floods last night , now motorbike will not start. advice pls

[dirtycash]

its a rental honda wave. left it outside last night then the floods came. today i tried to start it and it was just making a clicking noise. not turning over at all. i tipped it on its side and let all water drain out.

if i leave it for a day will it maybe start ? what could be wrong and how much would this cost to fix ?

thanks

[wantan]

What floods are you talking about? Was the bike standing in heavy rain or was the bike submerged? If so, how deep?

[Pib]

Sounds like a water logged starter, starter solenoid switch, and/or faulty/battery. Let it dry out for a day or two....move it from side to side to try to drain any water trapped in places....and you may need to have the battery checked.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Pib

[Dutchbike]

It all depends on deep it was in the water, You descripe when trying to start it just makes a clicking noise, could be electric but this also could mean the waterlevel reached the inlet/airbox and the engine internals are full of water, you can't compress water, so the starter would not turn.

It won't fix itself: drain the oil, replace the airfilter, sparkplug, new oil ( twice) and hope that rental shop does not find out :-) Good luck

[robblok]

It all depends on deep it was in the water, You descripe when trying to start it just makes a clicking noise, could be electric but this also could mean the waterlevel reached the inlet/airbox and the engine internals are full of water, you can't compress water, so the starter would not turn.

It won't fix itself: drain the oil, replace the airfilter, sparkplug, new oil ( twice) and hope that rental shop does not find out :-) Good luck

Otherwise dirtycash has to part with some of his cash.

[Lantern]

Remove the air filter, pull the spark plug out, put in high gear, leave ignition off, try pushing along the road or go down a hill if possible.

This will remove any water that is sitting above the piston in the combustion chamber.

[bartender100]

What floods are you talking about? Was the bike standing in heavy rain or was the bike submerged? If so, how deep?

What floods? you obviously don't live in Pattaya

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/856403-pattaya-flooding/#entry9862031

[kiniyow]

Tell the rental company the Bike Washed away in the Floods...They have Insurance and Maybe they believe it?

[dirtycash]

totally submerged in water 3ft deep. in pattaya

Edited September 17, 2015 by dirtycash

[mikebike]

Do not try starting any more. Remove and dry everything. Follow Lantern's suggestion re clearing piston.

[andrewrooney]

Might just be the starter. My wife's family had a Wave that got submerged pretty badly when her town flooded a couple years ago. Electric starter was shot but the bike still kick-started fine. I'd still let it dry out properly first just to be sure.

[Pib]

totally submerged in water 3ft deep. in pattaya

Time to take it to the shop....expect water is in "everything"...the cylinder(s), oil, electrical connections/switches, just everything. It's going to require a good draining and drying out.

[macknife]

This has happened to me a few times. Just push it to the nearest mechanics and they will get it going again for a few hundred baht.

[Jdietz]

And it may actually run long enough to drive it back to the rental shop..

[1BADDAT]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

[Pib]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

You are fine....it didn't get high enough to hurt anything. Tipping it backwards to get the water out of the exhaust would have been better than letting it burn/evaporate out of the exhaust but that's water under the bridge now.

[ssids]

change the oil, it was already mixed with water.

[1BADDAT]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

You are fine....it didn't get high enough to hurt anything. Tipping it backwards to get the water out of the exhaust would have been better than letting it burn/evaporate out of the exhaust but that's water under the bridge now.

Thanks. I would have tried the method you describe but its a pretty heavy bike for me to handle by myself to try and do that.

[Pib]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

You are fine....it didn't get high enough to hurt anything. Tipping it backwards to get the water out of the exhaust would have been better than letting it burn/evaporate out of the exhaust but that's water under the bridge now.

Thanks. I would have tried the method you describe but its a pretty heavy bike for me to handle by myself to try and do that.

But if you want to play it super safe and add peace of mind, changing the oil as ssids recommended would be a good, quick, and low cost thing to do.

[1BADDAT]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

You are fine....it didn't get high enough to hurt anything. Tipping it backwards to get the water out of the exhaust would have been better than letting it burn/evaporate out of the exhaust but that's water under the bridge now.

Thanks. I would have tried the method you describe but its a pretty heavy bike for me to handle by myself to try and do that.

But if you want to play it super safe and add peace of mind, changing the oil as ssids recommended would be a good, quick, and low cost thing to do.

Oil change at Honda Big Wing is 2400 baht (for synthetic). I looked at the sight glass for the oil level and it looks perfect, like brand new oil.

[steven100]

totally submerged in water 3ft deep. in pattaya

.......... what would you expect ........ of coarse it got water in the engine..

complete drain of oil, engine, fuel line or filter if water present, new plug, air filter ........

then should be fine if the batt is ok .. !!

[steven100]

This has happened to me a few times. Just push it to the nearest mechanics and they will get it going again for a few hundred baht.

or push it over the nearest cliff edge and watch it go then ....

[mikebike]

Oil change at Honda Big Wing is 2400 baht (for synthetic). I looked at the sight glass for the oil level and it looks perfect, like brand new oil.

Do it yourself for 1/3 of that price, or pay them to do it... why risk a 350,000 baht bike for 2400 baht?

[1BADDAT]

Oil change at Honda Big Wing is 2400 baht (for synthetic). I looked at the sight glass for the oil level and it looks perfect, like brand new oil.

Do it yourself for 1/3 of that price, or pay them to do it... why risk a 350,000 baht bike for 2400 baht?

Thanks for your insight but it is not accurate. First its a 200k bike not 350k. I don't have the liberty of doing it myself. I live in a condo building which does not allow oil changes on the property (or washing the bike even) and I have no tools. If I was back home I would do all the maintenance myself.

You know its 1/3 the price because 2/3 of it is labor? Price out a genuine Honda oil filter and synthetic oil and tell me if you still think I can do it for 1/3 the price.

[mikebike]

Semantics... u got the point!

[DILLIGAD]

[apetley]

OK guys similar question, but with another bike. I have a CBR 500 that had water up to about the foot pegs for an hour or so. I pushed it to dry land and let the water drain a little and started it up. I just bumped the starter to let it roll over and it fired right up. Water was coming out of the exhaust for quite a while. It didn't seem that there was any water that made its way to the combustion chamber (through the exhaust valves). I looked at the oil through the site glass and it looked pristine, no milky residue. I let it idle for a few minutes and then took it around the block to make sure all the water evaporated.

Should I do anything else? Everything seems fine with it.

You are fine....it didn't get high enough to hurt anything. Tipping it backwards to get the water out of the exhaust would have been better than letting it burn/evaporate out of the exhaust but that's water under the bridge now.

Thanks. I would have tried the method you describe but its a pretty heavy bike for me to handle by myself to try and do that.

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