ST1300 heat - problem SOLVED.

Hello folks and @PanRider1300 particularly! :wine2:
I've returned with intermediate results. This weekend permits me to commence 2025 riding season: +8+14°C air temperature and no precipitation, no ice. I've covered about 530 km, both interstate and city riding. Wanna report how thigs going so far.

Motor operating just fine - as previously. Dashboard coolant temp readings - 3 of 6 bars, no boiling or any other bad signs, revealing something wrong under fairing.
Pilot experience: heat is not bothering, I've even turned on my newly installed Corbin.
 

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I thought that I was getting a lot of heat out of the under-tank / scalloped areas of my tank
on that 2007 ST-1300 that I got back on Thanksgiving day 2024, but until now I've only ridden it on cool days and didn't mind a little warmth on my thighs and blowing up to my groin area. And on REALLY COLD days (I rode when it was 16 Fahrenheit one morning!) I wear 2-3 layers of pants / sweats, so I didn't feel heat or cold. Felt nothing.

TUES and WED of this week, I rode thru south Georgia down to central Florida.
Temps were in the 90's both days. 96 F. for an hour in Florida, above the pavement.
Well, guess what? NOW I really FEEL THE HEAT. Like a hair dryer turned to max heat at the 1500 watt setting.
This was my first riding on this bike in SUMMER weather conditions.
So now I'm going to research this phenomenon more and see if there's anything I can do about it.

(Other than ride standing up on the foot pegs, which I did for 1 minute at a time during several points during my 1000 miles of riding in those two days.)
 
Most effective efforts might be investing in mid - calf boots and solid textile riding gear. Converting gasoline to horsepower creates heat. It's just physics. The coolest bikes keep that heat away from the rider. That said I got used to it and rode the wheels off my 2005 ST1300 12 months out of the year.
 
I would take a hard look at the crossover gasket and clamp and both of the muffler gaskets and clamps and determine whether or not exhaust gas is leaking. Every time a tire is changed the mufflers are at the very least, rotated, and if they're anything like my mufflers, rotated in an alreardy ovaled / distorted clamp since I distorted them myself trying to remove the bolts.
Not sure why I fell into that problem; exhaust school 101, cut the clamps, maybe because it's been fifty years since I've done my own thrush hush with cross over exhaust system.
One can forget.
 
gunsmoker said:
TUES and WED of this week, I rode thru south Georgia down to central Florida.
Temps were in the 90's both days. 96 F. for an hour in Florida, above the pavement.
Well, guess what? NOW I really FEEL THE HEAT. Like a hair dryer turned to max heat at the 1500 watt setting.
Click to expand...
Where on your body do you feel it?
 
inner thighs.
More generally, my upper legs seem to be getting the heat directly even moving at speed and then when I stop the heat rolls up across my torso but I feel warmer in the crotch area than the rest of my upper body possibly because I usually have more protective gear on the upper part of my body and if I'm wearing my biker chaps that still leaves the crotch area exposed.
 
Check the position of your seat. Make sure that the seal at the front of the seat is in good shape and as close to being in contact with the tank as you can have it.
Try wearing a proper riding suit with full pants, not chaps. It find it cooler than riding with jeans. What insulates from the cold also insulates from the heat.
 
gunsmoker said:
inner thighs.
More generally, my upper legs seem to be getting the heat directly even moving at speed and then when I stop the heat rolls up across my torso but I feel warmer in the crotch area than the rest of my upper body possibly because I usually have more protective gear on the upper part of my body and if I'm wearing my biker chaps that still leaves the crotch area exposed.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, leaving a gap between your knees and the tank can help. Experiment with windshield heights also (or even different windshields), it creates different turbulences.

Try synching the starter valves if you haven't done it yet. It has helped some.

Oil also contributes to cooling. Synthetics generally having a higher specific heat capacity may be the better choice. Some have felt a difference using Shell Rotella for instance.....just not sure their latest iteration is still MC compatible. Would have to check with the oil wizards here.
 
Andrew Shadow said:
Check the position of your seat. Make sure that the seal at the front of the seat is in good shape and as close to being in contact with the tank as you can have it.
Click to expand...
Good call ! I did have the seat off recently and I just went out and rechecked the fit between the front of the seat and the back of the tank per your suggestion

I don't know if this gap had been there previously but I am certainly noticing it now.


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PS: I do prefer the saddle to be in the highest position to maximize the distance between it and the foot pegs.

My seat's been all the way up
since mid- December.
 
@Paladin33rus
Good result. But the temperture was not so high.

I have wrapped the headers with very good result. Very pleased with. I do not feel the heat anymore on my legs and boots.
Second good thing is that the high pitch sound from the engine, almost went away. I found it a very irritating sound.
 
PanRider1300 said:
@Paladin33rus
Good result. But the temperture was not so high.

I have wrapped the headers with very good result. Very pleased with. I do not feel the heat anymore on my legs and boots.
Second good thing is that the high pitch sound from the engine, almost went away. I found it a very irritating sound.
Click to expand...

Good job reducing your heat, these things can get hot!
Some warn of damage or decay to the header pipes because of the wrap creating moisture that can't escape.
Good Luck
 
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Are you posting this fellow's video because you support his claims, or refute them?
I'm not being snarky, I just can't infer based on what was written.
Rob
 
Oooh he shook the pipe with his hand and showed minor boot wear after ten years and X amount of miles.
I didn’t see him UNWRAP the pipe and inspect for damage often found.
We are not talking about drag bikes with open headers and horse power here, we are concerned with keeping the heat inside the pipes and engine where it melts plastic panels and wire harnesses and switches on metric bikes.
 

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OldMcClelland said:
Are you posting this fellow's video because you support his claims, or refute them?
I'm not being snarky, I just can't infer based on what was written.
Rob
Click to expand...

Neither.

Was just hoping somebody could explain how we can have moisture on the pipes or in the wraps when pipe temp gets over 600 F.
 
Maybe someone washed the bike and put it away wet :wink:
 
Internal combustion engines burning hydrocarbons will, by necessary chemical reaction, make H2O and CO2 inside the pipe. We cannot get around this. The outside of the pipe is another story.

I have no plans on wrapping my pipes. My ST is powerful enough and runs at the right temperature.
 
Igofar said:
I didn’t see him UNWRAP the pipe and inspect for damage often found.
Click to expand...

1) Pipes with no wrap can corrode as well.

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2) There have been enough testimonies from riders here who have had no issues with their wrapped pipes after decades.

3) @PanRider1300 just stated he was very happy with the results of his wrapping. This is great. He is now enjoying his ride and sharing his experience. Thanks.

Are you suggesting he should unwrap the pipes and keep toasting his buns just to make sure there is not a spec of rust on the pipes 10 or 20 years down the road?
 
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