Newbie Question RE ST13 Brake Problems

Mick
hope to see ya on the road soon.

Mick said:
You know what really attracts me about the ST? The dang tip-over protection! Of all the things, that's always been a big selling point with me. I absolutely love the looks of the FJR but about all you can do is install one of those frame sliders and there is no pannier protection available that I know of. Connie 14?... don't like the KIPASS. So that leaves the ST with it's great tipover protection which is what keeps it in the front of the line for me.



That is my normal mode of operation. It makes my wife crazy... :D. That's why I said it was sort of uncharacteristic of me. Must be because I've been mostly unable to ride for the last three years and now that I see the possiblity of my life returning to normal sometime within the next 6 or 8 months, I'm going loco. :p:

When I get ready to spend a bunch of money on something, I ask questions and lay out my concerns and observations and deal with them. Polyana I'm not, nor am I negative. Like Joe Friday says, "Just the facts mam", and then I make a decision. This one will be made quickly.
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Mick said:
This is one of the reasons I started this thread; to get a judge of how pervasive the problem is. Still don't have a good feel but at least I'm starting to get feed back indicating it's not everyone that has the problem.

This is important to me not only because I'm fixing to let go of hard earned money, but because I usually keep my bikes well over the 50k mile mark so long term reliability is way high on my list of important traits.
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Maybe this will help you...Take a look at our Mileage Chart and see what we are putting on these bikes in 8 months. Remember this is Miles ridden THIS year, not total bike mileage. I've got over 37k on my baby: Mileage Chart: https://www.st-owners.com/index.php?page=Mileage
 
Every bike has their own problems....The ST1300's, are known to reach two hundred thousand miles pretty commonly.
Most of the normal glitches can be repaired at home in the garage, if you've got a service manual, tools, and some common sense.
There are alot of members on here, as well as several good articals that will help you along.
The most common flaws and repairs....Secondary Master cylinder / Replacement is bolt on and around $125 dollars. About an hours job.
Correct brake bleeding procedure / some shops don't do it for whatever reason. Service manual and Motion pro bleeding tool. About an hours job.
Coolant leaks and frozen thermostat / Replace yearly when you do service and you'll have no issues.
Coolant leaks, from (4) commonly known hoseclamps / Replace clamps with better hoseclamps or breeze clamps. About $25 bucks. A days work depending how fast you are.
Preload adjuster / 15 minute job to remove and refill the oil. Damping adjustment (free) two minutes.
The major problems that nobody has found a way around yet......calling the wife from several hundred miles away and trying to explain why your in the next state over :rofl1:
They go through tires between 6-12K miles, brake pads about 10K miles, eat alot of fuel, etc.
Of the 60 motorcycles I have owned (including Gl1800) these bikes are among the best out there.
You won't be disapointed in your purchase. And if something goes wrong, there's always the white courtesy phone.
Good luck with your choice....not that you have a choice. :D
 
I haven't had an smc failure myself.

I have replaced the thermostat but only because I had it in my hands when doing a 3-year 1st flush of the coolant and I figured why not, my oem t-stat was fine after 50k miles.

I have not replaced my hose clamps but did tighten them because I got a small drop of coolant around year 3.

Haven't messed w/preload adjuster yet but that seems like an easy thing to do so it's on the list.

The only real issues I had was a u-joint failing which is one of the more rare issues and some surging which I 'think' a new fuel pump fixed but not sure.

All that said, if I knew those issues were going to happen when I bought the bike, I'd still buy the bike.

If you get one, I'd do a valve check 1st thing and why you have the plastic off, take a look at the coolant bottle to see what shape it's in and look for any residue from leaks on the front of the engine case or the right hand side.

The good thing, if you do get a bike that might have some of these issues, it's really not difficult to correct and then you pretty much have a new bike.

I really like my ST1300, it just works for me.... Honda will have to hit one out of the ballpark for me to let it go... I'm sure many ST1100 owners were saying the same thing back in 2002-2003... for some, Honda didn't do enough and for others, it was a homerun...
 
My '05 has 111,939 miles on it as of last night (what a beautiful evening for a sunset ride) and I have had zero brake system problems with it. I follow the Honda maintenance schedule to the tee. My own opinion is that most of the brake problems that do crop up are due to neglect of the scheduled services and/or taking short cuts when bleeding the system.
 
