Oil Changing
You don't have to remove all the body panels just to change the oil on the ST.
You should remove the lowest, gray, wraparound piece. Then just loosen the bottom, left hand side so that you can get a grip on the oil filter.
One other thing to note is that you should be real careful of the placement of your oil drain pan when you remove the oil pan plug. The hole is facing directly forward and the pressure from the oil will make the resulting stream shoot quite a
ways out towards the front tire. Be prepared for it and you might even want to consider deflecting the flow with something. Don't forget that it will lose pressure as you drain it and the stream will start to fall closer and closer to the oil
drain hole.
Changing the Clock Bulb
Replacement is cheap and easy if you don't follow the service manual to replace it. First take off the right (throttle side) mirror cover. Rotate the mirror out of the way. See the white box? That's the back of the clock. See the wire harness
going into it at a socket? Reach up through the wheel well looking through the mirror opening. Using the wires, rotate the socket to break it loose then pull it out. Pull the bulb, replace (about $1.75) and re-install.
Bank Angle Sensor Recall
The Bank Angle sensor on the ST1100 is supposed to cut off the engine when the motorcycle is tipped over. There is a recall out for for 89-93 Wings and 91-93 ST's. Call your dealer if you haven't gotten a notice. If the Bank Angle sensor kicks in
for some reason, and bike power is lost, the ignition must be turned off and then back on to reset the sensor.
From: cummins@sliris.wes.army.mil (Toney Cummins) Just got off of the phone with Allen White concerning the ST bank angle sensor. He just got a copy of a FAX sent to his dealer of a recall notice on bank angle sensors for 89-93 Wings and 91-93
ST's. The notice said that heat can cause deterioration of the sensor case causing damping fluid leakage and subsequent erratic behavior of the sensor. From what Allen said, Honda will start sending out recall notices to ST and Wing owners
starting July 2. Three mailings will go out, with the owners of older bikes being notified first.
Refueling
California and ALL ABS/TCS models: Do Not fill the tank on the ST all the way up the neck of the filler tube. There is a charcoal filter on the California and ABS/TCS models that can soak up gas and might cause problems down the road. The Owners
Manual specifically states not to fill the tank above the filler neck for any model.
Many non-California/non-ABS model owners report filling up the neck has not caused any problems.
Sparkplugs
Honda charges LOTS for these ($8 each?). Supposedly the ST is the only bike using these plugs. Fortunately they have a long life. The high milage ST didn't change his plugs until 60,000 miles. I change mine at 20,000 because the bike becomes
harder to start in the cold (below freezing) if the plugs are older than that. I haven't noticed any gas milage deterioration, just starting ease. (From Pan-Euro)
Air Filter
Honda charges too much for their paper filter. If you are frugal, you can try an automotive standard that fits pretty well (requires some kind of home made gasket on top for a seal): Fram CA351 or Napa gold 2073. K&N also makes a cleanable
foam filter that costs almost the same as the Honda paper filter. Available thru mail order houses or your local shop. (From Pan-Euro)
Carbs
If you think your ST has too much engine vibration try having your carbs synched. Not to spec, but REALLLLLY SYNCHED! One rider claims he was able to eliminate the typical engine buzz in the 3,500rpm range. He also claims the ST will hold its
synching, so it's worth it.
From: Phil Roberts, Peterborough England
Some early (pre 92 - L & M models) ST's suffered from carb icing. This would typically occur after a period of constant high-ish speed running (e.g. while cruising at 75 mph for an hour or so) in cold, high humidity conditions. The symptoms
varied from bike to bike, and not all were affected, but one such manifestation was that the bike would lose power and misfire.
The solution was to change the carb pistons, needles and needle holders which, in Britain, Honda UK paid for. My 90 model (registered 91) was modified about eight weeks after I bought it with 1600 miles on it nearly four years ago and the cure
is total.
Cooling system
I know of two cooling system problems. The high mileage ST lost its water pump in the low 70,000's. It caused the bike to blow a coolant cross over line. It was fixed under warranty. Honda blamed it on automotive coolant. "It's not good enough for
the motorcycle's environment. You should use Honda Products Coolant...." I've seen Honda's documentation about this, but they haven't sent out a service bulletin requiring all the shops to use Honda coolant. I did happen to switch to Golden
Spectrol's pre-mix coolant just out of convenience. I don't know the details of the other cooling system failure.
If you are changing your coolant: this is no big deal except the final drain bolts ON the engine are hard to get at if you try a ratchet. Its much easier to reach up from underneath, behind the pipes and just use a wrench.
