Honda ST1300 Section > Suspension ST1300

WARNING - Rear Suspension Issue Can = Pannier Loss or Brakes Failure! - UPDATED!

(1/3) > >>

DougieNZ:
Hi All,

Last year I mysteriously lost (and never recovered) a pannier off my bike - which has done just under 100,000km. The pannier was locked on and mysteriously the latch securing the pannier (holding it down) was bent up, allowing the pannier to exit the bike. I put it down to the pannier not being secured properly and/or perhaps the upward pressure from me checking the pannier was secured bent the latch. I replaced the pannier. How wrong was I???

On a recent trip to the South Island I heard a funny noise coming from the rear of the bike. The bike was fully loaded including a top box. Preload was set to full. I stopped a couple of times to check it and couldn't see anything. It was only when I got my wife to bounce the bike while I was looking underneath that I discovered the issue. The rear suspension was allowing the bike to travel so far down (without "bottoming out") that the rear brake calliper was hitting underneath the pannier. Where it was striking was right where the hose enters the calliper (including the bolt securing the hose to the calliper).

My old pannier was constructed of stern stuff. So in that case the latch was bent and the pannier exited the bike. My new one was of less stern stuff, so the calliper actually punched a hole in the bottom of the pannier, and that was the noise I was hearing. Worst case scenario I could have lost my brakes due to damage to the hose. I could also have lost another pannier.

I thought I was really important I posted this on here to warn other owners to keep an eye out for this issue.

UPDATE: READ BELOW THE SOLUTION. THIS WAS AN ISSUE WITH REAR BRAKE CALLIPER FITTING!!

Out of interest - any suggestions for repair/replacement?

Regards to all and Happy New Year

StinkyPete:
Wow.  :eek  That sounds like a failure of a major suspension component.   I'd drop it into a dealer just for a quote, and let them investigate and find the problem for you.

DougieNZ:
Yes - I am getting similar feedback from the STOC.com site. They think design should mean the spring bottoms out before the calliper hits the pannier. Makes sense to me too.

Biggles:
Very odd that no one else has ever experienced it, especially when it appears to be new to the highly experienced US site contributors.
Perhaps yours has a defective spring- one that wasn't heat-treated properly during manufacture.

STeveo:
Mine used to bottom out with a full load, and it never hit the pannier. Are your pannier mounts bent, allowing the caliper to hit it?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page