ST heat issues

[hotglue]

Ok.. I decided this needs to be posted here rather than the general board.... As most may know, there is a heat issue with the 13 ST's. FB's had enough heat to melt the plastic cover on the brake master cyl. and she was having issues with boiling gasoline in the tank. The temps on the engine are running in the normal area, but the heat load on the interior of the Tupperware is excessive. Pulled the rear spark plug this evening, and it showed a very lean condition, which could lead to above normal heat in the exhaust.... which could lead to other issues we are seeing. Here is a pic of the rear plug showing a very lean condition.

 

[NancysToy]

That's lean alright! :yikes: It is worrisome when there isn't a spec of color and the ground electrode is covered with white residue. Glad there were no signs of aluminum. The knock sensors must work well. Now the question becomes one of whether this is O2 sensor or ECM programming related...or both.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

Mark, I'm glad you are getting to the bottom of the heat issue. You should send a bill to BRP for your services.

 

[AWEInCA]

What does lean condition mean?
What should the plug look like?

 

[MikeinGA]

Ok.. I decided this needs to be posted here rather than the general board.... As most may know, there is a heat issue with the 13 ST's. FB's had enough heat to melt the plastic cover on the brake master cyl. and she was having issues with boiling gasoline in the tank. The temps on the engine are running in the normal area, but the heat load on the interior of the Tupperware is excessive. Pulled the rear spark plug this evening, and it showed a very lean condition, which could lead to above normal heat in the exhaust.... which could lead to other issues we are seeing. Here is a pic of the rear plug showing a very lean condition. View attachment 70996

Heat issues use a good header heat tape to rap the headers, make a heat shield for the catalytic converter, make a heat blanket for the gas tank and for the Tupperware panels.
Boiling gasoline in the in the gas tank. Keep more than 2 gal. of gasoline when riding and fill tank before parking after riding when the air temperature 80+ deg.
To stop the lean condition in the engine. Use Marine Stable to the gas to stabilize the gas/alcohol mix in the gas tank and use 89+ octane gas.
That's IMHO.

Mike

 

[hotglue]

I have shielded the fuel tank, But I really need to address the air fuel mixture ... the bike is running LEAN... the hot fuel can exasperate this, hope the shielding on the tank will help. but richening the fuel mix will help also. Wrapping the pipes will help move BTUs out the back... and shielding the master cyl will guard from the header heat.... so many variables... Trouble shooting is : a to b, b to c.. etc... don't wanna go a to d...MAN... I HATE having to do this on a brand new bike!!!!!!!!!! The bike is PARKED until the brake master cyl is replaced...

 

[Chupaca]

Seems to me..!!

there seems to be a good deal of issues on heat and the ST. Hope we aren't the only ones looking into it. But we hear nothing...:dontknow:

 

[Jeriatric]

What does lean condition mean?
What should the plug look like?

Lean refers to the amount of fuel being introduced to the cylinder. Lean is less fuel than a rich mixture. Keeping it simple.

 

[hotglue]

What does lean condition mean?
What should the plug look like?

search: spark plug condition, and you will find a LOT of info with pictures.

 

[AWEInCA]

I have shielded the fuel tank, But I really need to address the air fuel mixture ... the bike is running LEAN... the hot fuel can exasperate this, hope the shielding on the tank will help. but richening the fuel mix will help also. Wrapping the pipes will help move BTUs out the back... and shielding the master cyl will guard from the header heat.... so many variables... Trouble shooting is : a to b, b to c.. etc... don't wanna go a to d...MAN... I HATE having to do this on a brand new bike!!!!!!!!!! The bike is PARKED until the brake master cyl is replaced...

I'm with you. I'm a little concerned about ridding mine. Especially this summer. What are you using to richen the fuel?

 

[hotglue]

May go with a Power Commander. Other than a canned map, I would need to get the bike on a dyno to dial in the values for air/fuel mixtures at different rpm/throttle settings. Will have to look at the other options. But it would be best if BRP would send out an ECM flash to richen the mix.... could still piggyback a PC to dial in a tune, but would have a better base to start from, and something to fall back to if the PC goes out.