450EXC Airbox and Deep Water Crossings

[MWSrideguy]

Did my first deep water crossing (aobut 2 feet deep) on the '07 450 EXC this weekend on the LABtoV dual sport ride- made it half way across slow and seady when the bike stalled, and hitting the starter button yielded only a clunk. Long story short, the engine was hydrolocked- pulled the plug and pumped about 2 cups of wate out of the cylinder. Wrang out the air filter and drained the float bowl. Bike started up again and ran another 200 miles to Vegas.

I read the threads this evening on this forum about KTM airbox problems, and just wanted to agree what a poor engineering job KTM did on the airbox (and yes, I had already vented the carb hoses up high).

While I was pumping water out of my engine, I saw lots of KTM's make it through the water. Is there some secret initiation one has to go through before they tell you the secret?

The flap in the front has about a 1/4" gap at the bottom- no wonder water got in! Any words of wisdom in sealing up this piece of swiss cheese? (by the way, I could run my DRZ up to the bottom of the seat with no issues).

[mattscott]

hold your leg aganst the airbox go a little bit faster dont rev the engine but dont bog it ethier make sure to have good grease seal on filter and enough filter oil on the filter and you can go up to the tank unless you go to slow

[DBM]

1. remove the factory plastic wrap holding the carb vent lines together.

2. run the top 2 hoses into the top of the air box, and the other 3 down behind the engine. cut off the ends of the hoses at a angle so they do not stick down below the bottom of the swingarm

then follow the water crossing riding instructions above

DBM

[Fastgixx75]

Hey MWS how is your bike now?? it runs fine??

[MWSrideguy]

The bike ran fine after I pumped out all of the water- I rode it another 200 miles that day (not a lot of optiions for an oil change in the middle of the desert). It didn't miss a beat! I'm curious if there is any water in the oil when I drain it. I would just like to avoid that scene again.

[Thatman]

Only 2 feet deep?

Just go faster...the wake will push the water out of the way. I've been through water up to the mid part of the seat and it did it just fine.

[Dave Hopkins]

That flap you speak of I think is a problem the last couple of years, I would be tempted to glue it shut 1/2 down. BTW going fast thru the water does not always work, one 08 KTM I know of bent a rod recently when it hydrolocked at speed, rider is very experainced ISDE Medalist, not a squid