Getting bike wet

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Getting bike wet

Post by PKarl »

Does anyone else have a problem after washing your bike or riding in the rain that it misses carrys on till dry im guessing the water is getting to the coils or plugs but cant figure out how
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by triton28 »

make sure the spark plug well drain holes are clear and free draining as that may be part of your problem.
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cushman eagle (Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:43 am)
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by PKarl »

OK will check that ..thanks
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triton28 (Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:58 am)
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by SgtSlag »

Give your plug wires a careful once-over. If they are cracked, replace them. Look carefully at the boots, as well. My '93 has always run strong in the rain. We ride in rain nearly every long trip, and many short weekend day trips, as well. If you have the proper rain gear, it is not a big issue -- assuming your bike's electrical system is sealed up (no cracked plug wires, or boots)!

Make sure you keep an eye on the tire tread depth, as well. When the tread gets low, put new skins on! You only have two tires between you, and the sandpaper roadway! Cheers!
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by GrandpaDenny »

I ride in the rain, snow, wind, you name it. The only time I've ever had any problems was last, oh, I think it was October or early November, we had the remnants of some hurricane come through here. I had to ride in it, and then had to let the bike sit outside uncovered. After Utnapishtim rowed away, my voltmeter and USB ports didn't work, and neither did my mute button. As the bike dried out the mute button returned to normal functionality. The voltmeter and USB ports I had to replace.
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by PKarl »

I put new wires on 3 years ago didn't change a thing
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by SgtSlag »

My guess is that the issue is limited to the High Voltage circuit: coil + wires + boots + plugs. You could try using a spray bottle, with water:

1. Remove the tupperware, to expose the HV circuit elements;
2. Start the bike, dry, with a fan blowing on the radiator to prevent overheating;
3. Mist the parts, one by one, waiting several minutes between, until the miss occurs.

If the wires and the boots are good, it only leaves the coils, themselves. Unfortunately, those are likely the most expensive thing to replace. It may be possible, if you can see cracks in the housings, to seal them up with a light application of silicone caulking -- after they dry out fully. Good luck! Cheers!

:thmup:
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ekap1200 (Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:06 pm)
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by Nails »

I would try to figure out which cylinder(s) are missing. Maybe you can see it in the plugs. If it's just one, then I'd take another look at the plug insulator (or swap the plug, maybe with a different cylinder) and wires (you can swap these, too). If two of them (either 1 & 3 or 2 & 4), then I'd look closer at that coil. (If it's 1 & 2 or 3 & 4, then you probably can't really tell which is actually missing.)

You likely know that, like most bikes, the plugs fire on both compression and exhaust. You generally can swap 1 & 3 or 2 & 4 wires at will. You can also swap the coils, as long as you swap the primary wire too. (The coils are identical. They have a reversible bracket to work on either side.) But the coils can be a bitch to access. On long trips, I carry one spare coil and one long SP wire.

If the miss is too weak to identify in the plug (or seeing which header is slow to heat up), a timing light sometimes reveals it. But other times, it's hard to tell. That might indicate a problem in the primary circuit. Dunno.

New wires can go bad. It happens in the best of families.
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by cushman eagle »

Nails wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:05 pm I would try to figure out which cylinder(s) are missing. Maybe you can see it in the plugs. If it's just one, then I'd take another look at the plug insulator (or swap the plug, maybe with a different cylinder) and wires (you can swap these, too). If two of them (either 1 & 3 or 2 & 4), then I'd look closer at that coil. (If it's 1 & 2 or 3 & 4, then you probably can't really tell which is actually missing.)

You likely know that, like most bikes, the plugs fire on both compression and exhaust. You generally can swap 1 & 3 or 2 & 4 wires at will. You can also swap the coils, as long as you swap the primary wire too. (The coils are identical. They have a reversible bracket to work on either side.) But the coils can be a bitch to access. On long trips, I carry one spare coil and one long SP wire.

If the miss is too weak to identify in the plug (or seeing which header is slow to heat up), a timing light sometimes reveals it. But other times, it's hard to tell. That might indicate a problem in the primary circuit. Dunno.

New wires can go bad. It happens in the best of families.
I think Nails meant that 2+3 use the same coil,and 1+4 use the same coil as both those sets of pistons rise and fall together.
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by Nails »

cushman eagle wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:59 am I think Nails meant that 2+3 use the same coil,and 1+4 use the same coil as both those sets of pistons rise and fall together.
Thanks. Brain fart.
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by cushman eagle »

Nails wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:31 pm
cushman eagle wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:59 am I think Nails meant that 2+3 use the same coil,and 1+4 use the same coil as both those sets of pistons rise and fall together.
Thanks. Brain fart.
Bin there,done that :laughing: :rolling:
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by PKarl »

Great suggestions i will definitely try that its gonna have to wait a bit its planting season here in pa if it stops raining long enough
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by ekap1200 »

Back to the post on CARB PROBLEMS, as I had suggested to look further into the ignition rather than make adjustments. I have seen the plug wells full of debris and drains clogged causing the cap boots to rot. NGK sell the complete plug cap with the boots for very little cost. Snip just about 1/4 inch off the wire when replacing the caps. Make darn sure you used compressed air to clear the well of all debris. You don't want to get anything down in the jugs. Hope you get to the root of this issue, its riding season ...
Gene.
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Re: Getting bike wet

Post by PKarl »

I have ordered all new plug caps and going to try that along with new gas with no seafoam see where i end up..I saw a video on youtube with a guy saying make sure your center sync screw is not bottomed out mine was bottomed out to sync everything together, any idea why bottomed out center sync screw would cause problems ?
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