Article [11] ST1100 - How to do an emergency bypass of the fuel valve

[Andrew Shadow]

If a carbureted bike with a manual shut valve in the on position tips over fuel will leak till the tank reaches a certain level or the bike is upright again. A vacuum shut valve prevents the fuel from the tank from leaking out in a tip over or a crash situation.

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  Fire Hazard Prevention: In the event of a crash or tipped vehicle, a vacuum petcock ensures that fuel does not continue to leak out, reducing the risk of fire.

While that is an additional benefit, according to Honda the primary reason that the automatic valve was included on the ST1100 was as part of Honda's methodology to meet emissions requirements.

 

[Nader]

Thank you for this thread. I literally just did this on the side of the road this morning. Without this thread I wouldn’t have made it home!

 

[GetMoos't'd]

Well, don't feel bad about your memory - it was May of 2005, not this past May.

In my case, the valve didn't fail abruptly & cut off all fuel. What happened was that the bike would suddenly lose power, and decelerate from about 200 km/h (125 mph) to about 60 km/h (40 mph), and then struggle along at 40 mph. If I pulled over to the side of the road and let the bike idle for a few minutes, I could accelerate to high speed again, but the problem would return in 3 or 4 minutes.

I was in Germany, on the autobahn, at the time - the pictures above were taken at a service station in Germany.

Michael

200km/h! how does that handle with the saddlebags & accessories? curious as I've recently acquired an 02 st1100 & have yet to ride it as big maintenance tasks come first

 

[Andrew Shadow]

In my experience on my 1999 and 2000 ST1100 it handles great, better than at 100 Km/h comparing on similar roads while keeping in mind that at these speeds you aren't carving through hairpin turns. I always found on my ST1100's that everything was smoother, quiter, and less laboured once I got up around 160 Km/h. These are the speeds that the ST1100 was originally designed for after all.