Re: ST1300 - 1st Significant Service: Coolant, Thermostat, Starter Valve Synch, & Other
I've noticed my bike leaking a lot of coolant again, not only the occasional winter drip but this summer the condition had progressed to the point it was dripping all the time. So I took a long ride Saturday Aug 2 to get a couple additional
Colorado Counties so that I could get the fuel tank emptied. After returning from that ride, I tore the bike down and started a number of services that were due.
The bike had 58,462 miles on it at the time.
Coolant Leak Investigation:
All factory hoses were still in place in the bike, but I had replaced clamps on a number of hoses in previous visits into the abyss. This time, I had all new hoses on the shelf.
Upon tear down I found Hose "G" (hose #20 in the image below) leaking at the connection to the Thermostat Case (part #4). The leak was prevalent enough that over time, the coolant had actually wetted
within the wall of the hose along the reinforcing fibers from it's upper end to its lower end. There was no coolant dripping down the length of the exterior of the hose--it was only seeping through the length of the hose.
Hose "G" connection leak at its upper end...
Coolant seeping the entire length of Hose "G", oozing out its lower end...
From the above observation, and from observing the same indications on the other ends of leaky hoses (examples visible in post #32 above, and another example below, return hose #7 from the right cylinder bank), it is apparent that a leaky hose can show coolant weeping through the fibers from the
opposite end.
So I replaced a bunch of hoses, put in a new thermostat and thermostat o-ring, cleaned up the radiator, put it back together, put new coolant in it, and fixed that latest problem.
Other Services:
I took care of a bunch of other items that were due, those items were routine and uninteresting:
- Clutch bleed
- Complete brake system bleed
- Starter valve synch (still good; no adjustment needed)
- Cleaned and lubed windshield tracks
- Cleaned and [again] installed new double-stick tape to upper-most pieces of upper fairing air deflectors
- Installed new NGK Iridium spark plugs
- Installed new air filter, EMGO Number 12-91462-AD
- Refilled the rear shock preload adjuster
The next valve check isn't due for another ~5kmi, so I chose to wait until late winter or spring for that next check.
It's nice knowing the ins and outs of a bike so that maintenance is easy.
