, the frame isn't even a factor.
But in the summer, ABOVE 90-95 --- Lookout !! Gotta keep moving !!
Traffic & riding conditions (wind, blacktop roads, stop & go) have a BIG affect on cooling that bike.
 
Last edited:
My '03 is like this. Tank never gets that hot, air blast on my shins isn't bad. The frame gets way too hot to touch.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
Same on mine before I did the first mod on the bike. Just Google solving heat issues st1300. If fact, I wish I had some of heat last Monday morning. 43F a little nippy. The faring extensions helps also. If you are stuck in traffic, you're $!:%#. Hope for some wind.
 
Went for a 470 mile gallop today and the bike gets the inner thigh and the boys very warm. Ill be getting that insulation in tomorrow.
 
I bet there's absolutely nothing that's gonna work for you, unless it's the "redneck nut coolers" shown on another thread. And that just treats the symptoms, not the cause.
 
Take out the two inside cowl pieces. ...black plastic and brace what's needed. You will notice the heat will go away and that's great in the hot summer.Riding in the cold? REinstall the plastic...the heat feels good and also I think it quiets the motor a bit. I have not seen them but I bet there are threads on this subject in this great forum. Enjoy the 1300 as the 1100 is good stuff too but...that windshield on the 13 is heaven
 
I just got my 04 1300 and love it but same problem. I'll be looking for a fix, please tell us all if you hear of one.
 
I did two things to solve my heat issues.
Removed the cats & air pump and insulated the tank & seat.
BUT yes after riding IBAs in the desert it still gets kinda hot LOL
 
Dman said:
Hey...It's "eh".. Not "hey".. Hey is for horses... :D..lol
Click to expand...

lol.....he's right , it's "EH" , not "hey" , but "hay" is for horses not "hey" ....lol

The heat is welcome on the cooler days but I haven't had my steed during a summer yet. I'll be doing the mod for sure I'm thinking.....
 
thekaz said:
I did two things to solve my heat issues.
Removed the cats & air pump and insulated the tank & seat.
BUT yes after riding IBAs in the desert it still gets kinda hot LOL
Click to expand...

Just curious where the air pump is on the Canadian ST1300? The US model has no such thing on it. Regarding the heat issue, I've seen many posts on this forum regarding heat issues with the ST1300, but I have never experienced anything with mine any worse than any previous bikes that I have owned. The first thought that comes to mind is to keep your fingers away from the frame after you've ridden the bike any significant length of time. There are 1260 cc's of motor generating 100+ hp, so I would expect some heat as a result.

BTW, I don't know anything about Canadian laws regarding vehicle emissions modifications, but in the US, the modifications you suggest are strictly illegal.
 
Last edited:
Hmover said:
Take out the two inside cowl pieces. ...black plastic and brace what's needed. You will notice the heat will go away and that's great in the hot summer.Riding in the cold? REinstall the plastic...the heat feels good and also I think it quiets the motor a bit. I have not seen them but I bet there are threads on this subject in this great forum. Enjoy the 1300 as the 1100 is good stuff too but...that windshield on the 13 is heaven
Click to expand...

Removing the inside cowl pieces will cause the engine to run hotter. Those parts are there to direct the air INTO the radiator, so it will work as designed. Removing them creates large empty spaces where the air goes past the radiator (while the front wheel and fender obstruct the air flow into the radiator) and dead end into the back of the engine by the frame building up heat with no way to escape.
If your bike is tuned and adjusted, and running as it should, your bike will not be that hot.
 
I found something that has made this a lot less of an issue for me with this bike. I had picked some "Heat Out" under garments for riding in hot weather from Cycle Gear (https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/heat-out-long-johns) but had never used them. I decided to give them a try for the heat issue with the 1300 and found it makes a huge difference. While I still notice the heat, it doesn't bother me to the point that I'm distracted by it. I rode over 330 miles through NC, TN, and VA the other day (mid July) and only felt discomfort from the heat for a couple of brief moments. Other than that, the heat was noticable, but it wasn't "getting through" to my calfs and ankles like it was. I wouldn't consider it completely solved, but it's much better and I can enjoy riding in warmer temperatures.
 
You know, I've ridden in temps above 100F+, I don't know how many times. The only heat I notice is that outside the fairing!

For example, Dave and I saw 108F for well over two hours on our ride up to Oregon last month!
 
Here in the sunny, moist South, the heat from that big motor is VERY evident. I removed the inner cowls, and it DID help, but not to the degree I had hoped. I did the complete Don Ferarro insulation job, but I really think it made the heat WORSE, instead of better. Insulating under the seat-to-tank connection did keep some heat seepage from happeneing, but the biggest improvement so far has been a set of homemade Air Wings, which cost about 10$ to make. I find I have to be careful not to keep my knees pasted to the tank, and to let air circulate freely between the tank and my legs. The wings circulate air in that area, cooling the frame and the tank. At speed, it is quite pleasant- of course, at lower speeds, it can be miserable.
 
klaproth said:
I did the complete Don Ferarro insulation job, but I really think it made the heat WORSE, instead of better. Insulating under the seat-to-tank connection did keep some heat seepage from happeneing, but the biggest improvement so far has been a set of homemade Air Wings, which cost about 10$ to make. I find I have to be careful not to keep my knees pasted to the tank, and to let air circulate freely between the tank and my legs. The wings circulate air in that area, cooling the frame and the tank. At speed, it is quite pleasant- of course, at lower speeds, it can be miserable.
Click to expand...

The thing I like about my solution is there's no bike modifications necessary - just a modification to my apparel. One modification I did make was to line the inside of the storage compartments with insulating tape because it got so hot in there. That seems to have helped as well.
 
Don B said:
Just curious where the air pump is on the Canadian ST1300? The US model has no such thing on it. Regarding the heat issue, I've seen many posts on this forum regarding heat issues with the ST1300, but I have never experienced anything with mine any worse than any previous bikes that I have owned. The first thought that comes to mind is to keep your fingers away from the frame after you've ridden the bike any significant length of time. There are 1260 cc's of motor generating 100+ hp, so I would expect some heat as a result.

BTW, I don't know anything about Canadian laws regarding vehicle emissions modifications, but in the US, the modifications you suggest are strictly illegal.
Click to expand...

I use the term air pump loosely because of my mechanic back ground :rolleyes: If it has cats it has some kinda air system. The ST uses a valve to "inject" filtered air into the exhaust port inside the head. The "fresh" air then causes the exhaust to become hotter as it continues burning unburnt hydro carbons. The extra heat is required to allow the cats to operate at maximum efficiency ....... so removing all of that will drastically reduce exhaust temps through the entire system. And yes in Canada its completely illegal BUT since there is no emissions testing for motorcycles its a no brainer for heat reduction on bike with heat issues.
Here are the parts involved. You can simply unplug the electrical connector to test the concept BUT be warned doing that on a bike that still has cats will cause issues!!I removed the whole system and just capped the ports on the heads and the bottom of the air box.

e419165a41.jpg

extremely common mod on many motorcycles but few are as easy to do at the ST. I my only regret is not doing before and after temp measurements as I did this within two weeks of buying my ST :( I know it worked but I cannot say my how much ?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom