SteveST1300
Vendor
I will give that a try as well Larry thanks. I just bought the bike most of the work was done by the prior owner.
Igofar Reviews
- Thread starter kscssmith
- Start date
Glad to hear your brake issues are resolved! You did a great job trouble shooting, and showed a lot of patience with all my e-mails and phones calls and guidance. Thanks for hanging in there and doing it the OCD way 
Thanks for allowing me to whisper at your new purchase.
Your friend you have not yet met
Larry
If my service does not meet your standards, please raise your standards
Thanks for allowing me to whisper at your new purchase.
Your friend you have not yet met
Larry
If my service does not meet your standards, please raise your standards
Last edited:
Work done by prior owners, folks trying to sell things, or some dealerships always fall under question in my book.
Start from the beginning and go through everything for peace of mind and a base line. It may simply be something was missed or done wrong.
Clean everything, lube everything, and do a complete flush and bleed and go from there .02
SteveST1300
Vendor
I personally know the prior owner and know his work was good but I will check dowels before doing the master cylinder. The bike is in great shape other than this one issue and I know it is not a difficult fix. All fluids have been changed including clutch and brake bleed was done in the correct sequence yada yada yada.
I recently bought a new-to-me 2003 ST1300A in Seattle and rode it back home to the Bay Area. It's in great shape and has lots of goodies on it (electronic cruise, Russell seat, Zumo GPS).
Soon after I got back, however, I found that something wasn't right with the rear brake...it seemed to be dragging on the disk. I contacted Larry and he talked me through diagnosing that my SMC was likely bad. He told me which parts to order, and after they arrived he helped me through the installation process (noting tips/tricks and other things to look for). With his help (and the shop manual) I was able to successfully install the new SMC assembly and bleed the brakes.
That was enough for me to get the bike down to his place for him to rebleed the brakes (which, I'm annoyed to say, they needed), swap the clutch fluid and bleed it, fix the clutch lever and replace the final drive fluid.
Once again (as he did for me with my 2004 ST1300A), he was able to help me to get the bike ready for many more miles of enjoyment.
If you're passing through the area and need any work done on your ST, I definitely recommend contacting him and stopping by his place in Santa Clara.
-Vince
Soon after I got back, however, I found that something wasn't right with the rear brake...it seemed to be dragging on the disk. I contacted Larry and he talked me through diagnosing that my SMC was likely bad. He told me which parts to order, and after they arrived he helped me through the installation process (noting tips/tricks and other things to look for). With his help (and the shop manual) I was able to successfully install the new SMC assembly and bleed the brakes.
That was enough for me to get the bike down to his place for him to rebleed the brakes (which, I'm annoyed to say, they needed), swap the clutch fluid and bleed it, fix the clutch lever and replace the final drive fluid.
Once again (as he did for me with my 2004 ST1300A), he was able to help me to get the bike ready for many more miles of enjoyment.
If you're passing through the area and need any work done on your ST, I definitely recommend contacting him and stopping by his place in Santa Clara.
-Vince
You were able to get away from him with only that being done? I'm shocked, Larry must have been tired that day!
Once of these days I'll be stopping by just to meet him!
Here's one to test your knowledge of the ST's brake system. My original problem was an out of the blue rear brake lock-up. I freed it by pumping the pedal. Came home and perused this site for answers and then bled the system. Vastly improved but still dragging. Took apart the SMC and lubed and put it back together (bike only has 12 k miles) -situation worse. Now pushing pedal causes drag on rear almost every time which dissipates with time. And breaking power far less than should be.
Igofar to the rescue- changed SMC as per his recommendation. Bled all but the front MC and when bleeding the last one (rear -back- bleeder) I could stand on the pedal and not get fluid out of the Motion Pro bleeder. Others bled fine. Any thoughts yet? Breaks functioned better but not the stopping power and noticed front right and rear rotors were hot and front left cool.
Next we cleaned front right brake caliper pistons (I say we because Igofar was the brains and I the brawn). Reason: thinking that FR caliper sticking causing SMC function and not releasing causing rear brake drag and hot rotor. Result: front rotors cool, back one hot and dragging and without good stopping power. Back brake would release in a minute or two.
When I informed Igofar of the inability to bleed back bleeder (hadn't mentioned it until after FR caliper cleaning) he was puzzled. He knew there had to be a blockage of that line but how? It is a fairly short and direct bleed unlike the PCV. Here's the answer and one this man of incomparable experience had never seen: when getting to the back brake caliper it was discovered that the rear stopper bolt was loose and was removed with fingers only. This allowed the rear caliper assembly to slide forward when breaking and pinch off the line to the outer pistons thus preventing their releasing. When I corrected this and cleaned the rear caliper pistons and left pressure on the pedal and lever overnight the next morning I awoke to a fantastic braking system. The rotors are now cool in front and warm in the rear- a situation I've learned is normal.
Many thanks to Igofar for his expertise and kindness and hanging in there when I was running out of patience. This guy is a one-of-a-kind. And this forum is great!
While an obscure and uncommon failure the stopper bolt loosening is one to keep in mind when all else fails to solve this common problem of rear brake drag.
Igofar to the rescue- changed SMC as per his recommendation. Bled all but the front MC and when bleeding the last one (rear -back- bleeder) I could stand on the pedal and not get fluid out of the Motion Pro bleeder. Others bled fine. Any thoughts yet? Breaks functioned better but not the stopping power and noticed front right and rear rotors were hot and front left cool.
Next we cleaned front right brake caliper pistons (I say we because Igofar was the brains and I the brawn). Reason: thinking that FR caliper sticking causing SMC function and not releasing causing rear brake drag and hot rotor. Result: front rotors cool, back one hot and dragging and without good stopping power. Back brake would release in a minute or two.
