ST1300 dies; won't restart and cannot be moved

jcetnar

jcetnar

Joined
Aug 31, 2023
Messages
14
Location
Ohio
Bike
2006 Honda ST1300
I'm branch new to this forum and to the ST1300. I just bought a used ST back in May. Hopefully, I will be riding the bike for a long time as I've heard so many good things about it. But, so far, I'm not too thrilled with my purchase.

Has anyone experienced this problem on their ST 1300? Riding along at 55 mph on level highway, I start to lose speed and the rpms drop. Giving it more throttle has no effect. The bike continues to lose speed and rpms. Downshifting doesn't help. Within several seconds, the motor dies and the bike stops. It won't restart and I cannot move it, even when pulling in the clutch it doesn't budge (like its stuck in gear). Eventually, after about 20-30 minutes, pulling in the clutch works and I can move the bike. At this point I can also restart the bike.

This has happened twice to me over the last 100 miles of riding. The bike left me stranded on the side of the road both times. Actually, it died partly on the road which was somewhat dangerous. Has anyone seen or heard of this before? Does anyone have any ideas as to the cause?

This is a 2006 model year with a little over 23k miles on it.
 
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Possibly the rear brake is dragging to the point of stalling the bike. The linked brake system can do this. There will be many posts on this thread very soon. Also look in the ST1300 sub forums for the one titled Brakes. Lots of help here for a common issue.

ST1300-Brakes

www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
Does sound like a couple of issues.

Not rolling with the clutch pulled in (and in neutral?) points to binding brakes - more likely than not to be the rear brake due to SMC issues, but plenty to go wrong there and will need some work to diagnose and sort properly.

Engine 'losing power' - less likely to actually be losing power, but of course a binding brake will slow you down... You may also have issues with the clutch - if the fluid hasn't been changed (another possible issue with the brakes) frequently, it will absorb water, and as there's only a tiny amount of fluid in the system (and it hugs the engine) it deteriorates quickly. This can result in boiling, and also crystalisation in the clutch slave which damages seals...

What's the service history like?
 
Look for posts on SMC ( Secondary Master Cylinder ) mounted on left front fork and operates pistons on rear caliper.

Generally neglected during dealer services.
 
mjc506 said:
Does sound like a couple of issues.

Not rolling with the clutch pulled in (and in neutral?) points to binding brakes - more likely than not to be the rear brake due to SMC issues, but plenty to go wrong there and will need some work to diagnose and sort properly.

Engine 'losing power' - less likely to actually be losing power, but of course a binding brake will slow you down... You may also have issues with the clutch - if the fluid hasn't been changed (another possible issue with the brakes) frequently, it will absorb water, and as there's only a tiny amount of fluid in the system (and it hugs the engine) it deteriorates quickly. This can result in boiling, and also crystalisation in the clutch slave which damages seals...

What's the service history like?
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Matt - Thanks for the reply. Between the first time it happened and the second time it happened, I flushed and replaced the clutch fluid. We took our time and bled it thoroughly. I also put on new tires, new brake pads (front and rear), and changed the engine oil/filter.

I had the bike into a local service shop. They flushed and replaced the brake fluid. They could not reproduce the engine dying problem.

I've also ordered a new battery as the shop told me they had to recharge the old battery. That will be replaced this weekend.

The previous owner didn't have the service records, told me he did most of the maintenance himself.
 
This doesn't sound at all like a clutch problem.

If this happens again before you discover the cause - immediately but carefully touch the rear brake rotor. Unless you're making a lot of frequent and/or hard stops the rotor should be warm but not hot. If it's hot as in too hot to touch it's likely conformation that your rear brake is locking up and needs service. This isn't a fault of the ST1300 but more so the fault of poor maintenance.

Alternately you could put the ST on the center stand and try to spin the back wheel with the bike in Neutral. Spun with the foot you should be able to get at least a full revolution before it stops.
 
V4 Rider said:
Look for posts on SMC ( Secondary Master Cylinder ) mounted on left front fork and operates pistons on rear caliper.

Generally neglected during dealer services.
Click to expand...
Sir, I recently had took the bike to a local repair shop and had them flush and replace the brake fluid and inspect both the primary and the secondary master cylinders. They told me they both were good.
 
ST Gui said:
This doesn't sound at all like a clutch problem.

If this happens again before you discover the cause - immediately but carefully touch the rear brake rotor. Unless you're making a lot of frequent and/or hard stops the rotor should be warm but not hot.

