I just put 60 miles on a new to me 2006 ST1300 and I found it to be smooooth. I also have an FZ 10 which is ride by wire and can be snatchy as hell in A mode especially. I just sold a HD Road King and I feel like I had to send it an email to get a response either from the throttle or brakes.
New to a ST1300, can't get used to the throttle!
- Thread starter Raymond83
- Start date
Same here. The foam grips were my first add-on. The slippery grips were a real pain in the keester, but the foam ones made the grip fit my hand much better and provided much more grip.
STumped
Because I usually am . . . .
John I went for a ride today and tried to apply your sound advice. Bit of improvement if I didn't open the throttle too quickly when accelerating through the gears. Previously, I expected the throttle response to be the same as my FJR1300s which were sports tourers.
Anyway, the point I am coming to is that I was riding along one stretch of road at 40-60mph, and the road was so bumpy (not pot holes) that I couldn't keep the throttle steady making the ride very unpleasant. What action would you have taken to ensure a smooth ride?
Having ridden for 50 years, it seems strange asking a young man for riding advice.
Paul
I've only ever ridden one HD (Sportster)... but that is the best description of it that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The wife asked why I was laughing at my laptop, I tried to explain, but the look on her face tells me she didn't understand.
jfheath
John Heath
Nice to be called a young man again !
So if there was some improvement there, whatever is causing it, at least some of it is rider input - so that is progress. I think the later FJRs were fly by wire. Reports of tiny surges at odd times (eg on hairpins !) put me off buying one when I was considering the options before buying a 2nd 1300. That and the clear instruction not to have panniers and top box on the bike at the same time, put me right off the FJR.
I've not had that bumpy road phenomenon for a long time. But I have removed almost (but not quite all) of the slack from my throttle cable. (I had a comment on my last MOT about it - oops). I know what you mean though. I do this mainly to eliminate helmet banging with the pillion.
The throttle itself can rattle around when it is bumpy, so you are never sure where the 'bite' point is. I have experienced this, but not on either of my last two bikes. How 'sloppy' is the throttle on the bar? I wonder if a previous owner has changed it for some reasons.
A higher gear on bumpy roads may help smooth the effect out a bit. Just to be sure though - pull the clutch in, leave the revs at whatever they were (3000 say), lock the outside of your right hand against the bar end weight so that it keeps the throttle in the same position so that the revs stay the same and ride the bumps then. It might reveal whether it is the bumps that are causing the engine to falter, or if they are causing something else mechanical to cause problems. Or, if it is just you and the throttle, then doing that the problem will disappear.
Whereabouts are you in the UK. Anywhere near me ?
Just a thought - have you checked your wheel bearings ? Put the bike in neutral on the centre stand, remove (say) the left pannier. From the left side of the bike Grab hold of top and bottom of the wheel - push on the top while pulling at the bottom - and vice versa. Do it a few times, slowly. if you feel any movement, there may be an issue. Ditto the front. You may need to support under the sump to lift the wheel off the fround.
So if there was some improvement there, whatever is causing it, at least some of it is rider input - so that is progress. I think the later FJRs were fly by wire. Reports of tiny surges at odd times (eg on hairpins !) put me off buying one when I was considering the options before buying a 2nd 1300. That and the clear instruction not to have panniers and top box on the bike at the same time, put me right off the FJR.
I've not had that bumpy road phenomenon for a long time. But I have removed almost (but not quite all) of the slack from my throttle cable. (I had a comment on my last MOT about it - oops). I know what you mean though. I do this mainly to eliminate helmet banging with the pillion.
The throttle itself can rattle around when it is bumpy, so you are never sure where the 'bite' point is. I have experienced this, but not on either of my last two bikes. How 'sloppy' is the throttle on the bar? I wonder if a previous owner has changed it for some reasons.
A higher gear on bumpy roads may help smooth the effect out a bit. Just to be sure though - pull the clutch in, leave the revs at whatever they were (3000 say), lock the outside of your right hand against the bar end weight so that it keeps the throttle in the same position so that the revs stay the same and ride the bumps then. It might reveal whether it is the bumps that are causing the engine to falter, or if they are causing something else mechanical to cause problems. Or, if it is just you and the throttle, then doing that the problem will disappear.
Whereabouts are you in the UK. Anywhere near me ?
Just a thought - have you checked your wheel bearings ? Put the bike in neutral on the centre stand, remove (say) the left pannier. From the left side of the bike Grab hold of top and bottom of the wheel - push on the top while pulling at the bottom - and vice versa. Do it a few times, slowly. if you feel any movement, there may be an issue. Ditto the front. You may need to support under the sump to lift the wheel off the fround.
Normally, I might be inclined to say "Snap out of it man, ride around it." But two things finally caught my attention.
