pushing a bike... again

[alex.s]

was riding home for lunch and got rained on. it was some serious rain. was soaked through and through and then my fzr broke down again. the airbox was filled with water. first one cylinder stopped firing and i knew what was coming... WOT got me close to home... but then another cylinder stopped and i started slowing down... then it was down to one cylinder and it was barely giving any power... finally that one stopped. had to push it the last quarter mile. seems like it gets easier each time.

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by alex.s

was riding home for lunch and got rained on. it was some serious rain. was soaked through and through and then my fzr broke down again. the airbox was filled with water. first one cylinder stopped firing and i knew what was coming... WOT got me close to home... but then another cylinder stopped and i started slowing down... then it was down to one cylinder and it was barely giving any power... finally that one stopped. had to push it the last quarter mile. seems like it gets easier each time.

Excuse me, is that bad for the engine and can it be fixed if it is?

[Mazakawi]

Yes, running an engine with water in it is a bad idea. It's a good way to hydrolock the engine or just completely grenade the internals.

If you knew there was water being sucked in why didn't you just stop and call somebody with a truck/trailer?

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by Mazakawi

Yes, running an engine with water in it is a bad idea. It's a good way to hydrolock the engine or just completely grenade the internals.

If you knew there was water being sucked in why didn't you just stop and call somebody with a truck/trailer?

That's what I was wondering...how would you know if it was being sucked in BEFORE a cylinder stopped working?

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Mazakawi

If you knew there was water being sucked in why didn't you just stop and call somebody with a truck/trailer?

maybe you didn't read my original post. i got dumped on all of the sudden. about 30 second into the heavy rain the bike started to die. about 15-30 seconds after that it died. and... a quarter mile... why would anyone bother towing a bike a quarter mile? push it.

btw have you heard of a 6 stroke engine? you should look it up if not, you might not think so harshly about water afterward. there's a difference between having some water in there and flooding it with water like when you dump an engine in the lake

p.s. the engine will be fine. once the airbox dries out.

[nickjpass]

Originally Posted by alex.s

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p.s. the engine will be fine. once the airbox dries out.

How long does that usually take? Will there be any damage to the engine at all?

[Cuongism]

I don't think he realizes you're a professional bike pusher. Anytime I run out of gas, I call Alex up to push my bike home. Better than AAA

[Mazakawi]

Originally Posted by alex.s

maybe you didn't read my original post. i got dumped on all of the sudden. about 30 second into the heavy rain the bike started to die. about 15-30 seconds after that it died. and... a quarter mile... why would anyone bother towing a bike a quarter mile? push it.

btw have you heard of a 6 stroke engine? you should look it up if not, you might not think so harshly about water afterward. there's a difference between having some water in there and flooding it with water like when you dump an engine in the lake

p.s. the engine will be fine. once the airbox dries out.

I did read your post. You said that you noticed that one cylinder stopped firing. Then you lost a second. At no point in that post do you mention any kind of time frame. For all I know you rode for 20 minutes without one cylinder.

Yes, being a quarter mile from home does make a difference. I likely wouldn't call for help there either. But like I said, you never mentioned how far you were when you lost the first cylinder.

With your time frame in the quoted post pushing it is the better option.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by nickjpass

How long does that usually take? Will there be any damage to the engine at all?

it started up with no effort this morning and i rode it to work and back. probably my imagination but the engine feels smoother after the wash. the water will contribute to rust overall (esp steel exhausts... they hate the rain... aluminum is so much better) and on certain parts of the inside of the engine but since there's oil flowing around in there it shouldn't effect too much (as long as you don't leave it and let the rust start up)

hydrolocked engines happen because literally instead of air going into the intake, only water goes in and completely fills the cylinder when it trys to compress. usually this much water would only be able to be pumped through if the intake is completely submerged in water. water doesn't compress as much as a gas like air would, and so the force required to move the piston all the way to the top overcomes the force required to break the connecting rod at the bottom of the piston which connects it to the crank shaft, or the crank shaft itsself, or possibly some bearings. once the piston is no longer connected to the crank shaft, it's free to slam into the top of the cylinder and destroy the valves/spark/head causing more debris to tear up the cylinder walls, or drop down to far and hit something else down there, maybe destroying the crankshaft... basically when that happens the engine or at least that head is destroyed and bursts in to a bunch of pieces inside.

[nickjpass]

That would be a waste of a engine!

[CZroe]

Once, I fully warmed the Ninjette (actually left it idling about 30 mins) and it started raining just as I hopped on to leave work. A couple stop lights later, it was stumbling and losing power and FELT as if I was running on one cyl. Soon, it died and would not start at all. I pushed it to a gas station only to find that I still had a gallon of gas, but now it would start just fine. Why? Because I OPENED THE TANK when I filled it up. The tank formed a vacuum when it cooled rapidly.

Is there any chance this happened to you too on a completely different bike? I didn't want rain in the tank, so I didn't try to open the lid sooner.

[nickjpass]

That's weird Czroe. Never heard of anything like that.

[alex.s]

haha i wish it were that simple but we tried that last time it happened czroe.