I really like my ST1300, it just works for me.... Honda will have to hit one out of the ballpark for me to let it go... I'm sure many ST1100 owners were saying the same thing back in 2002-2003... for some, Honda didn't do enough and for others, it was a homerun...[/QUOTE]

Well said Mellow, I’m agree with you I love my 03 ST1300 it just keep on running and running, last fall friend got his 03 FJ 1300 we had it runs up to top-end both of are bikes hit 151m/h (GPS reading) my bike got K&N air filter that's it!
Only thing I had problem with my ST it just light leak of coolant through weeping hole at 41,000miles. During winter months I took it a parts did some study on Honda design on water pump, I did some modified on my own, by adding 1/16 stainless shim discplate underspring for more springpressure seal, my bike just turn over 79,000miles no coolant leak!
 
Mick said:
As a possible, soon to be ST1300 owner, I've been reading the numerous threads about the rear brake/SMC problems. I have some questions that will hopefully get answered before I pull the trigger on a purchase (have to make a decision REAL soon).


1. How common is this problem? Reading so many posts about this one suject leaves the impression that it's all but inevitable that an ST13 Owner will experience this.

2. Has Honda ever done anything about this and fixed it in the later year models?

3. Are certain years more prone to it than others?

4. What the heck happened to Honda! The second generation ST1100's, of which I owned three, were practially bullet proof!

Color me spooked.
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-Not very. You're only gonna see posts from people that have or have convinced themselves or created an issue. Most board members aren't gonna read or post in an issue thread that doesn't pertain to them.
-The SMC weep hole was change in 08 and also uses different brake pads.
-Not that I see. They're all pretty reliable.
-Honda decided they needed to introduce another bullet proof sport tour, so they did.

Color me 72K 0 reliability issues. I hit the go button, it goes. I think you'll be happy. If you do have an issue there's a lot of knowledge and help waiting right here.
 
I have an 07 ST 1300 with 103,000 miles on it with no brake problems or coolant leaks. The only things replaced under warranty are two clutch switches and one front brake switch along with a leaking fork seal. I am taking the ST in today for the second set of fork seals under warranty. I do all my service at myself inculding brakes, fluids, and tires. I hope that helps.
 
Mellow said:
I haven't had an smc failure myself.
If you get one, I'd do a valve check 1st thing
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No need. The darn thing has less than 8000 miles on it. It also has brand new tires and as I type this is getting a brand new battery, an oil change and a "tune up" (whatever that means). From a normal mechanical/maintenance standpoint, it sounds like a winner.
 
Mick said:
No need. The darn thing has less than 8000 miles on it. It also has brand new tires and as I type this is getting a brand new battery, an oil change and a "tune up" (whatever that means). From a normal mechanical/maintenance standpoint, it sounds like a winner.
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Buy it! Come drink from the good pitcher of kool-aid. :)
 
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970mike said:
I have an 07 ST 1300 with 103,000 miles on it with no brake problems or coolant leaks.<SNIP> I hope that helps.
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Thanks Mike. Excellent data point in that you gave your mileage. That along with some of the other positive examples are makin' me feel the love... :D .

The fact that the brake issues seem to be maintenance related is rapidly pushing me into positive territory.
 
Mine has had no SMC failure, but it is kept maintained. Most of the time, an SMC failure won't leave you stranded because the locked up rear brake can be solved by simply applying the brake from the foot pedal. The SMC is activated only using the front brake handle to apply the brakes. Since the the front and rear are linked, using the foot brake until you get it back to a convenient repair location will keep the SMC from locking the brake again.
I had a big heat problem when I used synthetic oils but since I changed types of oils all the right side heat issues are gone... even on my 109 degree ride.
I have had 3 sets of different brand tires on my '07 and have never experienced stability issues with it, even with the top box.

I love the 1300 and agree with others on here that I would be hard pressed to go pick another bike model for a new ride.
 
Mick said:
No need. The darn thing has less than 8000 miles on it. It also has brand new tires and as I type this is getting a brand new battery, an oil change and a "tune up" (whatever that means). From a normal mechanical/maintenance standpoint, it sounds like a winner.
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Do a Valve Check NOW and often. This gives you a base of where the bike is now and if it starts wearing abnormally you can catch it quick...think of it like taking a blood test when you are healthy. Sets a Base Line that all future results are measured against.
 
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