ST1300 dies; won't restart and cannot be moved

SMSW said:
If you replace the battery that will probably replace some problems, though I would favor load testing it first (unless you know its age - at 4 years, I tend to replace mine because lead acid batteries usually live a 4 to 5 year life). Just replacing parts w/o diagnosing a problem is an expensive way to troubleshoot.
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Yes, without testing and measuring to let numbers tell you exactly what's wrong and how to fix it, you'll be randomly replacing perfectly-working parts with brand-new perfectly-working parts and nothing changes. End up wasting LOTS of time and money when you can find problem in less than 5-min with multimeter. You may have problem with charging system, or wiring-short in harness that's draining battery. Replacing battery will have last just enough for couple rides before it too is dead like current one. Simple test for battery:

1. measure battery-voltage with everything OFF, volts = ???

2. measure battery-voltage with key ON, kill=RUN, volts = ???

3. measure battery-voltage while pressing start-button, volts = ???

These numbers will at least tell you right away if battery's good or needs charging or is outright bad. No need to waste time & money replacing if it's good.



 
Pushing my bike forward and backward frees the gear linkage when it won't change gear
It's much better since I lubricated the linkage
This may be one of your problems , but there must be something electrical going on as well
 
Cogmeister said:
Pushing my bike forward and backward frees the gear linkage when it won't change gear
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Every Honda I've ever owned had a similar problem when I didn't downshift properly/enough when coming to a stop. Early on this was because of inexperience. Later it was because of having to stop too quickly to downshift.

But this was because of transmission internals and not because of any linkage. The 1300's external shifter linkage can get sticky or bound up over time an maintenance (as you know).
 
I would like to thank everyone who responded to my questions. I found many of your inputs useful and informative and the resources on this site are very good.

Since the last time my bike malfunctioned, I've had the brake fluid changed and the brake system bled at a local repair shop. They also tested the charging system and found it was working well. But, the battery was not holding a charge. They test rode the bike twice and couldn't reproduce the problem.

When I got the bike back, I decided to replace the battery with a new one. After getting two bad new batteries from my local Honda dealership (both were at 5.2V right out of the box and wouldn't hold a charge or start the bike) I was able to get an Interstate brand battery that works.

Since getting the brakes fluid changed/bled and replacing the battery, I've ridden the bike about 90 miles and have not had any problems. Granted, I've only done short 10-20 mile trips on rural lightly used rural roads (speed < 60 mph) but so far it looks promising. I've been monitoring battery voltage with the power on/off with a multimeter and doing the brake tests described on this website. The battery has been solid and the brakes are working fine without overheating the discs.

What paces do you recommend I put the bike through to be confident that it's fixed (I never determined definitively what was causing the breakdowns)?
 
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