SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Chat about all makes of Maxi scoot here!
Flyingpanman
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 5:15 am
Current Ride: Honda SH350i
Location: Morecambe

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by Flyingpanman »

I rode a 65,000 mile sh300 a while ago. It ran great and the engine was fine.... except when it stalled. This happened on most stops and I read that others have experienced this problem. Can anyone tell me if there is a simple cure?

blackmoon181
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:09 am
Current Ride: SH300i + NC750x

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by blackmoon181 »

my 2011 Sh300i is in approaching 33k miles. I swapped the engine this summer due to mechanical not electrical issues but it gave my the opportunity to completely disconnect the wiring harness and inspect. Note i bought the with 2 previous owners in 2016/17 with 8k miles and it had barely seen any rain never mind a winter! it didn't know what was coming next.

There have been 2 issues on my bike. first have been an intermittent fault with the oil pressure switch. haven't investigated that one but probably cleaning the contacts will solve. Secondly the bike stalled out on me a few times, traced the fault to a corroded connector at the HT coil. A quick clean with some scotchbrite and hey presto. Ironically this happened on the same day whilst waxing lyrical to a work colleague about how reliable the scoot is!

Having owned a BV350 previously that had its fair share of electrical issues ( i had the connector to the voltage regulator corrode through (to the left of the radiator terrible place) which slowly shut everything down whilst travelling along the dual carriage way at 70mph) , IMHO honda's quality of connectors are better than its italian relative but i don't think its an order of magnitude better. the italians have come a long way (yes i know the sh is built in italy...). I think the important electrical connections in the SH are in a good place. the battery box for example is very well protected and the ECU is right up in the tail at the back of the bike.

salty winters are PTW's worst enemy. I think that would factor heavily in your buying decision. Buying a bike that hasn't spent its life near the sea or been ridden through the depths of winter will help massively. Note AFC50 seems to be working well for me at keeping the salt at bay!

MrGrumpy
Benefactor
Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by MrGrumpy »

blackmoon181 wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 3:07 am

Having owned a BV350 previously that had its fair share of electrical issues ( i had the connector to the voltage regulator corrode through (to the left of the radiator terrible place) which slowly shut everything down whilst travelling along the dual carriage way at 70mph) ,
Ah...I had that once! But once only - and when it had ground to fully to a halt, happily restarted and ran perfectly there after. So maybe not the same cause. Italian.......etc

blackmoon181
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:09 am
Current Ride: SH300i + NC750x

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by blackmoon181 »

there was a lot of talk on modernvespa about a flaw in the spark plug cap for the BV which would cause intermittent power loss and stalling. fortunately it never happened to my bike.

MrGrumpy
Benefactor
Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by MrGrumpy »

blackmoon181 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 4:12 am there was a lot of talk on modernvespa about a flaw in the spark plug cap for the BV which would cause intermittent power loss and stalling. fortunately it never happened to my bike.
Mine never stalled, just once when I was going along a dual carriageway, I had the sensation of losing power until it came to a halt (quite scary as it wasn't a good place). However, it restarted instantly and ran happily thereafter.

Flyingpanman
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 5:15 am
Current Ride: Honda SH350i
Location: Morecambe

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by Flyingpanman »

The 65,000 miler I rode indicates that mechanics are reliable. Electrical problems - well, if a bike lives outside it's gonna need some protection in that department. I suppose electrics are general cheaper to replace, but time finding the problem could be considerable. However, I prefer to do my own maintenance/rebuilds and I can cope with electrics.

The other thing I noticed is the latest (2016) has slightly longer foot space than the previous models - good for my size 13 feet.

Has anyone had experience of the earlier models (the 2007, and 2011) and can compare them to the 2016 on?

I ask because I'm looking at low mileage sh300's and the occasional earlier models pop up with very few miles. Tempting, but I think I need the latest model's foot space, keyless ignition, and improved suspension, etc.

TIA.

MrGrumpy
Benefactor
Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by MrGrumpy »

I found my 2008(?) model impossibly cramped and I'm only very average height with size 9 feet, so I can't imagine how bigger people get on with them. There again, I'm used to the relatively huge space the Tmax has.

Flyingpanman
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 5:15 am
Current Ride: Honda SH350i
Location: Morecambe

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by Flyingpanman »

I'm using a Honda Silverwing and find that comfortable, but too weighty. I want a lighter machine to load into my campervan yet still have decent peformance. That's why I'm thinking of a SH300.

blackmoon181
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:09 am
Current Ride: SH300i + NC750x

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by blackmoon181 »

Flyingpanman wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:50 am The 65,000 miler I rode indicates that mechanics are reliable. Electrical problems - well, if a bike lives outside it's gonna need some protection in that department. I suppose electrics are general cheaper to replace, but time finding the problem could be considerable. However, I prefer to do my own maintenance/rebuilds and I can cope with electrics.

The other thing I noticed is the latest (2016) has slightly longer foot space than the previous models - good for my size 13 feet.

Has anyone had experience of the earlier models (the 2007, and 2011) and can compare them to the 2016 on?

I ask because I'm looking at low mileage sh300's and the occasional earlier models pop up with very few miles. Tempting, but I think I need the latest model's foot space, keyless ignition, and improved suspension, etc.

TIA.
i own a 2011 and have only sat on the newer models in the showroom. with size 10 feet i'm right on on the limit in terms of footspace. i would agree that with 13's you won't be able to put your feet straight forward but may be able angle them outwards similar if you were carrying a bag of shopping or some other load on the curry hook inbetween your legs. You might mind you could live with it, you might find not!

the newer ones have have definitely more floor space and underfloor space. their is only so much packaging magic they can do so i would imagine they have raised the seat height slightly to get more underseat space. unsure about the suspension. there after affordable aftermarket options but it ain't no wing or t-max!

remember euro 4 came into place in 2016 where a number of manufacturers altered their exhaust systems and states of tune. can't speak about the sh300 directly but the BV350 definitely saw a noticeable power drop.

User avatar
Taipan
Benefactor
Posts: 962
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:47 pm
Current Ride: Honda NC700X DCT Tmax mk2
Location: Essex!

Re: SH300/i high mileage electrical reliability

Post by Taipan »

I took my 2008 SH300 to over 80k miles. Only electrical problem was the 30a relay which i replaced with a 2nd hand one off ebay.

Post Reply