The Tide Has Eaten My Bike

Ady · Oct 1, 2005

Am I the first ?

Yes, I've done it. Trying to ride on the sandy bits that appear in the middle of our local river. Got stuck. Tide in - Bike 20 feet under slimy river water.
It was me or the bike .... I fought well for her.

Soooooooooo
Presuming me and my mates can fish her out if she's still there. What do we recommend. This is after two tides and our local river (The Humber) is filthy.
My suggestion.
Clean, tip upside down to drain, clean carb/filter etc, WD40 all electrics inc stator etc, new petrol, drop oil and replace with really cheap stuff. 2-stroke premix oil in head. Try and start her.
Get warm. Change oil. Go for ride 10 mins, change oil for good stuff.....
and then put it all down to experience ??

Do you agree, or have anything to add ?

Yours swimmingly

Ady

Ady · Oct 1, 2005

Seeing the funny side of it..
Suitable song title's ...

The Tide is High - Blondie
Stuck in the Middle With you - Steelers Wheel

Go for it ...
I can take it
Besides i've just turned a veteran on UHE with my 100th posting.

nsman · Oct 1, 2005

Ady,
I had a customer that had his ATV go through the ice in a lake and it was three months before he got it out.On the day it was retrieved he sheduled our service shop so we could work on it immediately.
The oil in the engine will all rise to the highest point in the engine assuming the machine stays upright,so the cams ,rockers and piston and cylinder will be ok,the bottom end of the engine will be filled with water and will start to corrode as soon as air is introduced.Of course the exhaust and intake will be completely filled and will need to be drained.
If you did not have the foresight to disconnect a battery if fitted then all the electrical connections will be corroded,and if you did not make sure valves were closed then there will be water in the piston and cylinder area.
Within minutes of retrieving the bike you must drain all the water out and clean the carb and with new oil get it running.Every few minutes of running time you must change the oil,repeat this until the the oil shows no sign of water(white / grey oil)it may take 6 changes.
When the oil comes out clean ,take the chassis completely apart and clean and lubricate it, renew all electrical fittings. ....good luck you may need it....nsman

sandskipper · Oct 1, 2005

I can only speak from what seems common sense to me but this appears to be a complete and expensive teardown. Like I said, I am far from experienced with the teardown and mechanics of internals(guts) of a combustion engine but common sense would tell me all bearings in the motor will need replacement. I would think even the slightest bit of water in the crank, connecting rod region of a Husaberg (especially full submersion with silt and other river crap) will tear the engine apart or lead to failure in no time. Personally I would consider the bike down for the count until the cases can be split and every part inspected, cleaned, and bearings replaced and or maticulasly cleaned and when possible re-lubed. Im sure I will get flamed for this but it seems common sense to me.

In mourning

,

schwim · Oct 1, 2005

apt song titles

Down in a hole-AIC
Drown me slowly-Audioslave
I'm Down-Aerosmith
One man stands & Out of sight, out of mind-Anthrax
Swim-Bush
Disappearing one & Wave goodbye-Chris Cornell
Why don't you see me?-Concrete Blonde
I think I'll disappear now-Crash Test Dummies
Down to the waterline-Dire Straits
Underwater love-Faith No More
Down under-Men at Work
Take me to the river-Talking Heads
Something I can never have-NIN
Bye bye love-Everly Brothers
Wish you were here-Pink Floyd
Start me up-Rolling Stones
Bridge over troubled water-Simon & Garfunkle
Let me drown-Soundgarden
Take the long way home & cannonball-Supertramp
Walking back-Cranberries
Leave it behind & Never gonna find me-The Offspring
Undertow-Tool

congrats on your longetivity

thanks,
json

nsman · Oct 1, 2005

The atv that spent three months under water(600 grizzly)suffered no internal problems and it still running well(5 years later).The rider was in rather a hurry to get away from the machine as it went through the ice and failed to shut the key off.This resulted in most of the problems later with electrical connections.One thing, the water was clear, clean and cold and the fact that it rested 25 feet under water may have influenced the outcome.Ady's bike,by his account ,is in water that is filthy,salty and fast moving.His machine may be unsalvageable.

Ady · Oct 2, 2005

Going for it today
Tide will be out again in 2 hours.
Fingers crossed it's still there, and that it's repairable.
Got to think positive !!

Will keep you posted.
Json - Too much time on your hands ... but amusing.
:fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:

sandskipper · Oct 2, 2005

Ady,

I would recommend the "Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Big-Game Reel attached to a G.Loomis Saltwater Spinning/Casting Rod spun with Berkley 30lb FireLine! Use the Snapper Slapper offshore lure!" Good luck and happy fishing!

Regards,

brookester · Oct 2, 2005

Ady, Get a grip was your mate carrying this? :sign3:

only joking,
brookester

wildbill · Oct 2, 2005

Ady said:
Going for it today
Tide will be out again in 2 hours.
Fingers crossed it's still there, and that it's repairable.
Got to think positive !!