If it's hot as in too hot to touch it's likely conformation that your rear brake is locking up and needs service. This isn't a fault of the ST1300 but more so the fault of poor maintenance.
Click to expand...
240Robert - Thanks, will do. And yes I agree, not the fault of the bike. When it's running, it runs great and I really do like riding it. Although I still need to get used to the weight when not moving at speed.
 
Most shops don't 'get' the ST1300 or know how the brake system works... or how to even check the SMC. The SMC is a weak spot especially if you are in an area where you get some weather which will cause corrosion to that part and cause the rear brake to lock up.
 
jcetnar said:
They told me they both were good.
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After spending some time here you'll find that a lot of Honda dealers aren't all that familiar with the ST.

It's possible they didn't bleed the brake system properly. It is a process. But as mentioned the SMC seems a likely suspect. Your SMC shouldn't do this:

www.youtube.com

St1300 SMC second master cylinder knocks

www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
and

Article [13] - ST1300 - Brake Maintenance - Replacing the Secondary Master Cylinder (SMC) | ST1300 Articles

The usual format from me - Description, some useful photos and a few tips and tricks to help you to avoid the normal 'Doh!' moments - Like emptying all of the fluid out before realising that you wanted tomove the pistons out as far as possible; Like reftting everything before realising that you...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
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Mellow said:
Most shops don't 'get' the ST1300 or know how the brake system works... or how to even check the SMC. The SMC is a weak spot especially if you are in an area where you get some weather which will cause corrosion to that part and cause the rear brake to lock up.
Click to expand...
Joe - Is there something in particular about the ST's SMC that makes it a "weak spot". My sons have VFR800s. These also have the Honda link-brake system. They've not had any SMC problems to date that I know of. Are the ST and VFR systems different?
 
jcetnar said:
Joe - Is there something in particular about the ST's SMC that makes it a "weak spot". My sons have VFR800s. These also have the Honda link-brake system. They've not had any SMC problems to date that I know of. Are the ST and VFR systems different?
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I don't know the differences, the goldwing also has an SMC but it's just possible the designs are different enough to work better on some bikes than others. The SMC on the ST1300 is just something to keep an eye on.. some members have had rear brakes lockup and the rotor red from the heat build up.

Check the article section, there are several very good articles on brakes to read. Not all SMC's have issues, but just good to know what to look out for.

1300 brakes

www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
ST Gui said:
If this happens again before you discover the cause - immediately but carefully touch the rear brake rotor. Unless you're making a lot of frequent and/or hard stops the rotor should be warm but not hot. If it's hot as in too hot to touch it's likely conformation that your rear brake is locking up and needs service. This isn't a fault of the ST1300 but more so the fault of poor maintenance.
Click to expand...
^ ^ ^ THIS ^ ^ ^
AND what @ST Gui said before that.
AND what @ST Gui said after that.

I would bet the rear wheel is difficult to rotate when it's on the centerstand.
And I would bet the rear disk gets HOT when you ride it a while.
 
jcetnar said:
Sir, I recently had took the bike to a local repair shop and had them flush and replace the brake fluid and inspect both the primary and the secondary master cylinders. They told me they both were good.
Click to expand...
do they even know what the SMC is or how to check it? But why does it not start?? Fuel pumps act that way. You say it doesn't start, please elplain a bit more, does it crank over, just clicks or just nothing, lights, power??
 
ST Gui said:
This doesn't sound at all like a clutch problem.

If this happens again before you discover the cause - immediately but carefully touch the rear brake rotor. Unless you're making a lot of frequent and/or hard stops the rotor should be warm but not hot. If it's hot as in too hot to touch it's likely conformation that your rear brake is locking up and needs service. This isn't a fault of the ST1300 but more so the fault of poor maintenance.

Alternately you could put the ST on the center stand and try to spin the back wheel with the bike in Neutral. Spun with the foot you should be able to get at least a full revolution before it stops.
Click to expand...
With the bike up on the center stand, I can spin it more than one revolution with my foot.
 
bstig60 said:
None of this explains why the engine won't start when this happens! Is the engine locked up or will the starter turn the engine with it in neutral or with the clutch disengaged?
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Engine will not turn over. Nothing on the dash board.
 
Al st1100 said:
do they even know what the SMC is or how to check it? But why does it not start?? Fuel pumps act that way. You say it doesn't start, please elplain a bit more, does it crank over, just clicks or just nothing, lights, power??
Click to expand...
Nothing happens. No lights, no power.
 
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