Heavy Rain 8V 1200, 2 days later....

2010 8V 1200 rollerized, well maintained

Got stuck in a huge thunderstorm and 20-30min downpour here in Madison WI last weekend, rain pelting my arms red. Recent set of Pirelli Angel ST's did a great job of keeping things straight pushing through water at "near highway speeds" (btw) and dodging the wandering donkeys with their hazard lights on.

That said, 4 days later:
- Struggles a bit to maintain idle on start up
- After 15min running and restarted, feels like it's on one cylinder and then I can get it to catch and run... ok
- At speed it's ok, when running at 3-5k rpm, didn't try dipping below
- At a few lights fit felt like I needed to assist the idle, like on a carb bike that's not quite right

I'm certain the bike sucked in moisture, it was pretty much unavoidable - with it coming down in sheets.
Display worked initially, and then only indicated 6mph, then worked again fine.

Running a Mistral conical carbon fiber, was Beetled but possibly reset to factory by the previous owner

I haven't done a TPS yet, but it was done 3yrs ago from the former owner.

Sorry if this is a repeat, I didn't find a thread specific on heavy rain issues. The way I usually sort this out is to open it up for miles on end, replace the spent gas, and hope... your thoughts

Water in the plugs/leads. Carefully remove them (long screwdriver up the access hole near the zorst port). Clean and dry.

Speedo Sensor can ingest water too. Remove and coat with thin silicone coating.

Any bike with a centrally located spark plug, will usually have a small drain hole for water to escape, should there be any ingress to the spark plug tube. Said drain hole is a favourite nesting place for our little mud wasps. Do you have these critters in your locale?

Trapped water will always play havoc with inner sparkles. Fixed many a roadside breakdown with a piece of wire and a can of WD40.

Thanks so much B, I'll use a paper cloth to pull water out of both spark plug cavities, and then acetone to absorb the remaining water.

Whats a preferred silicone coating that doesn't interfere with the readings on the speedo?

Big fan of the Perth sound btw

You might want to inspect the plug caps for cracks as well.


As for the silicon sealant? Any bathroom sealant will work. You just need a thin coating. The sensor is a Hall Effect device, so it won't interfere.

Jay, there shouldn't be any water in the plug tubes ............. clear the drain holes!
......... (long screwdriver up the access hole near the zorst port) .......

Hope you're GRiSO won't end like this one !

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

that needs to go back out into the rain

hate it when the tide comes in when you're having a beer...

GRiSO abuse, bad karma.