Will keep you posted.
Json - Too much time on your hands ... but amusing.
:fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:

If you your bike out plan on checking and cleaning everything. Saltwater is rough on anything. Good luck and take your time.

nzberg · Oct 3, 2005

we live on the coast and have seen this happen to others and have come very close once my self a year a go we had a flood my work shop was under water for three days then another three days to pump out the section and surrounds even under water no air getting to parts they were rusty heavy rust probaly a combination of salt water silt from farm land containg fertilizers and polution anyway strip the whole thing quickly if its clean clear water you can get away with leaving it with the oil drained and full to the breathers and coming out the plug hole and ports with either deisel or engine oil but you can only leave it a couple of days it could be worth your while even taking a day or two off work and get onto it and save as much as possible

Ady · Oct 3, 2005

So the update ...
Got the bike back eventually after two full tide cycles. Both times under 20 feet of salty muddy fast flowing water.
Obviously water everywhere. Crank, radiator, valve head, framework ...the lot
More as reference to others in the future - this is what i've chosen to do.
Cleaned and degreased everything, stripped all ancillaries, all electrical connections. Flushed petrol tank etc. Turned bike upside down spun engine by hand (using de-comp)slowly - must have spat out a gallon of water from engine.
Removed exhaust emptied & dried. Cleaned carb then sprayed WD40 everywhere. Dried stator and coils. Cleaned battery connections (+ve had melted !)
As I am very busy at work I am taking my engine to Dave Clark Racing to get them to flush / repair accordingly.

As always - will keep you posted
Keep the puns coming . . You gotta laugh

The Beatles - Yellow Submarine ?

Regards
Ady

Ady · Oct 3, 2005

Rob -
Aren't you on the wrong site mate :lol:
Besides... I was on my own, in the middle of the Humber
As you might say " Up s**t creek, without a paddle !"
:wink:
Regards Ady

Taffy · Oct 3, 2005

ady

remember joey dunlop?
remember he was leaving strangford lock for the IOM TT races and the fishing boat sank? well they recovered brian reed's and his bikes from the boat and immersed them in deisel for two-days so that the diesel would get in the frame and flush out the salt. then they rebuilt it carefully and raced them. trusting them with their lives at the TT? say no more!!!!!

two years ago (i live in the fens) i rode to the top of a river bank and hadn't spotted that it had been raining in the area. i thought that the top of the bank would be a car's width but instead it was footpath wide! as i got to the top i put both feet down and continued. i didn't knowe it but this effectively meant that i could only really stop in a straight line. i locked the front wheel up and sailed on on the downside into the river. i threw the bike down but to do it had to dive over the bars and into the river. i had my weather jacket and everything on. i had to to try and get up and out through the reeds without drowning, THEN i couldn't get out of the phuqing river!

finally with only the front wheel and downpipes submerged i couldn't pull the bike up the bank and out of the water!!!!.

i called the B-I-L and we eventually got it out. however the story was out too!!!!!

regards

Taffy

Ady · Oct 3, 2005

Taff
It happens to the best of us then.
But let's face it, neither of us should have been there on our own...

There's a lesson to be learnt somewhere I think ??

Regards
Ady

gruntunberg · Oct 3, 2005

knacker deep ****

wow ady when you want to find some soft going you go the whole nine yards dude , anyway i guess thats why i didnt see you at driffied someone said you,d gone fishing :? bet that took some explaining to the wife

anyhow enough piss taking if you need a hand with any thing berg wise give us shout
steve

Ady · Oct 3, 2005

Thanks Steve
I've done most of it now and DCR are stripping the engine Tuesday.
Need it sorting ... off to the Isle of Mann next weekend on it.

Never a dull moment in my life when there's bikes around.
I like to keep the wife excited :lol:

Regards
Ady

Parsko · Oct 3, 2005

Awesome post!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hey Ady, I'm on the east side of that thing that consumed your baby, the Atlantic. Keep us posted. Hopefully, we will ride soon. I need a bike though........

-Parsko

Taffy · Oct 5, 2005

goin' t'isla man! what you going there for?

i did 7-days out there in '00 of which 3 were watching the manx gp and the other 4 were trail riding.

awesome place!

regards

Taffy

Ady · Oct 6, 2005

The Latest Update.
For some reason, people are calling me 'swampy' ... :lol:
Just spoke to DCR and they are putting the engine back together as we speak. Interestingly enough and for future reference, he said ' I had been very lucky' in that the piston was left at TDC and with the oil rising to the top, the barrel and piston were undamaged.
They all apparently had a good laugh as they emptied the sump and watched all the sand come out though.
Overall it appears i may have got away with it ... Fingers crossed.
Keep ya posted

Ady (Aquamarine team )

The Tide Has Eaten My Bike

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