[BillZ]

Ok, so, I just told my wife that I realize that my Wee is not a dirt bike and if I get stupid and pretend it's a dirt bike, I could really do some serious damage to my baby. (You get the picture of me sitting on my bike in the yard while I say this.)

So, the words are still hanging in the air and I decide that I want to take a quick ride around the block that in the area of Central Kentucky where we live. I turn down a country road that includes the opportunity to cross a creek and I get the wild idea that I can clear that creek because it's not rained in almost 10 days, so...

Half way across the creek the back end of my bike starts to float in about 18" of water and it's getting deeper. I hit the gas but I have zero traction and am slowing down and going over. I hit the water with the bike running and roll clear as I reach over and hit the kill switch.

So, I pop up un-hurt and plant my butt against the seat and my feet firmly in almost two feet of swift running current and my baby starts floating away from me. I turn around and grab the handle bars to lift the top end of the bike out of the water and the tires sink back down where they belong and I simply lift my bike up and throw my leg over the seat. Sitting there, I catch my breath and look down at the front axle to see just how deep this water really is to find it is well over the front axle.

I thumb the start button and nothing. Then I realize that I still have the kill switch on so the bike won't start and place that back into the run position. I cycle the ignition and hit the start button and the starter relay chugs but the starter does not spin. I have the bike in neutral so I push it out of the water, about fifty feet of squish-squish, and put the kick stand down while I catch my breath.

I cycle the ignition again and hit the starter and the relay chugs but the starter will not engage. I tried this about ten times. The dash lights clear all the start up routine and the head light works but the starter will not engage and the engine will not turn over.

I pushed my bike up the creek bank and up the neighbors drive way because it's concrete and I figure that I can bump start it on the drive and get myself home to find out what's wrong. It's about 87' and pretty hot but I make myself push her up that grade. Turn around and find second gear and start rolling, brace for the drag when I pop the clutch, and the back tire squeals but the engine will not turn over. I tried this twice with the same results. Well, since it won't start I walk up to the neighbor's to use their phone but no one is home.

It's about a tenth of mile to the next farm house but the road is mostly flat so I start pushing it over there. I knock on the door and this neighbor agrees to call my wife and tell her I haven't been run down by a truck, but can she come and get me? We load my bike in the back of the pickup using the cattle ramp and seems to have been placed in almost the exact position to make it as easy as possible and I tie my baby down.

Back home and I'm here asking, "what have I done now?" I've search for tip over switch or some kind of cut off because I seem to remember reading about that but I can't find anything. So, Greywolf the magnificient, what have I done? Please....:biggrinjester: "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

 

[greywolf]

First, I hope you didn't pull any water into the intakes. Cranking an engine with water in the combustion chamber can bend a connecting rod. Check to see if the clutch lever wires are both connected. Are you getting a clock, CHEC or FI in the clock position with the ignition on? Pull the spark plug caps and blow them and the spark plug wells dry.

This is really Black Lab's domain. He once drowned his bike, pulled the spark plugs to pump the water out then I think he rode home.

 

[waynestronach]

First, I hope you didn't pull any water into the intakes. Cranking an engine with water in the combustion chamber can bend a connecting rod. Check to see if the clutch lever wires are both connected. Are you getting a clock, CHEC or FI in the clock position with the ignition on? Pull the spark plug caps and blow them and the spark plug wells dry.

This is really Black Lab's domain. He once drowned his bike, pulled the spark plugs to pump the water out then I think he rode home.

"Wheels locks when clutch released and starter motor wouldn't turn engine over"
Sounds like water into the engine. Greywolf is on the mark when he says remove the plugs and crank the bike. Firstly dry/wring out air cleaner and get rid of much water was you can, then remove all four plugs and crank the bike until no more water. I would also probably drain the fuel tank if the bike was submerged for more than a few seconds.

