1. 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
    TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

Need some ideas, what to look at: bike dies in deep water

Discussion in '4 Stroke' started by OlderHuskyRider, Oct 23, 2013.

  1. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    This just occurred to me:

    Every time it would die in the creek, it was running, actively running and in gear. And it would seemingly dry out pretty quickly, and be running fine again until the next botched crossing.

    When it died at the car wash, it had water on it while it was NOT RUNNING and in neutral then when I went to leave, it actually started up and THEN it died and I can't remember if it died when I put it in gear or if it just died while still in neutral, and it took ALOT longer to dry out at the car wash.

    However, yesterday, I had put the hose water on the gear position indicator with the bike on a stand and in first gear and the rear tire rolling, and it never died.
  2. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    Got to thinking that maybe the induction of air is pulling in water somewhere, I checked the head vent tube, it is under constant induction pressure, the hose is OK, I reached in and plugged the outlet in the interior of the airbox and blew into the vent and it is air tight, no holes or leaks. I have visually checked the boot from the air box to the throttle body and I reached in with my hand to feel the interior and I can find no breech.
  3. Huskynoobee CH Sponsor ZipTy Racing

    Location:
    Castaic, CA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2011 TE449 2006 WR250
    Other Motorcycles:
    HDUltra Classic IT200 YZ250 SV650s
    Sounds like it needs to be running in order to sort of "cook" the water off. You have good troubleshooting skills so I'm sure you'll get it!
  4. stushusky Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450
    Maybe spray water up under the tank? It does get dirty in that area so can assume water gets there too from the front wheel. Try running it on a stand then you can have it gear with the wheel spinning
    This is a tough one to fathom
  5. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    I have a front fender tip bolted to skid plate at the down tube, it really protects my under-tank area, I'm pretty sure it's not there. You can just see the black fender tip in this pic.

    [IMG]
  6. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

    I think I may have it, going out to test it now, it fits all the evidence gathered thus far, and an additional piece of evidence, I went back to 2011 when I did the same creek ride, with NO PROBLEMS, so I started asking, what did I do to the bike after Nov 2011, that would affect water riding......
  7. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    Based on what I've seen and the evidence, I am 98% sure on this. Be sure and try and shoot it down. I'll go back and ID a winner from the pool of help I got.
    -------------------
    Well, if you were betting it was some of the work I've done, you wouldn't have gotten very good money odds, since 80% of what goes wrong on this bike is the direct result of work I've done on it, but you would have won the bet.....that said....

    When I titled this thread I should have said Bike Dies in CONTINUOUS Water instead of Deep Water, it was more the continuous supply of water than it was the depth, and that led to.....

    When I tested with hose water under the rear fender, I just kind of sprayed it back and forth, up and down, back and forth, but that did not really replicate what was happening in the creek, if you look at the creek vid, the rear tire really churns a big, continuous loop of water and it is a STEADY supply of water to ALL points under the fender, so that led to this....

    The video below shows me holding the hose at various points under the fender and sure enough, when installing the Acerbis gas tank long ago, the cutting/trimming I did on the right side plastic cover had removed the baffle/blocking plates and water was pouring into the airbox.

    But you say, "the Acerbis tank was on the bike for the creek run in 2011 and you had no problems with water dying"

    Sometime after Nov 2011, I stuffed a rag down into the airbox to soak up the oil that would drip out of/off of the filter. Over time, the rag would get saturated with oil, it would get heavier and it would get pounded down into the drain holes of the air box by riding, plugging up the only real exit for pooling water.

    As for the car wash, under the rear fender is always where I have to spend the most amount of times and once again, before Nov 2011, I don't remember having all the problems I had after I started putting the rag in there.

    The vid is not the greatest, but there's a couple of flashes where you can see big time water flowing in.

    danny318 likes this.
  8. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    Joedirt and Kawagumby got the closest, although the filter can get wet and the bike will run fine, there has to be a pool of water at the bottom of the airbox for enough water to get sucked in to kill the motor.

    Here's another vid of the creek, really shows the continuoud supply of water to all areas under the rear fender. My motor probably died 20 times on this creekbed.

  9. Kawagumby Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2009 TE310, 2014 TE250
    Other Motorcycles:
    WR250R, KDX220, 1987KDX200
    Well, if you told us you left a rag in the airbox we might've got closer!......LOL.
    Glad you figured it out!
  10. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
    Dang. Now I got to figure out how to keep my rag and allow water to be able to drain. Nicely done.
  11. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG
    UPDATE: PROBLEM NOT SOLVED

    Rode some mud today so I could wash it like a boss, spent 30 minutes the car wash, ran the battery flat, checked the airbox, all clear, checked spark, had spark, finally sprayed some WD40 on the exposed electrics and the TPS, all the stuff on the left side of the throttle body, it finally kicked over and I rode home. 'bout ready to just live with it, again.....and give up riding in the creeks or the rain....
  12. 268fords Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Powell, Wyoming
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08' TE510'
    Other Motorcycles:
    Honda CRF 100, Kawasaki KLX 110
  13. OlderHuskyRider Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2010 TE 450 - last of the ITA motors
    Other Motorcycles:
    Kwaka KLE, HD FXDWG

    It's seems that I am dealing with 2 different issues: the water build up in the airbox kills the motor for a few minutes and the hi-pressure wash kills the motor for 30 minutes. If I have solved the creek-running problem, I'd be 100% satisfied, I can avoid the car wash easily. I wish it wasn't a 10 hour drive to the creek ride...
    268fords likes this.