Rough running in heavy rain

[Fev1983]

Just been caught in a mega down pour and I mean mega water coming up through drains floods etc,,and my bike 650 bandit oil cooled started running rough and I had to keep up the revs as the exhaust sounded like it was blowing/misfiring slightly,,got home rain continued so I went to start bike,same again but then after ticking over for a minute or 2 it runs fine,,,

Any ideas chaps???

Thanks Danny

[raesewell]

I have an idea, it doesn't like water, it's a bike not a submarine

[dynax]

water getting in through the air filter,

[Fev1983]

I have an idea, it doesn't like water, it's a bike not a submarine

 

Thanks

[Fev1983]

water getting in through the air filter,

 

Can I stop that happening or is it just one of them things that happen with heavy rain???

[dynax]

No idea, i guess it depends on the position of the filter, you could maybe put a slightly bigger plastic box over it, leaving plenty of gap for airflow, but help reduce direct water contact,

[raesewell]

I have an idea, it doesn't like water, it's a bike not a submarine

 

Thanks

 

MY point was it's to be expected in exceptionally heavy rain.

[winston smith]

Could also be electrical - water splashed up onto the HTs or plugs could cause shorting/arcing and the misfiring.

[Stu]

The bandits are fairly open and with the heavy downpour my guess is that a bit of water has got on to one or two of the plug caps causing it to run rough

[Tankbag]

I sprayed ' dampstart' around my plugs to stop this happening on my b12

[Fev1983]

I have an idea, it doesn't like water, it's a bike not a submarine

 

Thanks

 

MY point was it's to be expected in exceptionally heavy rain.

 

Oh right I’m with you now ,,,

Does seem to be ok now to be honest

[Tankbag]

On a bike like the Bandit I'd agree, I've ridden 100 miles in atrocious weather on my faired bike with no issues

[fastbob]

Definitely time to think about replacing your HT leads but beware ! If Bandits have the same stupid little clips attaching the leads to the coils as an older GSXR then they WILL snap ( trust me on this ) . They will also be very hard to find replacements for and very expensive .

[iangaryprice]

I have a GSX600F which has similar engine to your Bandit.

It used to run badly in heavy rain. missing stuttering etc.

I removed the tank to access the ht leads. Cleaned the plug caps and rubber shields in the cam cover.

The HT leads seemed to long, touching too many parts of the frame, so I shortened them to get better runs clear of anything metal where possible. A clean end to the lead also givesa better connectionot the plug cap.

I didn't need to replace any leads, those clips do look flimsy - as stated above.

Where I couldnt keep the HT leads away from metal I cable tied sheet rubber (about 1mm thick) to the metal frame and crossbar to give an extra layer of insulation.

Since I did this it has been much better in rain.