Weave instability mode at high speed

[tcs1100f]

Was wondering if anyone has experienced this!
I have had two longer rides on my ST1300. The first I got to 0ne hundred by the speedo and the the second to 130 and did not experience and instability!
I was riding single both times.. Mine is a 2006 with ABS..

 

[NorCalBusa]

Its not clear what you are asking (or telling). Are you saying at 100 and 130 you had a stable ride? Kind of a non-story if so... I'm interested in what you have to say.

 

[okckeith]

I have had my own 07 percent 1300 for 8 yrs. I have never felt any weave. It has been the ver 100 several times. I think it's he throttle stuck on me. I run 42 psi front and rear. And have set my suspension. And I run motorcycle tires only. PR4GT's is what I like. They are rock solid on the ST.

 

[Svrdhd]

If I ever felt a weave at high speeds I'd sell the bike shortly thereafter. I can testify mine is rock-steady at very big numbers, and I test it a lot on empty roads.

 

[thekaz]

I have felt the weave many times at or over 100MPH. I have my guesses as to what it maybe but considering I don't normally ride that fast and the weave is manageable I am just going to keep riding it LOL

 

[Sportznut]

All my bikes have gotten lighter in the front end as I get 120 or faster. I just slow down.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[JQL]

As I recall, the instability was partly down to Avon Storm tyres as well as loading. In fact Avon actively discourage you from using them on the ST1300.

 

[dduelin]

I have felt the weave many times at or over 100MPH. I have my guesses as to what it maybe but considering I don't normally ride that fast and the weave is manageable I am just going to keep riding it LOL

This. ^^^^It is well known the ST1300 can exhibit a weave, not a wobble, at high speeds. Not all bikes seem to do it and if it does it may be dependent on several independent factors like load configuration, cross wind, suspension or tire pressure. If a bike has exhibited the weave it may never do it again or it may do it often but it may also never appear. The weave is manageable and does not appear suddenly but rather gradually. It does not suddenly escalate into a tank slapper. It has nothing to do with the forks as a weave is a damped roll about the longitudinal axis of the bike. As the bike self-corrects the roll to one side it rolls back to the other side. The damping decreases as the speed increases so the magnitude of the roll increases. If the weave appears it will increase as speed increases and decrease as you slow. When I've experienced it the speed was always north of 115 GPS mph, sometimes more than 130. If you hold that speed it will "swim" along through the air as long as you have the road and traffic conditions to maintain it. I think I significantly reduced it's appearance and severity with the suspension work I did long ago and replacing the headstock bearings 50,000 miles ago but don't know how the bike would have handled high speeds if left stock since then. I know it rarely ever appears on my bike but it used to.

 

[Uncle Phil]

My experience on the German Autobahn was the weave did not present itself until you were at sustained speeds approaching 130 mph on the clock. Then it seemed as if there was an aerodynamic 'lift' on the front end. The speed had to be sustained - held for a good while - before the weave presented itself. I found by experimenting that if the windshield was all the way down, it didn't 'show up' (of course you better be tucked in if you wanted to keep your head on your shoulders). Any significant upward position of the windshield and it happened. There are few places in the U.S. that you can or would want to do 130 sustained for a sufficient period of time so I don't see it as an issue over here. ;-) BTW, this ST1300 had the Hondaline trunk and was going to be a PLOD bike but they declined it when the whole 'weave' thing happened in the U.K.

 

[st1300r]

The pan weave and what the interwebs says was Honda's solution LINK

 

[CruSTy]

I believe I inadvertently fixed this on my 07 ST1300. This bike was scary in dirty air behind semi's and exhibited the weave issue accelerating over 100MPH with or without the Hondaline top box. Running good tires (PR4s) helped the weave a little but not much. I was experimenting with the windshield to try to reduce the back pressure and turbulence (I'm 6'3 and 210# so I sit relatively high). I made some plates to extend the windscreen out 1" and then rake it back about 2" from stock. With the screen down this put me right in the wind stream which I like for summer riding. It also fixed the back pressure and still works well with the screen up even in the rain. I have ridden into the triple digits as high as 135 indicated several times since and the bike has been rock solid. I love this bike but the longer I own the more I believe the aerodynamics of the stock windscreen SUCK in more ways than one.

