|
Click the picture to enlarge
|
As you can plainly see in
this picture, this device is stuck all the way open. It came out of a
2006 with roughly 20k miles on it. At what mileage point
it died is undetermined. So the question to ask yourself is actually
multifold. Is mine bad and how much is it going cost me to fix it? Well
here is what I noticed that prompted me to replace the thermostat:
I guess I was a bit
dumbfounded when not one, but two Honda mechanics both agreed that in 37
degree weather, one bar on the dash readout for the bike operating
temperature was considered normal. The reason offered me was that Honda
designed the bike to run cooler because of all the routing of the
plastic and the duct work which moves the heat away from the engine.
Therefore on “cold” days like this, you would probably never see 3 bars.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...........When I said, "Oh, I wonder why it didn’t
do this last winter, they had the audacity to suggest that It probably
was but I wasn’t watching it like I was today. Wow. I am an idiot!!
Surely it could not be the thermostat. Naw, no way!!! No one ever
replaces the thermostat on an ST1300. OMG. And no, they don’t read the
forums.
So to further
define how a bad thermostat manifests itself with relationship to 37
degree outdoor air temperature and the LED bar display, here it is;
At 40 MPH and over, open road, 1 bar and my MPG has
dropped 5-8 MPG
At 10-35 MPH – 2 bars
At 0-5 MPH, traffic – 2, sometimes 3 bars
At Idle for 45 seconds and the 2 bar goes to 3
During Idle, 3 bars and the fan seems to come on quite often.
Having said that,
after I replaced the thermostat and once again riding in 37 degree
weather, I have 3 bars at all times. My gas mileage is back up to normal
and the engine performs much smoother.
Now if you want to
take your bike to a dealer and have them service it, they will go by the
service manual procedure and they will remove the tank and the throttle
bodies to get to the thermostat, sounds pricey to me. Or you can follow
this procedure, do it yourself and pay no more than $30 out of pocket
for the thermostat and a couple of hours of your time by following this
excellently prepared procedure. You will need to join the ST1300
forum to view it. I highly recommend this forum to you if you are
unaware of it as it is definitely worth joining. As with any procedure,
if you don't feel comfortable executing it, don't do it.
I really hope tat the constant
engine heat during the summer didn't harm the engine too bad with this
bad part stuck open all the time. Since the bar readout only goes up to
3 bars, you really don't know how hot the engine really is getting. Kind
of wonder if that has anything to do with reported heat concerns on some
riders during the hotter months..... Hummmmmmm. |
