Being a dirt bike enthusiast, you know dirt bikes often get flooded with fuel or water reaching the engine part. Leaving a flooded dirt bike unused in the long run can damage your dirt bike engine. Besides, most people don’t know how to start a flooded dirt bike.
To start a flooded dirt bike, You should leave the dirt bike for a while to help drain out the extra fuels from the engine. Now, you need to open the throttle. With the engine’s assistance, the gas will overflow now. Eventually, it results in evaporating the gas. Now, you may have a go starting the flooded dirt bike.
If you still find it tough to start the flooded dirt bike. I am here to assist you with some easy ways. In this article, I am going to cover everything that you need to start a flooded dirt bike. Stay tuned!
7 Simple Steps To Start A Flooded Dirt Bike: Best DIY Method
Starting a flooded dirt bike is a daunting task. But, the following 7 steps will help you start a flooded dirt bike. Let’s jump into it!
Step-1: Signs That Help Identify Flooded Dirt Bike Or Not
Before you take any action, first find out if your bike is stopped due to flooding or not. Here are some common symptoms to find out:
- If you get a normal sound while starting the flooded dirt bike, you won’t be able to start your bike.
- You will get a strong smell of oil from the cylinder in which excess oil has been stored.
- You will see the leaking of gas from the exhaust and carburetor.
These are the three symptoms that will ensure your bike does not start due to flooding. If you find the actual problem of a non-starting engine, you can easily solve the problem. Though it’s a hassle, it can be solved easily.
Step-2: Turn Off The Petcock
Firstly, you need to turn off the petcock. By doing this, your engine will be secured by not adding more fuel when you crank it for a few minutes. Once the dirt bike engine gets secured, you can head to the fuse removal step after blocking the petcock.
Step-3: Remove The Fuse
Secondly, you may notice there is a fuse that goes to the ignition coil. You need to remove that fuse. Though some people do not prefer to remove it, my suggestion is to remove it for your safety. You may get shocked by some of the wires.
Step-4: Remove The Spark Plug
After removing the coil fuse, you need to remove the spark plug. At this stage, you have to check their condition. You need to ensure that there shouldn’t be any corrosion. There should be a gap between the spark plug and the hook at the end.
Step-5: Collect Old Clothes To Clean
At this stage, you need to collect some old clothes. Clean the spark plug holes by placing cloth inside. Make sure the cloth shouldn’t get stuck there. While cleaning the spark plug, you need to be careful about the dust and debris which should not get stuck inside.
There should be space for air to flow. If you have compressed air, it can help dry extra fuel. Another thing that you can do is leave them under the sun for 10-15 minutes to dry.
Step-6: Reinstall The Spark Plug
Now, you need to reinstall the spark plug. If needed you had better use a plier to adjust. This process is not very hard. If you have a spare plug available, it’s better to use that. If this part is not installed properly, there is a chance of a flooded bike again. There should be a gap between the spark plug and the hook at the end which is about 0.28 to 0.32 in (.07mm to .08mm)
Step-7: Start The Flooded Dirt Bike
This is the last step to follow. After reinstalling everything, start your bike again. Your bike should start within four to five kicks.
You can follow the above tips to fix your flooded bike. The fixing process depends on how badly your bike is flooded. Here I will give you some other extra methods that you can apply in this process. By using these methods, your engine may start faster.
- Start By Pushing A Bike: In this method, you need a second person to assist you. Firstly, turn on your ignition and take help from another person to push your bike. Once you see your bike is going fast- pull the clutch, put it in the second gear, and drop the clutch. This way will only help you if your bike is not badly flooded.
- Fuel Cut-off: In this method, you need to reduce the quantity of fuel and increase the air to push into the motor. For this, you need to switch off the petcock valve. You can turn on the petcock valve once the engine starts. This way may help start your bike.
Maintenance Tips For Starting A Flooded Dirt Bike:
Proper maintenance can prevent your dirt bike from flooding. The following tips would help you start a flooded dirt bike. Let’s have a look!