When I informed Igofar of the inability to bleed back bleeder (hadn't mentioned it until after FR caliper cleaning) he was puzzled. He knew there had to be a blockage of that line but how? It is a fairly short and direct bleed unlike the PCV. Here's the answer and one this man of incomparable experience had never seen: when getting to the back brake caliper it was discovered that the rear stopper bolt was loose and was removed with fingers only. This allowed the rear caliper assembly to slide forward when breaking and pinch off the line to the outer pistons thus preventing their releasing. When I corrected this and cleaned the rear caliper pistons and left pressure on the pedal and lever overnight the next morning I awoke to a fantastic braking system. The rotors are now cool in front and warm in the rear- a situation I've learned is normal.
Many thanks to Igofar for his expertise and kindness and hanging in there when I was running out of patience. This guy is a one-of-a-kind. And this forum is great!
While an obscure and uncommon failure the stopper bolt loosening is one to keep in mind when all else fails to solve this common problem of rear brake drag.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 8,064
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2025 Miles
- 005271
I am glad you got your brakes sorted out but offer this observation. If the stopper bolt is threaded finger tight in place the caliper can't pivot forward and pinch the rear outer caliper line. The bolt is of sufficient length to engage the swing arm lug and the caliper before several clockwise turns bottoms it out. It still needs to be tight but if it was in loose but still in place what you described would not be possible.
If the line was pinched enough to block the flow of fluid, and this kink or blockage was not alleviated when the bike was in your shop and the brakes were being bled, should you not replace that line? I understand that weighting the brake pedal 'reinflated' the squeezed brake line, but might this kink have weakened it? Perhaps to the point that the line will rupture at an inopportune moment (like when you are braking) and spray brake juice on the tire?
Perhaps I didn't describe it accurately: the nut was loose and whether threads were engaged I can't say, definitely few if any. The caliper was pinching the line as evidenced by the clues of vision and inability to bleed the port. I get your point and believe you are correct but the point is that this is an unlikely source of rear brake drag that I wonder if anyone else has ever seen. I won't say "it only happens to me" as that is too trite but you will have to admit this is unusual.
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 8,064
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2025 Miles
- 005271
That bolt is a one-use bolt with Honda red thread locker on the threads. If reused it requires medium Loctite to prevent loosening and a 20% reduction in torque value of dry 51 ft/lbs.
I seriously doubt that weighting the brake pedal "re-inflated" the line, it sounds more line the caliper was loose, since the stopper bolt was loose, allowing the caliper to move just enough to bind the rear unit on the sliding dowel causing the rear brakes to drag. Movement of the rear wheel (rolling the bike) probably wiggled it enough to cause it to shift and settle again and appear to work, until the brake was applied, thus causing the unit to move and jam up again. As far as the rear brake line, It goes underneath the caliper and is routed close enough, that the caliper may have pushed up against it to impede the flow, or the piston may have caused the flow issue as well. The reason to weight the pedal after bleeding the system is only to allow micro air bubbles to purge over night.
As far as trouble shooting the entire brake system, I must say our Kentucky friend had ALOT of patience and never gave up! We eliminated possible causes, step by step, over the phone, late at night, when he was very tired and frustrated...but he never gave up! He has my respect for sure.
I only led him through the things to eliminate, he found the loose stopper bolt on his own....thus, I dub him the Kentucky ST Whisper'er.
Igofar
Have never replaced, or threadlocked, the caliper stop bolt (ST1100 however, if we are talking about the same bolt?). Never a problem in Lots of miles.
That would mean a new bolt with every rear wheel removal it would seem, and that sure ain't happening.
That would mean a new bolt with every rear wheel removal it would seem, and that sure ain't happening.
So me and six of my friends are three days in to an eight day trip around the Rockies Colorado, Utah, Arizona. And my buddies 09ST decides it it is time to have a brake issues. Now collectively we are pretty good with a wrench and fixing what is in front of us, but I know that the brakes on the 1300 ST's are a animal all of their own. I also know who to call and that is Igofar. So Saturday night in page Arizona I send off an SOS to Larry and he gets back with me on Sunday morning and coaches me and my friends through the trickery of the ST braking system and lo and behold with his help we get the 09 back on the road. Not only does this total stranger go out of his way to help me out and keep us going on our vacation but he also offered to have his son who is in Arizona if need be come up with a trailer and get us someplace where we can work on this bike if we can't get it fixed in the hotel parking lot. I cannot say enough about the graciousness of this man and the knowledge he has of the workings of the ST. He is always going out of his way to help and offer up Assistance whether it be physically in his hands or through this forum we are lucky to have someone like him who is willing to help out a total stranger without worrying about what is in it for him. I just want to take this opportunity to say thanks. And if someone is in West Michigan and needs help don't hesitate to holler I don't have all the answers but I do have Larry thanks again. Sabrekip
Larry helped figure out the issues with my 04 ST also. Great guy and a true asset to this forum. Thanks again Larry!!!!!
I hate you. No, not really, I envy you, sounds like a great trip.
I just had someone help me out on the Voyager forum like that. Total stranger sent me expensive parts and tells me to pay him only if it fixes the problem. You don't get that kind of help on the various car forums. Good to know there are people like that still out there.
Not only is IgoFar willing and able to help us with our bikes, he is also just fun to talk with about anything else!
With IgoFars knowledge and white courtesy phone guidance, not only was I able to efficiently and correctly do a clutch and brake fluid change and system bleed, but also increased my bikes average mileage from 36 mpg to 45mpg by taking his advice and changing the thermostat. Bike is running great thanks to his help over the phone!