Changing the coolant - Step by Step
Warning, there are a couple of times when you will be draining warm or hot antifreeze, be apropriately cautious.
1. Remove the saddle bags and saddle.
2. Remove the lower cowling.
3. Pull out the left hand button on the inner shroud that runs from below the headlight around the radiator so that the lower edge can be bent out.
4. Remove the two side covers.
5. Remove the air-box cover (fake fuel tank).
6. Remove the plastic piece that sort of covers the right side cylinder head (the one you remove to more easily get at the oil filler).
7. Remove right side gray strip that runs from below dash to above foot pegs.
8. Place a large pan, capacity at least 1 gallon under the left side of the radiator.
9. Remove two bolts that hold the coolant overflow tank as well as the one that holds the rear brake fluid reservoir.
10. Drain overflow tank and rinse it out.
11. Reach in to the lower left hand side of the radiator and slowly unscrew and finally remove the white nylon plug.
12. Let coolant drain.
13. Replace plug.
14. Remove radiator cap.
15. Fill with plain water.
16. Restore radiator cap.
17. Fire 'er up and let her idle for a couple of minutes.
18. Repeat the previous 7 steps 3 more times.
19. Do a final draining.
20. Slowly add just over 6 cups (1.5 liters) of pure coolant to the radiator, let it sit a couple of minutes, top it off with water, restore radiator cap.
21. Add 1 cup of pure coolant and 1 of water to the overflow tank (which you will have bolted back in place), and cap it.
22. Reverse disassembly steps 'til you have an ST again.
23. GO RIDE.
The main difference is that rather than remove the midle fairing panels to access the engine drain bolts (which is near impossible anyway) you are flushing out the old stuff with fresh watter. The reason for running the bike a couple of minutes
between flushes is so that things get warm enough that the thermostat opens, otherwise you will have almost half of the old fluid left.
Saddle Bags
The ST saddlebags are great. Kind of. They have a pair of unnecessary holes in the mounting bracket allowing water in. If you seal these holes (you can't miss them!) the bags become very nearly water proof. (I haven't found any adverse reaction to
sealing those holes -- no pressure release when changing altitude....I don't know why Honda bothered with the holes.....) (From Pan-Euro)
Fork Oil
At 26,000 my suspension started getting soggy. It got worse when I added a passenger. Finally at 30,000 I returned home and had my fork oil changed. *W*O*W*!! Made a big difference and cost
Rear Wheel Splines
Some of you might have read this in one of the magazines - last year's Iron Butt Road Rally (10,000 miles, eleven days) had an ST fall out of the competition. The drive splines "turned to dust. " An HSTA member has experienced the same fate. At
60,000+mi it lost its final drive ring gear. I stopped into my local Honda Shop and had a chat with the service manager. He couldn't find any recommended service interval for greasing the rear wheel splines in the service manual {I tried to tell
him this!}. He is of the opinion it should be done any time the wheel comes off (i.e. tire replacement). And he does that on all the shaft drive bikes that comes through the shop. The HSTA article recommends the same thing. Make a note to find out
if your shop will grease the splines when you get your tires done, and don't forget to do it if you change the tires yourself. (From Pan-Euro)
From: Phil Roberts, Peterborough England
Another part of the rear drive assembly which requires greasing whenever the wheel comes out is the thrust washer which sits between the drive flange and the right-hand wheel bearing housing. If this isn't properly lubricated then expect the
thrust washer to wear its way into the wheel. In advanced cases of wear, this allows excessive end-float on the drive flange which has two main effects: the drive flange will start to bear on the mushroom headed screws which retain the cush-drive
rubber keep-plate; the drive splines will partially disengage causing accelerated wear in that component. According to the Honda shop manual, a grease containing a minimum 40% molybdenum disulphide must be used here. The manual lists Rocol ASP,
Molykote G-n Paste and Honda Moly 45 as suitable products.
Headlight Hi/Lo Beam Switch
It has been seen my a number of list members that their lights will go completely out when going down the road when they try to switch from Low beams to High beams or the other way.
Here is how two list members solved the problem.
I did make it to Radio Shack, and got some Tuner Cleaner. Noted they have Color Tuner Cleaner for $1 more than just tuner cleaner. Since the Cruise Missle is black, I figured I didn't need to pay extra for the color version. ;-)
It did make a bit of a mess, but it also seems to make the left switch housing look better. It also seems to have fixed the problem for now. In addition, the effort to operate the switch is down, much to the relief of my poor, old hands. Also,
the turn signals operate more easily now.
This page is from the www.xyz.com/st1100/ pages, with permission from the author Michael Galassi