fiona Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Hi, my husband recently bought a 349 and relocated the condenser to under the tank. Seem to have an issue with water ingress to the magneto area after riding burn sections at a recent trial. He's sealed the magneto casing using instant gasket but water still managed to get in. Thinking of just drilling a hole at the bottom of the casing to let the water escape. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers, Fiona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanmet Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 It might not be water getting in but condensation not getting out we used to put a breather on top of the casing with rubber tube routed higher up the frame use to stop moisture getting between the points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted January 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 Thanks, but it's already got that fitted. Water lying in casing was dirty (muddy coloured). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted January 13, 2018 Report Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Yes it is good to make a drain hole. Whatever way the water gets in, by condensation or by getting sucked in with the cooling effect of the warm casing going under water, a drain hole will allow the liquid water to drain out. I use both a vent and a drain on my magneto casings. I usually make a plain hole about 5mm diameter in a place that is unlikely to be blocked by debris. Depending on how free-flowing the vent system is and how cold the water is in the creek, some water may be drawn in through the drain, but of course any water drains straight back out again. The only weakness with the drain concept is that if the bike engine is submerged for a long time, the casing will fill up, whereas if there is only a vent it will suck a bit in, then stop filling. It is good practice to remove or loosen the magneto cover after a wet ride or after washing the bike so that it drys out fully inside, even if there is a drain and a vent, to minimise corrosion. Edited January 13, 2018 by feetupfun 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldaz Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 6 hours ago, fiona said: Hi, my husband recently bought a 349 and relocated the condenser to under the tank. Seem to have an issue with water ingress to the magneto area after riding burn sections at a recent trial. He's sealed the magneto casing using instant gasket but water still managed to get in. Thinking of just drilling a hole at the bottom of the casing to let the water escape. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers, Fiona On 247's you often find the inside of the casing damaged from the kick-starter over travel allowing water to get in, might be worth having a look. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nh014 Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 An old practice used on the bell housing of farm tractors, and applicable to the magneto housing, is to install a small cotter pin in the drain hole. The jiggling effect of the cotter pin will prevent the hole from becoming plugged. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potto Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 On 1/15/2018 at 2:57 AM, nh014 said: An old practice used on the bell housing of farm tractors, and applicable to the magneto housing, is to install a small cotter pin in the drain hole. The jiggling effect of the cotter pin will prevent the hole from becoming plugged. That's clever have seen that before,IMO its a good remedy for this problem,well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbofurball Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 On 14/1/2018 at 2:26 AM, oldaz said: On 247's you often find the inside of the casing damaged from the kick-starter over travel allowing water to get in, might be worth having a look. That's also applicable to 349s 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldaz Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 On 14/01/2018 at 7:56 AM, fiona said: Thanks, but it's already got that fitted. Water lying in casing was dirty (muddy coloured). Have you figured out how/where the water got in there yet? I wouldn't be drilling the drain hole unless there's no way to stop the water getting in there in the first place. I had a drain hole (with cotter pin) in the tractor clutch housing and it does work, but then I didn't drive it through streams or other deep water very often. If the PO didn't have a breather tube fitted and plunged a hot bike into a cold stream, water could get in through the breather, through a non-sealed cover gasket or cracks in the cover or through damage caused by kick start over travel. Can't see any other way muddy water could get in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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