bike drowning!

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cornishwrecker220
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bike drowning!

Post by cornishwrecker220 »

Whilst out riding today my friend managed to drop his bike (ktm 300 2 stroke) in a fast flowing river. Although the water wasn`t that deep he managed to keep the bike from being totally submerged however because the front wheel was facing down stream, water flowed into his tail pipe & filled the cylinder,not enough to cause a hydro-lock though...we removed the air filter which was quite dry along with the float nut..again no water came out..removed the spark plug & stood the bike on the rear wheel..kicked it over & lots of water came out the hole & the tail pipe..we decided to turn the bike upside down & put the bike in top gear before spinning the wheel around to get out the last drop of water from the cylinder..it worked..put everything back together & hey presto several kicks & it fired up!..we proceeded to do a good 30 mile ride with no other problems....A quick question even though we got the water out & rode for 30 odd miles ( any water would surely have evaporated? ) will his bike suffer any major internal future problems ? being a 2 stroke i`m guessing the oil mix will help keep any internal rust on the bearings/crank etc at bay?? anyone on here ever drown their kdx??
pumpguy
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bike drowning!

Post by pumpguy »

While it's never happened to me, I have heard similar stories before. After the water was pumped out, the bike ran fine. Might be a good idea to do compression and leak down tests just to be sure the sealing is still good.
canamfan
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Re: bike drowning!

Post by canamfan »

If you guys rode another 30 miles w/ no problems your good to go. All traces of moisture will be evaporated.
bmann
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bike drowning!

Post by bmann »

I would change the oil a couple of times to sure it's all good.
Roadhazardguy
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Re: bike drowning!

Post by Roadhazardguy »

It happens all the time with jet skis, just get them nice and hot for a good while afterward and they're good.
Tony
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1980 KD 80
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Julien D
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Re: bike drowning!

Post by Julien D »

So the real issue here isn't the water. You got it running, and most of not all the moisture is gone. Since river water entered through the exhaust and into the cylinder, it carried with it the usual stuff you find in river water. Silt, sand, dirt, etc. I would expect to be doing the bottom end sooner than he would have had to otherwise. Might get lucky, might not. Same thing happened to my buddies KTM 200. Ran for a good for a few more rides, then the bottom end went all to hell.
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