Igofar Reviews

I also had a great experience over the phone with him when I was bleeding my brakes for the first time. He sure is a encyclopedia of knowledge.
Also, I have my motion pro bleeder in plain sight in my garage as a reminder that, It's really nice to see how easy it is to do when you have the correct tools. The only thing bad about the motion pro bleeder is, I miss my wife now when I'm bleeding my brakes.:roll:
 
I had a chance recently to acquire another 04. Identical to mine but more "gently" used, so to speak. It has only 72k kms compared to my 185k. And...it has been ridden somewhat more conservatively than mine. Just what I need. Another bike. NOT. Oh well, why not.

I picked up the bike from the owner and it was all clean and shiny. I vaguely remember mine looking like that. I had about 10 miles to go to get it home. The first 8 went very smoothly as I tested out things. About 2 miles from home, a BDC decided that turning into a driveway suddenly, with no signal light, was a good idea. I hit the brakes hard and slowed to a walking pace, went around the car and....Oh Oh....the back brake would not release.

I managed to make it home but only just. The bike would not pull in 4th or 5th gear. That is how hard the brake was on. Needless to say, the disc was very hot when I got off. I let it cool down for a couple of hours and then investigated. The rear brake was on hard and the SMC had no movement in it whatsoever.

I took things apart and this is what I found:

- outboard rear pad worn wedge shaped.

I contacted Larry (Igofar) and he was only too willing and able to offer help and advice. I really don't know how he manages to keep so many balls in the air and help so many people. He truly is a wealth of knowledge and a godsend. Thankyou,Thankyou, Thankyou!!!!!

He advised that rather than just get the SMC piston rebuild kit (#20 on the parts fiche), I should get the whole subassembly (#2 on the parts fiche). Only about $60 more and you don't have the hassle of taking the old one apart (not easy) or the issue of the bore being out of round.

http://www.hondapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/hon/5053f118f870021c54be633e/left-front-brake-caliper


I installed the new subassembly and new pads. Cleaned up the caliper pistons and slides and did a complete fluid flush. A little test ride today and things seem to be back as they should.

Things to note:
1. the brakes on this bike were fine up until I did an emergency stop. It appears that a larger movement of the SMC piston put it into a corroded area and it jammed.
2. taking out the SMC piston assembly is not easy. Highly recommend replacing the whole subassembly
3. Not sure what caused the rear pad to wear like it did. All 3 pistons were freely movable.
4. Not sure if you can see, but the piston is jammed down about 0.5 cm and it will not budge. Not sure how you would get it out, short of drilling a hole in it.

Pictures:


Thanks again to Larry.(Igofar) He epitomizes what this forum is all about!!!!


Rod
 

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Nice job on getting the problem fixed. Enjoy your new ST.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Yeah, having that rear brake lock up is no fun. Glad to see you were able to solve the problem!

Mine on my 2010 did it, but I think it was the rear master cylinder, but I rebuilt the SMC, Rear MC & the rear brake caliper! Brakes are great now! :D
 
I just got an 04 added to my stable and the rear brake pads don't release completely the SMC has been replaced and the caliper has been rebuilt next I will be changing the rear master cylinder.
 
Outstanding fix. Be sure to pack the SMC boot with break grease. It's in the manual, but dealers aren't packing it as part of their prep or maintenance. I think as part of buying a used ST1300 it would be a good idea to check under the SMC boot for corrosion. Glad your happy with your "new" purchase, enjoy.
 
SteveST1300 said:
I just got an 04 added to my stable and the rear brake pads don't release completely the SMC has been replaced and the caliper has been rebuilt next I will be changing the rear master cylinder.
Click to expand...

Before you keep throwing $ at your bike I would remove all three calipers and clean and grease the caliper sliding dowels.
These being dirty or corroded would cause the issues your having.
Igofar
 
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 :rofl1:
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
 
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SteveST1300 said:
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.
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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
 
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
 
VinceDee said:
...
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.
...
Click to expand...

You were able to get away from him with only that being done? I'm shocked, Larry must have been tired that day! :rofl1:

Once of these days I'll be stopping by just to meet him! :)
 
With all these Igofar shout outs, I feel like I need to ride from Dallas to Santa Clara and have my bike "break" just so I can meet Larry! ;)
 
paulcb said:
With all these Igofar shout outs, I feel like I need to ride from Dallas to Santa Clara and have my bike "break" just so I can meet Larry! ;)
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It won't have to break, as I always find things that need attending to :rofl1:
But I also look forward to meeting folks.
 
Larry's a champ! I visited him a couple of years ago to learn a little about the ST1300's. It was worth every mile to and from Georgia to learn from the master!
 
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.
 
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