Drying out a drowned bike
 

Hi Kev this may seem like an odd post but any info would be appreciated.

During the last month ive come across two river crossings that stopped me in my tracks. I came across a river about 20ft wide with a round rock bottom. I walked it and found the water was up to my upper thigh at its deepest part. Being 110 odd k�s from the nearest service station and on my own I decided against trying to cross it and turned back. Three weeks later same sort of scenario, different location.

what would be the safest water level to cross in (xt660z with dna filter element and airbox top cover, no snorkel) and� if the bike was dropped halfway thru and submerged, what are the immediate steps to take in getting the bike to a stage safe enough to start and continue on to the nearest serviceable area (eg a hundred k�s up the road)? Is this even possible after a major dunking?

I know the bikes not a submarine, any type of submersion isn�t recommended. its happened to ppl in the past im sure and im curious as to the best actions to take.

Thanks,
Gandiva
As a ps are there any actions you could take to proletysize against damage prior to making the crossing (whether bike running ride thru or bike off pushed thru) ?

On the DB1K in jan this yer I droped my XTR in a river " again"
The motor filled with water , Wouldn't turn over on the starter..
remove spark plug / remove air cleaner cover & drain any water..
turn motor over on starter till all water has comes out & you can smell
fuel... check for spark...Put plug in & air cleaner cover back on..
start... Once it starts hold the revs up till the exhaust pipe clears its self of water...
Had to do this on a few bikes over the years... "two dam meany in fact"

Also..
If you know yer going to dump it... hit the kill switch..
Helps to stop the motor takeing in a guts full of water
if it's not running when it goe's under..

And I have always got a small can of CRC / WD40 with me

indeed. Kill switch, immediately.
ANd after running the engine for a while to expel all water, chech the oil. If water has gotten in, it will have become a mayonnaise-like substance. You'll need to replace it asap. Any type of oil (even vegetable cooking oil) is better then keeping on riding with the water/oil mix. Of course replace with genuine motorcycle engine oil at the first opportunity.

The weakest point for water entry is the point where water can enter the air box, so one can only ride through a river crossing keeping the water level below the lowest point of entry into the air box, in your case water must stay below the DNA filter.

No mater what air filter or air box mod you have if you tip the bike over & it goes under, water will enter the air box & possibly the motor. If this happens remove spark plug, remove the air filter & clean all the water out of the air box, the safest next step is to put the bike into gear (5th is best) & rock the bike back & forwards forcing the water out of the cylinder, I would unbolt the muffler if you have a cat as you don't really don't want to push water through the cat, stand the muffler upright to drain any water out of it, if you have an after market can I would not bother removing the can, I would then crank the bike over using the starter motor until all signs of water vapour have gone. Being fuel injected the fuel system should not be contaminated, refit the spark plug & start the bike, let run for a bit then refit the muffler. I would change the oil & filter if there is any signs of water contamination.

drying out a drowned bike
 

thanks very much guys.

Petenz am i right to assume the crc/wd40 is used to expel water from electrical components eg kill switch/starter assembly, ignition barrel etc?

Gandiva

Yes you are correct .......

thanks again guys, nice one