| Author | Message | ||
     Jayfredweb |
So I had my 5000 mile service completed today. Somehow water had gotten into the gearbox. The techs couldn't explain why that would happen. They did inquire if I had ever driven my bike in the rain. In which case I answered "of course!". And then they proceeded to tell me "Motorcycles are not made to be driven in the rain." I had a good chuckle at that one. So any ideas on how to prevent this in the future? Not riding my motorcycle in the rain is really not an option. Of course I do live in Vegas, so I may have driven in the rain twice since the last service. The tech suggested that possibly water got in through an air vent under the seat. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Damn, almost three weeks. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=water+prim ary&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_filetype=& ft=i&as_sitesearch=www.badweatherbikers.com&as_qdr =all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&sa fe=images | ||
| Skinstains |
do you take short trips that don't allow the motor and gearbox to heat up enough to burn off any condensation you may have in there ? | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Ft_bstrd: Thanks for the links! I don't know why the techs at the HD dealership couldn't explain that so clearly. Skinstains: Maybe. I ride my bike to work everyday. A 30 minute ride going about 22 miles each way. | ||
| Dr_greg |
My commute is 5 miles; I ride year-round. In the winter the morning temp is often well below 25F. I have condensation at each oil change (5K miles). It corroded my clutch needle bearing. For me the only fix was not riding in the winter, but that is not possible. Perhaps blocking off the oil cooler would help; maybe I'll try that on my next Uly, if I stick with the marque. | ||
| Froggy |
I stuffed rags in my oil cooler, it brought up the oil temp 20 degrees F, but 120 degrees isn't going to make anything boil unless its cooking in the heads. | ||
| Jlnance |
Replacing my clutch cable made the icky white paste stop appearing. You've got an 06 like me, I think the clutch cable was updated at some point. But the new one felt better and it did keep the water out. The water can enter around the clutch cable adjuster boot. It may simply be that the rubber is more flexible with a new cable and that's why it doesn't leak. But whatever it was, the new cable made a big difference. As long as I'm promoting cables, are your throttle cables sticky? The 06 Ulys tend to bang them up around the forks. A new throttle and return cable, plus the extra cable guard that was added on the 07 models, will fix that. | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Jlnance: Yes I do have a 06. I'll look into a new clutch cable. Unfortunately, that probably won't be covered under warranty. I'll have to check the throttle cables when the sun comes up. However, a problem that the tech couldn't solve, was why my throttle sticks in cold weather. It only happens when the outside temperature is below 30 degrees. And it takes about 10 minutes of driving before it goes away. | ||
| Road_thing |
Jayfred: If your throttle cable problem only occurs when the temp is around the freezing point of water, then goes away as the temp rises with use, I'd suspect there's some water in the cable housing(s) that's freezing and binding things up. Ever pressure-washed your bike? That could shoot some water in there. rt | ||
| Jayfredweb |
Yes that was the obvious cause. However..., I never wash my bike. The dealer washes it when it gets serviced, but they don't use a pressure-washer. So the only way water can get in there is when I ride in the rain?!?! | ||
| Ratbuell |
Yep. Riding in rain is what killed quite a few clutch cables (on my FLH) for me in the past, until I learned to dri-slide my cable after every hard rainstorm. Ever do plumbing? Water's a sneaky little bastard...it'll get ANYwhere, ANY time. I also seem to recall a temp/permanent "fix" for the clutch cable, involving a couple strategically placed zip ties on rubber boots. It's here somewhere, I'd have to do a search...but basically if you zip tie the boots tight to the cable it drastically cuts down on water intake. | ||
| Jayfredweb |
For the mechanically inept..., "dri-slide"..., what do you mean? So I'll try the zip-tie method, and possibly a little grease on either end of the boot to deflect water. So now I'm just trying to figure out how water could get into the throttle cable housing. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Dri-slide is a lubricant. I get it at work (work for a dealer), but there are others out there as well. Nice thing about dri-slide is, it comes with a big, long syringe applicator cap. Pull the cable sheath away from the lever perch, slide the needle in, squeeze a couple/few times, done. Water can, and does, get in at the switch housing (top end of the cable shroud, where it meets the housing and/or adjuster - same place to lube from). I never broke a throttle cable, but I had times when I thought I had a throttle lock installed. Squirted some dri-slide in there, ran the throttle a few times to lube everything...brand new bike. | ||
| Tootal |
When I did my primary XB9 swap I had to loosen the clutch cable. When I shoved the rubber boot up out of the way, water came shooting out. Fortunately I never had any milky oil so it never made it into the primary but I did put a wire tie on the top of the boot upon reassembly. | ||
| Jphish |
Ratbuell - where generally does drislide reside ? HD dealerships ? Thanks Joe. j |