If it wouldn't crank when the plugs are removed then ......:furious: you are in trouble.

good luck

PS I have a history of dropping bikes in rivers way out the back of nowhere and seen lots of other riders do it. Water deeper than 12" needs extreme care..Now that I'm older and more experienced I don't put my bike into water where I can't see the bottom all the way across unless I have seen at least two bikes go through before me, or I have walked through. If walking seems like a hassle and its too much trouble, turn around

 

[papachiax6]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Go to post Bypassing bank Angle Sensor (Tip Over Sensor) (Multi-page thread ). That should give you the info you need on the TOS.

 

[BillZ]

GW:

I have no error codes of any kind. The dash display is completely normal and the system checks cycle normally: the speedo and tach needles peg and return to zero. All lights are working including the head lights.

I pulled the seat and thumbed the starter button and held the starter relay in my hand while trying to start and the relay just "thumps/chugs" but the engine will not turn over.

There is still water dripping from the under carriage. The bike was running for a few seconds while tipped over before I hit the kill switch.

The water was pretty deep, about 18 to 24 inches, and I don't know how long it would take to "get wet" and draw any water into the intakes. I have the bike in the garage now so I am just waiting for ideas or ways to check things out. Maybe Black Lab with weigh in on this wet turtle of a Wee problem.:yikes: This is the second time I've tried to go off road and the second time I've fell over in water. Maybe there's a lesson here....hummmmm.

Thanx

 

[K1W1]

Firstly dry/wring out air cleaner and get rid of much water was you can, then remove all four plugs and crank the bike until no more water. I would also probably drain the fuel tank if the bike was submerged for more than a few seconds.

And drain and flush the engine oil and change the filter - several times. The engine will be full of fine river silt that will simply love wearing away on bearings and seals.

 

[waynestronach]

GW:

The water was pretty deep, about 18 to 24 inches, and I don't know how long it would take to "get wet" and draw any water into the intakes.

Even without engine running when bike falls, water can get into air intakes/air cleaner, then when you crank the bike, you move it into cylinder. First thing you should do on getting bike out of water is drain the air cleaner and check for water ingress. If this is what happened, then the engine is probably OK, just full of water..

Had something similar happen to a car I left where the tide could get it. Air cleaner was OK, but exhaust was full of water. On starting, it backfired and sucked water into engine, thereby making a bad situation worse.....

 

[greywolf]

The clutch lever connection check and spark plug cleaning, possibly WD40 to displace any water and blow drying the entire bike should handle the electrical needs. The others brought up good points. Is the starter actually turning the engine over or is i just trying? I got the impression it was cranking. Once you get it running, along with oil changes new filters, the wheel, steering and suspension bearings are places to consider cleaning/repacking or changing. Wheel bearings can't be cleaned. The act of removing them destroys them. On the other hand, their seals could have kept any water out.

 

[PTRider]

You need to remove the spark plugs and see if the engine will turn over. You can use the hex fitting on the left side, or you can put the transmission in 6th and push the bike. If it'll turn over smoothly, then do all the water removal and dry-out steps listed above. If it won't turn over, keep an eye on eBay for another engine.

 

[Black Lab]

Hello BillZ,
Your situation brings back fond memories for me......

In July of 2009, I had left Mount Desert Island, Maine, headed for one of my seasonal destinations; Miscou Island, New Brunswick, Canada. Just west of Moncton, I flipped over in a large mud puddle.......on the right side. Not Good!

I will shorten the story; water entered the cylinders and hydrolocked the bike. I pushed it 3.5 miles out of the woods, and slept on the side of the road. In the morning, I continued pushing the bike another 2 miles towards Moncton. I figured that I would eventually find help.

I did. I landed in the dooryard of Tony Buck. He had the day off of work, and the tools necessary to do the job. Together, Tony and I took my bike apart, drained the water, (using an air compressor to blow the water out of the spark plug holes.), changed the oil and the oil filter, put the bike back together, and rode it back home to MDI.

That was over 45,000 miles ago. You have NOT ruined your bike!

Here is a brief video from Tony's dooryard.

You are going to be okay. Remove the exhaust system, and remove the spark plugs. My bike is a 2007 model so it has two plugs per cylinder. I removed all four plugs and blew the water out using a compressor, instead of cranking it.