If you are having throttle snatchiness issues going up through the gears, you might be shifting awkwardly. There's no reason to roll all the way off the throttle upshifting. In fact, you can upshift by tensioning the gear selector up with your toe and just rolling off the gas a little bit without touching the clutch. You shouldn't have any off/on snatchiness because you shouldn't be rolling all the way off. If you are shifting properly without rolling all the way off, something is wrong with your machine. If you are rolling all the way off and using lots of clutch, stop to take mental note if the issue is in the gear change itself or in coming back on throttle. I find the ST transmission to be a little notchy, less refined than I expected, but I don't experience any unusual drivetrain lash going up the ladder.
This second thing is more perplexing. Do I understand correctly that the changes in throttle occasioned by a bumpy road had you experiencing jerky acceleration behavior? Because that's not normal, either. At the start of this discussion, I thought it was all about off/on transition. This sounds more like something is not right with your ride, unless the road was so bumpy you were going all the way off throttle.
If you are having throttle snatchiness issues going up through the gears, you might be shifting awkwardly. There's no reason to roll all the way off the throttle upshifting. In fact, you can upshift by tensioning the gear selector up with your toe and just rolling off the gas a little bit without touching the clutch. You shouldn't have any off/on snatchiness because you shouldn't be rolling all the way off. If you are shifting properly without rolling all the way off, something is wrong with your machine. If you are rolling all the way off and using lots of clutch, stop to take mental note if the issue is in the gear change itself or in coming back on throttle. I find the ST transmission to be a little notchy, less refined than I expected, but I don't experience any unusual drivetrain lash going up the ladder.
This second thing is more perplexing. Do I understand correctly that the changes in throttle occasioned by a bumpy road had you experiencing jerky acceleration behavior? Because that's not normal, either. At the start of this discussion, I thought it was all about off/on transition. This sounds more like something is not right with your ride, unless the road was so bumpy you were going all the way off throttle.
Great idea. It certainly seems something here needs to be teased out as to rider input versus something with the machine, or both.
jfheath
John Heath
Also...
Just been doing a bit if research into the history of your 'new' bike, and came across a thread which I hadn't seen before. There was a big discussion about throttle free play or not. But in there you mentioned that you had a fitted a throttle tamer, and you had had the bars off and fitted heated grips.
I'm wondering if there are some other factors at play. The possibility that the barrel nipples at the other end of the two cables have got cocked while the cable was slack; the possibilty of cables being twisted, kinked or not routed quite correctly; the throttle tube groove not located in the handlebar clamp; the heated grip cable pulling on the throttle twist. - that sort if stuff.
This isn't to cast doubts on your abilities. On the contrary. I am speaking from my own experiences of 'fixing' stuff - way back in the days when I was younger and used to know everything - I was, and probably still am, quite capable of introducing an unseen new problem when trying to fix the original. Nowadays that sort of stuff is the first place that I look. It saves me a lot of time !
Just been doing a bit if research into the history of your 'new' bike, and came across a thread which I hadn't seen before. There was a big discussion about throttle free play or not. But in there you mentioned that you had a fitted a throttle tamer, and you had had the bars off and fitted heated grips.
I'm wondering if there are some other factors at play. The possibility that the barrel nipples at the other end of the two cables have got cocked while the cable was slack; the possibilty of cables being twisted, kinked or not routed quite correctly; the throttle tube groove not located in the handlebar clamp; the heated grip cable pulling on the throttle twist. - that sort if stuff.
This isn't to cast doubts on your abilities. On the contrary. I am speaking from my own experiences of 'fixing' stuff - way back in the days when I was younger and used to know everything - I was, and probably still am, quite capable of introducing an unseen new problem when trying to fix the original. Nowadays that sort of stuff is the first place that I look. It saves me a lot of time !
My FJRs were pre-fly by wire. The best bikes I've owned to date. Only got rid of the last one because of the acute angle of the knee which aggravated it. Panniers and Top-box a "No-No"? Never caused me a problem full on holidays with a pillion.
My ST has 2mm free-play in the throttle. I recently changed it to the Throttle Tamer + Honda Heated Grip.
No problems with wheel bearings - I checked them a few months back when overhauling the brakes.
I'll try your suggestion re the bar end weight.
I'm in Woking, Surrey. You're welcome to visit.
Paul
STumped
Because I usually am . . . .
Just a hunch here, but if bumpy roads are causing unintended throttle inputs then maybe you are placing too much weight/pressure on your handlebars. Try scooting forward on the seat a little to take some of the pressure off your hands so that your right arm/wrist isn't rigid so that your body movements (from the bumpy road) don't translate to movement of your right hand. Your right arm should be loose and flexible so that it can absorb those bumps before reaching your hand. This may require using your core muscles a little more to support yourself. If needed, you can try supporting more weight with your left arm/wrist/hand so that the right one is a little more relaxed.
