SV wet front plug syndrome

[andrewsmith]

a slightly better spray is acf 50, it takes a lot to wash off and isnt conductive

Pah I have just ordered a fender extender, after coping without one in the wet before I thought, great my bike is fine without one! woohoo!!
Hmm but on a run out this week got caught in a really bad downpour ( even my underwear was wet! yuk!) and the bike started to cough and splutter! oh crap thinks I as its struggling to get up the hills and i'm now coming to a junction where I have to stop. Tried to keep engine revving but nah - it cut out, waved the car behind me past and managed to get bike started going again.. phew!!
Was passing the Sun Inn just as rain was easing off so me and mate decided to stop there and dry us and bikes off and have a brew, rather than carry on with lumpy engine.

Did the trick cause 2 cups of tea later the bike fired up and after about a 30 seconds of lumpiness it was running fine again. So headed back home, put the bike away, threw leathers into the dryer and ordered a fender extender lol!!

Will try the Vaseline thing too!! cheers for all the tips!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by andrewsmith

a slightly better spray is acf 50, it takes a lot to wash off and isnt conductive

But it's not a water dispersant is it?

Which I would argue, for dispersing water, a water dispersant is ideal.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

But it's not a water dispersant is it?

Which I would argue, for dispersing water, a water dispersant is ideal.

I agree. I would go as far as suggesting that GT85 would be a better dispersant than WD40 dependant on application used for. WD40 being 'Water Dispersant' and 40 days, being how long the application should be effective for.

I *think* GT85's name is based on a similar convention... 'General Teflon' or something, 85 days.

It certainly doesn't dry out as quickly as WD40 does. GT85 is a far better product IMHO.

So...where to squirt the WD40/GT85 (apart from the obvious 'around the sparkplug and HT cap')?

I'm bedeviled by pesky H20 at the moment, and even after Vaseline on the plugs, it still coughs and fails on front (I think) cylinder after getting soaked. Seems worst when I lean the bike over after coasting into a corner and then open the throttle to pick the bike up and power out. Worst case of this led to me dropping the bike last winter when it totally died on a hairpin, and since then I've started resorting to blipping the throttle with the clutch in as I'm leant over approaching the apex of sharp corners to be sure it will pull when I need it to. It ran like a dream for the first few weeks after I had major service (new plugs, throttle body balancing, TPS adjustment etc) but has got much worse again since the first ride in the wet.

I've gotta admit that I'm not well up on what all the little electrical components on modern bikes* do or where they all are on the SV. I can find the coils and assume they're worth a squirt, but is there anywhere else I should be targeting?

*my last good 'learning about new stuff' brain cell died too many years ago.

Fender extender solves problems with from wet plug, end of.

I've been through fords and flooded roads up to the ends of the forks and not had an issue, and have ridden the worst of weather we've had in the last two years and as per my comments in the other thread you posted on last night regarding front wet plug problem, the only time I've ever had an issues was a brief period when I removed the fender extender.

FWIW, I use lithium grease around the plug and cap rather than petroleum jelly, as it's drip point temperature is far better.

[yorkie_chris]

Pretty much any grease around the top of the cap will work. I use silicon grease. I also put a blob of it in the drain hole.

Originally Posted by boot

Fender extender solves problems with from wet plug, end of.

I've been through fords and flooded roads up to the ends of the forks and not had an issue, and have ridden the worst of weather we've had in the last two years and as per my comments in the other thread you posted on last night regarding front wet plug problem, the only time I've ever had an issues was a brief period when I removed the fender extender.

FWIW, I use lithium grease around the plug and cap rather than petroleum jelly, as it's drip point temperature is far better.

Have to say, it doesn't - as last nights ride proved (Witney -> Newbury on one cyl). I've had the F-Extender for the last two years (120+ miles / day) , and many times I've changed the plugs I've tried running without added grease - and each time without fail it cuts out.

Grease is a must imho, and I'm even thinking about trying to fashion an additional cover that fits above the front cylinder well - if I recall someone did one of these a few years back.

[Biker Biggles]

If fenda extenda and grease doesnt sort it Id check the front HT lead.Does that short out when it gets wet?

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

If fenda extenda and grease doesnt sort it Id check the front HT lead.Does that short out when it gets wet?

Biggles - you may be onto something there - how would I be able to tell? When I was on the way back yesterday I stopped outside the Didcot junction of the A34 and tried sticking my hand up to the top of the front cylinder to make sure the boot was all the way down and ended up getting lots of tingles in my fingers... about 600 electric shocks / minute in fact...

It seemed to be coming from the cylinder casing as I didn't manage to get my hand up to the boot before it started shocking me - what would that suggest?

FWIW, I'm not running with grease at the mo (yet!)