Water Crossings

[gwowzer]

Just out of curiosity.

How comfortable are you guys with water crossings?

How deep are you willing to submerge your bike?

[Megadan]

I've gone up to the footpegs before on a couple of occasions. The real trick to water crossings is knowing what is under the surface. The two crossings I have done were on pretty clear streams and you could see the sand bed on the bottom. What gets you is the surprise rocks, or extremely soft silt that you sink into.

[mtiberio]

on water crossing (especially those also used by cars/trucks), there will be a semi circular sand bar just down stream of the crossing. If the water is flowing right to left, it will be positioned like the letter C. This sand bar will represent a high point, and give you a shallower area to cross on.

[TxTaoRider]

This is a pretty good question. I've ridden through water about 2 ft deep on my polaris outlaw (sport quad) and deeper on my other polaris utvs, so long as the water stays below the vents and air intake. But they have reverse so I creep along and back up if things go south. Lol. The real key is to let your buddies go first and see if they make it.

This has little to do with the OP question, and I'd like to know the answer too. I assume our little bikes are pretty water tight as long as you still have your air box and factory sealed cdi (some of the aftermarket boxes don't look sealed). So I'd guess you could go in pretty deep.

[mtiberio]

what he said, let buddies go first. I have had water way over my foot pegs, no problem.

[gwowzer]

I was wondering the most how deep you are willing to submerge the bike/engine without worry.

[pete]

been to the tank a few times...
hard to do on some rivers... If possible keep moving the wake off the front
of the bike will help keep water away from the air box intake..

have filled the motor with water a couple times.... removing spark plug to pump it out..
So if you can hit the kill switch before it goes under... less chance of it ingesting water..


..

[Emerikol]

I live in Phoenix, AZ... What's a water crossing?

[TheChairman]

Ive had it up to the middle of the airbox on my TT250. Figure that to be about mid-calf.

Always take it slow. If you are unsure the conditions of the bed of the water you are crossing, go real slow. Be prepared to kill the engine quickly if things turn south.

Preparing for crossing water in general. It's important to know that an internal combustion engine will run just as happy underwater as it will above water. So long as it has air, fuel, spark, and water does not make it into the internal cavities.

The first order of business on any off-road vehicle that will see water is to pack the spark plug cap(s) with dielectric grease. Then if the cap and wire is of the type that can be separated, seal that seam or pack that with grease as well. Same applies to where the wire attaches to the ignition coil.

You may also want to seal up any places where wires enter the engine itself, such as the stator housing or the transmission.

[gwowzer]

Yeah, after thinking about it, I suppose gaskets are gaskets and all of the same warnings and precautions apply to these motors just like any other, Chinese or not.
I guess my true question is if anyone is extra worried about our bikes exposure to moisture vs. the big four.
Are the bearings just as good of greased thoroughly?

[TheChairman]

The answer is no.

In my experience no matter if the bearings are cheap Chinese or the finest precision American or German, they will fail prematurely when subjected to water and sand/mud. It doesn't matter how well they are sealed. It will get in, and it will destroy them.

The grease they use at the factory is of the brown, cloudy looking type. This is the low end general purpose stuff and gets hard quickly. Your swingarm pivot will be the first to go as it's the least sealed. Followed by the wheels, then the head bearing but not always in that order.

You wouldn't be wasting your time by getting that stuff out of there and repacking with a quality grease like Lucas Red n' Tacky or some other good marine grade grease.

[alex_in_az]

Originally Posted by Emerikol

I live in Phoenix, AZ... What's a water crossing?

I think we call them washes

[Emerikol]

Originally Posted by alex_in_az

I think we call them washes

You mean like a dry wash? Like the Salt 'River'?

[Essayons]

Originally Posted by Emerikol

You mean like a dry wash? Like the Salt 'River'?

Water crossing? I thought they were ancient roads, like Nazca lines made by aliens.

[ChipToothy]

I’ve been balls deep numerous times. Carry a spare CDI because once they get wet it takes days for them to dry. I’ve wrapped mine up in enough baggies and duct tape to choke an ox.


Good bearings are cheap and install easy. The Cush drive bushings however are not and very difficult to remove. I had to Dremel mine out which took hours and overheated and ruined 2 Dremels that I have to replace. I could have bought a brand new wheel for the same price as the pins and bushings. Bearings were a breeze though, they tap right out and right back in.