I may have it completely wrong, so if I do, I apologize. I do not mean to imply bad riding form on your part, just taking a wild guess here. No offense intended.
Just a hunch here, but if bumpy roads are causing unintended throttle inputs then maybe you are placing too much weight/pressure on your handlebars. Try scooting forward on the seat a little to take some of the pressure off your hands so that your right arm/wrist isn't rigid so that your body movements (from the bumpy road) don't translate to movement of your right hand. Your right arm should be loose and flexible so that it can absorb those bumps before reaching your hand. This may require using your core muscles a little more to support yourself. If needed, you can try supporting more weight with your left arm/wrist/hand so that the right one is a little more relaxed.
I may have it completely wrong, so if I do, I apologize. I do not mean to imply bad riding form on your part, just taking a wild guess here. No offense intended.
No offence taken Dave. I intend to solve this so keep the ideas coming.
There's a member on the forum who lives not far from me. I may contact him about riding my bike (if he has the insurance) to see if he experiences the same as me.
It's strange because I had the bike a few months before I noticed the throttle problem, otherwise I would have contacted the dealer I bought it from.
Paul
Tell her it's like how quickly you respond when she asks you to take out the trash.
Eureka! I discovered the problem. The bike's fine, the problem was my poor throttle control.
My excuse is that my last 3 bikes were cruisers with much larger grips (for my big hands) and the ST13 is much more sensitive to the throttle (and more bhp!)
The following video made it all click in place:-
Important demo starts at 1:30secs.
Went out for a ride to try to apply and what a difference - not perfect but I can work on that.
Anyway, thanks to all who took the trouble to offer guidance.
Paul
My excuse is that my last 3 bikes were cruisers with much larger grips (for my big hands) and the ST13 is much more sensitive to the throttle (and more bhp!)
The following video made it all click in place:-
Important demo starts at 1:30secs.
Went out for a ride to try to apply and what a difference - not perfect but I can work on that.
Anyway, thanks to all who took the trouble to offer guidance.
Paul
I would hate trying to ride a bike with a throttle that sensitive.
It does show why I prefer downshifting an extra gear for cornering: I can control the throttle better with the RPMs up with the throttle half-way open, than with the RPMs down and the throttle almost closed.
It does show why I prefer downshifting an extra gear for cornering: I can control the throttle better with the RPMs up with the throttle half-way open, than with the RPMs down and the throttle almost closed.
The video basically says "smooth is fast" - known by advanced drivers/riders and racers the world over. Or as I learnt it, "less throttle means early throttle" and as I've passed on to others "in like a pussy cat, out like a tiger."
I'm not aware of a throttle that sensitive on any road bike. Racers, yep, sure. If anyone knows of a production road bike with a throttle that sharp, please do let me know.
St1300biker, glad you sorted it, and it was the best kind of "fix" - a free one!
I'm not aware of a throttle that sensitive on any road bike. Racers, yep, sure. If anyone knows of a production road bike with a throttle that sharp, please do let me know.
St1300biker, glad you sorted it, and it was the best kind of "fix" - a free one!
HOS
Site Supporter
Wh
When I first got mine it was an issue for me but now not so much. It is so different than my Sporster so I have to mentally recalibrate when I go back and forth. Have to really focus on a slow roll-up with the ST or it will give you whiplash.Okay.. you didn't hear this from me... but 'get used to it'
ST13 fuel injection has that jump in response. You can check your throttle cables, make sure there is minimal free play. Maybe make sure your throttle bodies are synced, but it's probably all fine.
For some, myself included, a G2 throttle tamer helps a bit. The cable end of the throttle tubve is eccentric, gives a little less inital surge on the twist.
But in the end... you wil get used to it or you will be unhappy and on another bike.
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I go back & forth between 3 different bikes , ST1300 , '91 Goldwing & '05 Shadow Aero 750 , but I have the same fat foam grips with additional foam sleeves , & the slightest cable slack possible , & cramp busters - padded , on all 3 , w/ no worries.
fascinating! I can see that maybe you are a person who could pick up any type of instrument, and play something beautiful. I love this, and it's really an art. Like most art, the more you practice the better you get. I'm pushing 50 and love the thrill of the twisties, it's the 2000's and motorcycles are advanced by most standards, but I want to lose myself in the machine, and its job to do what it is mechanically commanded to do. I loves me some Honda, have since I was young and was dreaming to be Ricky Johnson, but for as great as I know Honda is, I think they were asleep at the wheel when it comes to this small issue on this particular bike.
Still Loves me some Honda though, so many great bikes!
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I feel a lot better, having just seen a Youtube comparing the ST11 with the ST13. The guy speaking is a motorcycle trainer here in UK of some 27 years and he said he bought 2 ST13s, but because of the poor ECU mapping on the 13, he could not get used to it so kept his ST11 and got rid of the 13s.
Paul
Paul