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Hey Guys,
i am currently trying to help some one to get their bike back on the road, he's not the original owner but knows that his bike is a flood machine ! can any one give us some advice / suggestions about what we might run into & possible solutions !
because the Machine was total submerged there is obviously water in the motor, I know that when he pulled out the bottom out side oil pump mounting bolt water came out ! my first question is because of water in the Motor dose that mean total rebuild ? and second should we still try to get it running at all or are we waisting our time & just pull the motor & have it rebuilt from an indy !
thanks for any advice as we have no experience with flood machines !!
If water is in cylinders and it was not immediately attended to like blow cylinders , add some oil fog used on boat motors, change fluids and get it running, there's a good chance it's junk. Transmission is full of water.
Water is in frame, neck bearings, fuse box, any loose electrical connectors filled with dirt.. ECT. An individual with time as no object can fix it. Insurance would total it no questions ask.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Apr 24, 2023 at 05:02 AM.
I live on an Island, I have seen partially submerged cars and bikes revived by draining the water, rinse with gas or oil and repeat until water is all gone. Then start them up and cross your fingers.
But as stated by others, salt or fresh? How long since it was submerged? I have seen good results with bikes that got flushed literally days after the event. If she has been sitting with water for months, your results may vary. Salt water also can fry the electrics if a modern bike After Sandy lots of bikes had their entire fuse block welded into a block of metal and plastic. Having disconnected the battery before the water would have prevented that but!??!
thanks to all who responded,
i was hopping that maybe with a fresh change of fluids and of course draining all oils in motor and trans (primary is drained) & brake M.C.that we might be close to to attempt to start the engine ! i did not think about the trans , & electrics too.
thanks for mention of Fresh water or Salt water, ill ask about how long ago & for how long submerged & for how long "dry" i am afraid that this will turn into a Total tare down to frame & back again, i think we might need to reset out short term/long term goals & shift gears from trying to get her running to complete disassembly & rebuild ! Go through the process of taking it COMPLETELY apart, all the way down to each systems basic base components & rebuild from "scratch" including all electrical components !
i guess for these reasons insurance just writes vehicles of as total loss ! if the owner still decides to rebuild i would think he has to consider "time" as this will definitely be more involved !
next we will have to conceder the owners limited mechanical skills & experience with a vintage H-D, sounds like he will be getting very friendly with his local INDY !
thanks again for all your responses , we will probably be back soon as we go through this Machine !
Last edited by troy montoya; Apr 24, 2023 at 07:54 AM.
On a positive note, if you think about it, most of the motor and trans is sealed and can resist short term flooding. If water got into the transmission, it has a protective coating of oil that would stop rust from forming for a while, and maybe only the shifting mechanism needs help. Depending on the model/year/condition the vent could have a u-shaped hose that could have kept most of the water out too. As far as the motor, the worst thing is if an intake valve happened to be open it would let water in and air out. For an exhaust valve, air would be trapped for a longer time, keeping the water out of the cylinder if the water level subsided quickly. The breather hose depends on model/year/condition too. Electronic ignition is sealed, points may be rusted shut but they are an easy fix, as is the advance mechanism. I would clean and flush everything and hope for the best, you've got nothing to loose at this point. Pulling the cam cover is a good way to judge how bad the motor got flooded and let any water out.
Or maybe the Harley Museum would want another? This one was in a shipping container floating across the Pacific for over a year after the Japanese Tsunami of 2011.
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Need Advice on Working on a Flood Machine !