I recommend NOT cranking the motor with the starter to remove the water. You have piston rings and grit in your cylinders acting as sandpaper as you crank.

Change your oil, and your oil filter. Then change the filter again at your next oil change. You will see some "froth" of water through the sight glass of the clutch cover. It will evaporate as you ride. And, that is what you want to do! Ride the thing to get all of the moisture out of it!

Keep us posted.

B.L.

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

help from GrEywolf

perhaps GW can help more with the other part of the probelm - suggesting how the rider could deal with the wife's perception of the rider's blatant act of man-foolishness

because I think this ones a real doozy to make up for!

 

[greywolf]

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”
Albert Einstein

 

[TOScootz]

I'm hoping the OP eventually gets around to removing a spark plug and checking to see if he's got water in the engine. If he keeps pushing that starter button and trying to bump start a water locked engine, this thread will quickly turn into "how can I find a good used engine...cheap"!:thumbdown:

 

[Nova Scotia Strommer]

"I pushed my bike up the creek bank and up the neighbors drive way because it's concrete and I figure that I can bump start it on the drive and get myself home to find out what's wrong. It's about 87' and pretty hot but I make myself push her up that grade. Turn around and find second gear and start rolling, brace for the drag when I pop the clutch, and the back tire squeals but the engine will not turn over. I tried this twice with the same results. Well, since it won't start I walk up to the neighbor's to use their phone but no one is home."

It sounds like water in the cylinders to me and it's one thing to try the starter but that push start attempt might have caused you some grief.You need to get that water out as soon as possible.Good luck I have my fingers crossed but I am not holding my breath.

Hopefully everything will work out for the good and maybe...just maybe your wife will ok the purchase of a cheap dirt bike for you to get adventuresome on.

 

[sweetcreek]

this always worked for us

I can liken this to my old boat racing days. When we would flip a boat,
first disconnect the battery, pull the plugs, drain the oil, turn the engine over by hand get out as much water as possible, then flush it (fill the pistons) with fresh clean water to get out all the grit and crap, turning it over by hand, do this until you get clean water, blow it out with air, get everything as dry as possible, clean and spray ALL the electrical contacts with WD-40, squirt some oil into the pistons, turn it over by hand, try the starter to see if it will crank, if it cranks, put the plugs in, using fresh gas and oil, try to start it. Once it starts, you need to run the hell out of it, get it fairly hot so as to dry the water. Let it run for an hour or so to get rid of all the water and steam. Any moisture left in there will make rust and / or corrode your wiring. Don't be afraid to use lots of WD-40, WD stands for "water displacement." You need to do this ASAP, every hour water is in your motor it's making rust. You'll need to run it fairly hard 3 or 4 times a days for the next week or more, and hit it with the WD-40 each time you run it. You have to get it hot enough to turn the water to steam so it will evaporate.
If it the starter doesn't crank it, chances are you need to clean / flush, rebuild or replace your starter.
Lots of work but hopefully you'll save your engine.

 

[BillZ]

On the good side, I have another bike to ride while I work this issue out. On the bad side, OUCH! Well, live and learn. I like to work on my stuff and this is going to be an extreme learning experience.

However, we have planned vacation starting tomorrow so, is there any problem letting this project take an extended period of time?

I will want to take my time and a lot of pictures to keep this thing straight but going slow is my way of being sure I don't end up with "extra" parts. So, is there any reason to be concerned about completely this process expeditiously?

 

[Nova Scotia Strommer]

"You need to do this ASAP, every hour water is in your motor it's making rust." quote

 

[greywolf]

Do not walk away. Immediate attention is required. If you don't have time to take care of it. Bring it to somebody who can.

 

[Black Lab]

"You need to do this ASAP, every hour water is in your motor it's making rust." quote

Thank you for the tire!!! I picked it up yesterday!

B.L.

 

[BillZ]

Ok, I have it down to the plugs but it looks like you have to remove the radiator to pull the front plug? Is that right?