Engine cutting out when wet
 

Had an interesting moment a fortnight with the engine cutting out at 80mph in the fast lane of the M4 in heavy spray. Had to wait for it to dry out before getting going again.

Just wondered if others had had similar issues and how to waterproof the bike. My guess would be that it affected the HT system and lots of WD40 around the coil and plug should help.

The bike does have a high mudguard which likely allows more spray off the front wheel.

Just occurred to me that I should read fault codes from the bike in case there's any chance it points to the system that failed.

sounds like a regulator problem. it's well known on here. search it and you will find plenty

A temporary/intermittent interruption in power is more than likely going to be an HT fault. It is not unheard of on XTs (and a lot of other bikes) for the joint between HT lead and coil to let in a little moisture in extreme wet weather. The best way to solve future problems is to coat the outside of the joint with silicone grease (when everything is dry). It will be more effective than WD40 in the long term as it provides a thicker seal against moisture penetration. WD40 is good for displacing moisture initially, but once it has been applied it doesn't have a long-lasting effect.

Fwiw, I noticed a gap where the ht lead goes into the coil on my XTZ. I cleaned the area and used marine silicone to seal it for two reasons: first, obviously, was to seal the area, and second, it adds strength to what is clearly a weak joint.

Thanks all. Silicon grease ordered.

How come you wanna wrap your wife, mate? Most of us spend our entire lives trying to unwrap them!

Having said that, wrapping a wife sure would better than siliconing her - and no, I'm not going any further with that.

I wonder where we'd get that amalgamation tape here in OZ... It sounds great. Edit - just saw your ebay suggestion...

Thanks guys.

Bailing on the central reservation of the motorway isn't an experience I want to repeat. I had two lorries to my inside and had a couple of seconds to figure out what the safest thing to do was. Wound up leaving the bike in the central reservation and getting myself over to the hard shoulder.

The Highways Agency stopped the traffic to recover the bike which by then had dried out and ran fine.

Somebody tell me what a ht unit is so I can do some preventative wrapping

Tape ordered from fleabay. I bought 10m of the stuff, but probably not enough to wrap a wife! Even a small one. :ky:

Thanks for the info