GG Submarine (or Jetski!)

[EtienneNZ]

Took my bike to our holiday spot next to be beach this last weekend, and to cut a long story short, my mate got it completely submerged by a freak wave (i.e wave went over the at seat height!)

Engine was running when it got submerged in sea water, so it was completely wet (i.e about 1 Lire of water came out of the pipe). We got her going again after about 1 hour of hard work which included a new air fiter / oil change / clean / clean / clean / oil change again / etc.

Bike runs 100% with no issues - amazingly (or maybe not, it is a GG )

Question: Should I do something else in terms of cleaning / flushing? Tranny oil was milky white after first change, but all good now. Worried salt has gotten in somewhere I did not think about.

Thanks for any advise.

 

[gasmonkey]

Anything with copper in it will start to rot.Start with wiring and connectors etc.
Don't let the freak near the waves again.
Good luck.

 

[dank]

also run something through the flywheel to get all of the water off of that, so that it doesnt corrode.

 

[GMP]

I havn't seen events like these end well. Consider the fact that sand almost certainly made its way into the motor with the seawater. Restarting it may have been a bad idea.

 

[EtienneNZ]

also run something through the flywheel to get all of the water off of that, so that it doesnt corrode.

Cheers - good point - took it off and all looked clean etc. Gave it a good wash just to be sure.

Think (hoping) it will all be good. Changed oil again, and it is super clean.

Will probably know for sure within 1 to 2 months

Anyway, the bike runs like a dream for now.

 

[mrkartoom]

How did things look in the intake beyond the filter? I'd feel better if that was clean of grit, but I'd also worry about sand as well since water did get pulled into the oil. Not fun, but I'd probably want to tear it down if it were me. I'd also use some compressed air and contact cleaner on all the electrical as suggested.

 

[EtienneNZ]

How did things look in the intake beyond the filter? I'd feel better if that was clean of grit, but I'd also worry about sand as well since water did get pulled into the oil. Not fun, but I'd probably want to tear it down if it were me. I'd also use some compressed air and contact cleaner on all the electrical as suggested.

There was no sand beyond the airfilter - it looked clean. Also changed the oil before we got it running again, but it still turned white. No sand came out with any of the oil changes. Point taken on the electrical connections - will do that this evening. Anyway, wife has given green light to buy a new GG if this one starts playing up, so maybe something good will come from all of this!

 

[mrkartoom]

Anyway, wife has given green light to buy a new GG if this one starts playing up, so maybe something good will come from all of this!

Quick, throw some more sand in there while she's not looking. Hey honey look it blew up!

 

[gg3]

Did you let Noobi ride it? Or being Easter were we going for the' ride on water'.Now I think about it 'J.C.' could have done with a GasGas.It would have hauled that cross up the hill piece of piss for starters.Where the apostles a bike club? Did Judus ride an orange bike?
I do wonder about the long term engine wear on internal bearings,a bit of water on a wheel bearing can screw it pretty quick,maybe time to move it on.

 

[jhendr3702]

Quick, throw some more sand in there while she's not looking. Hey honey look it blew up!

no kidding... i will tell you i sunk my 300 on the second ride.. up to the gas cap. not in salt water, but in the canadian river here.. alot of murky red water. i was sick.. did what every one else has said in here and a buddy told me to change the oil, get it started that day, do a couple of heat cycles with oil changes in between...
has given me zero problems over the next 3 or so years..

 

[EtienneNZ]

Did you let Noobi ride it? Or being Easter were we going for the' ride on water'.Now I think about it 'J.C.' could have done with a GasGas.It would have hauled that cross up the hill piece of piss for starters.Where the apostles a bike club? Did Judus ride an orange bike?
I do wonder about the long term engine wear on internal bearings,a bit of water on a wheel bearing can screw it pretty quick,maybe time to move it on.

LMAO Will start praying!

 

[bchatt]

It would be a good idea to pull the wheels off, replace the bearings and pull the tyres off and clean behind the rubber strip that sits in the rim covering the spokes. The rim will corrode super quick around the spoke nipples unless you get that salt out. Gotta say, salt water is about the worst thing you can do to your bike...... (even worse than letting noobi ride it!)

 

[Infinite]

Last ride of the year last fall, out for a chilly ride and sunk it deep in the river. After a few hours of pumping the water out upside down and cleaning the plug and re-trying, finally got it running. Instant bad squeal from the main bearings, but had to ride it to he nearest road or it'd stay there! In the middle of a complete rebuild now. If sunk, you need to get running asap and run til it can evaporate all the water out of it. Unfortunately, mine was destined to come apart! But hey, nothing like a fresh motor, no?

 

[GMP]

I sunk a KTM in a river once during an enduro, but did not restart it as it was near the pit area. It was fine after I pulled the motor and top end the next day, and completely flushed it out with premix and WD40. A lot of silt came out. Most bikes that restarted and continued were rebuilt soon or immediately after.

 

[EtienneNZ]

Update: Last weekend I pulled the motor and completely cleaned the bike and re-assembled - took me the whole weekend. Did not find much , which is good, but boy I wish I new that before I started - it's a big job. Engine free of any salt and dirt etc. Think what was good is that I flushed it all within an hour after happening. Bike starts first kick and flies. I am happy (and lucky). Bonus is that my GG now looks like new - it is so clean!

Thanks for all the input. Great forum.

 

[swazi_matt]

best thing is to get it running asap.

seems like some here are unaware that the GG is designed for enduro and unlike the pumpkin enduro bikes it has a drain bolt into the crank to speed up the drain process, meaning you do not need to remove the plug and turn the bike upside down

Another good trick to know is that if the oil turns white (has water in it) then drain it, fill it with parafin (kerosene) run the bike slowly for a few hundred meters and drain it again, then fill it with oil. If you try to flush it with oil you may end up doing about 4 oil changes before you get it to stop going milky

 

[GMP]

Best thing is to get the water displaced ASAP, then clean it out properly. If you don't have to start it, dump the water, pull the reed block, and spray a can of water displacement lube through the lower end letting it drain out the bottom. Across the lower rod bearing, main bearing lube holes, everything. This will flush all of the water and most of the silt out, but you will find more when you pull the top end. Yeah, sometimes you have no choice, but firing it up with grit in the lower end is not good. Any moving or disturbed water is usually full of silt, and even clean water through the fliter carries some of the dirt with it. The good thing is that the newer sealed crank bearings take them out of the loop. Mains are usually the first thing to go.