 

[dduelin]

The pan weave and what the interwebs says was Honda's solution LINK

I dunno. Hancock has been saying that a long time - since the intro in the EC in 2002 - and bikes produced until now still exhibit it. Honda did not release the ST in the US in spring of 2002 instead waiting until all the US spec bikes had the engine bolt torque value and the swing arm pivot revisions as 2003 models. Did not help.

I think the important thing to remember is that these bikes have logged unmpteen millions of miles under riders of all skill levels. It has a name "The Pan Weave" but not a reputation as a widow maker. It's part of the character of the ST1300.

 

[SupraSabre]

I've hit the ground at 65mph, high speed (over 90) is not one of those things I ride for. ...4:

 

[NorCalBusa]

Never had it happen to me, 2012 ST-A. But I don't load the saddle bags with tons of stuff and don't extend he windshield more than maybe halfway. I do ride over 100 (and 130) pretty regularly and do a lot of twisty road riding- no issues at all.

 

[nhdiesel]

If you are getting the weave, check to see if you have a lot of weight loaded in the rear, and /or a top box. If so, that may be part of, or all of your problem. Also check to see if the preload is working on your rear shock. Bikes with some miles usually need a preload fluid service. Get the preload set correctly and chances are the weave will be gone.

 

[T_C]

With no preload (60k+ miles unserviced) and the top box on riding one-up the weave is very predictable. 110 mph (gps indicated) it starts a little, go faster and it worsens, let off and it disappears. Without the Honda-line box, never felt it.

 

[adamk]

I experience the weaver once in my 90k miles. About 9 years ago?? Top box in the standard back position. Decelerating from triple digits on a slight downhill. Caught me by surprise, then I realized, "hey, my bike's doing the weave". I don't recall if if I touched the brakes or just let off the throttle, but the weave diminished on it's own within seconds. I've never experience it since, but I move my topbox over the passenger seat when riding one up, have Race Tech suspension front and rear. Don't recall the tires I was running at the time. Probably Mezler Z6s from looking at my maintenance records. I don't remember it being windy.

 

[Britarrowmaker]

Reference being a widow maker, we had a police officer killed over here which was blamed on the ST1300 he was riding about 10 years ago with the subsequent result that many of the forces stopped using them. Tests were done to try and imitate the problem at a disused airfield/proving ground using numerous ST1300s and a variety of riders but they couldn't reproduce the so called problematic weave.

A lot of forces ditched the ST1300 and changed to BMWs and FJRs though the BMWs are proving problematic and nowhere near as reliable as the ST1300s or FJRs. Ironically many of the police riders themselves prefer, and in some cases own, the ST1300 in preference to the R1200RT especially as they are more comfortable and reliable.

With regard to tyres: Mine was fitted with Pirelli Angel GTs by the previous owner when bought with the dealer telling me to inflate the tyres to 46 psi front and rear. It felt like riding a bike with the two wheels wanting to do their own thing especially tracking the "tramlines" created by HGVs on the motorway. When I went to check/confirm the tyre pressures on the Pirelli website however I found no answer as these tyres are not homologated for the ST1300. I'm now on Bridgestones T30GTs with 2.7 front and 2.9 rear and the bike tracks far better with both wheels now appearing to be now in sync with each other. Irrespective of either tyre mentioned I have not experienced any high speed weave.

 

[dduelin]

I remember the Merseyside accident. The coroner report that blamed the ST1300 was making the rounds when I was looking at STs. The report was up on the web for a while and I did read it before it was removed.

People still bring up the removal from UK police forces use even today but as I noted despite the tragic death of the officer this bike has logged millions upon millions of miles use in the last 10 years.