Kawasaki Forums - Creek Crossing Trouble Solved................Maybe

In the course of trail riding, my buds and I will occasionally cross creeks with water up to three feet deep. Typically, my bike is the only one that drowns out in the middle of the creek, which is very disgusting, and wet on the feet. It won't start until up on dry ground and sits for a few minutes, and may require push starting after the battery has run down.

Always assumed the problem was with the primary ignition, namely the spark plug boot, or possibly the carb vents. Checked the plug wires and dosed with silicone. Added T-mods to each of the carb vent lines, hoping these adjustments might solve the problem.

It's likely that neither of these issues was the cause of the problem however, after what I discovered last week. I'd been wrangling with this problem for over three years now. Last week I decided to clean my air filter element and while I had it out I happen to notice a hole in the bottom of the air box. It's location was under the air filter so was only visible when the filter was out. Upon closer examination I found that there was a hole the size of a silver dollar that had been burnt in by the exhaust pipe at some time in the past. The hole would be just the right size to allow water to pour into the box and then into the carb when crossing the deep water.

Picked up a salvaged box on eBay and installed this weekend. Problem solved, I hope.

Thought I would share this experience with you inmates, in case you're having a similar problem. Might save you three years of anguish.