- You need spark plug maintenance. You need to service your spark plug at least once a year. If necessary, change or replace.
- Maintenance of spark plug gas is also very important. It means the distance between the spark plug and the electrode. Also, you need to check the wire regularly.
- Air filters need to be cleaned every 3 months. If it is too dirty, replace it with a new one.
- Drain out the carburetor bowl monthly.
Related Questions:
Is It Easy To Start A Flooded Dirt Bike?
Starting a flooded dirt bike is a bit complicated. But if you know the right way to do it, it becomes easy. Firstly, you need to let the bike sit for 15 minutes at least so that the extra fuel inside the engine may drain out. Turn off the choke and turn on the ignition engine. If your bike has an auto-ignition engine, this method won’t work.
Afterward, open the throttle slowly and widely. This will help the engine to overflow and evaporate the gas. Another way to help more airflow is to remove the air filter. Now you can try to start your bike. The throttle should be open by now. Your bike should start after a few cranks.
Why Is A Dirt Bike Engine Flooded?
Due to technical problems, a motorcycle engine can be flooded. Here are some common ones:
- You have been using a bike for a long time, but you didn’t do any maintenance to your air filter. Consequently, it can make your air filter dirty and clogged. Thus, dirt bike flooding occurs If the air cannot flow smoothly.
- A faulty spark plug can cause flooding. If the spark plug is unable to spark to initiate the fuel, your dirt bike can be flooded.
- If the Ignition coil is unable to send the right signal to the spark plug, it can also cause flooding.
- If you are using old fuel, it can also damage your engine. Evaporating a certain amount of fuel is very important. Suppose, your engine cannot evaporate the fuel that results in flooding.
How Do You Prevent Dirt Bike Flooding?
To prevent flooding, you need to do regular maintenance and keep proper storage. A dry, clean and indoor space is preferable for a dirt bike. If possible, cover it with a breathable cover, not with plastic. Sometimes, gas needs to be changed when it gets stained. If you have a plan for keeping it long, it would be better to coat it.
What Happens If Your Dirt Bike Is Flooded?
Dirt bike flooding is a common issue that most dirt bike riders want to avoid. Otherwise, the bike stops working. Once it stops working by getting flooded, it’s tough to start the dirt bike. A dirt bike can be flooded in many ways.
Among them, the notable one is the accumulation of gas or water into the dirt bike engine that can cause your dirt bike to flood. The following traits are exposed to your dirt bike if a dirt bike gets flooded:
- Dirt won’t start because of the inactive combustion process.
- Being filled with gas in the cylinder can cause a gas smell.
- Fuel leaking through the exhaust pipe.
The aforementioned symptoms are responsible for not starting a flooded dirt bike. You should immediately take measures to fix these issues once you find out the reasons.
How Do You Fix A Water Flooded Dirt Bike Engine?
Fixing a water-flooded dirt bike engine is easy-peasy if you know the right procedures. Firstly, you need to be sure if the dirt bike is flooded. After being confirmed, you need to move to the fixing process. There are some ways to fix it, but you can follow the ways below:
- Remove the spark plug and check if it is wet or not. If you find it wet, dry it with a clean rag and heat it in the sun. If it doesn’t spark, you may need to replace it.
- Then, choke off your dirt bike carburetor and block the gas line. Afterward, lay the bike over keeping the carburetor side standing to facilitate draining out the gas. Eventually, the extra gasoline in the engine will be ready to drain. Take a rag to wipe off the fuel while draining out.
- Now, you need to kick start your bike a few times to dry your cylinder. If your bike doesn’t have the kick start option, you need to do it manually.
- Reinstall the removed plugs once it is dried enough. Again, kick start holding your bike’s start button.
Will A Flooded Dirt Bike Engine Fix Itself?
It would have been nice if the things could have fixed themselves to make our life easy. The dirt bike engine cannot fix the issues itself if it gets flooded. But, you can do it by maintaining the balance between the bike’s engine and combustion. You need to have the proper knowledge to do it.
How Do You Know If A Dirt Bike Is Flooded?
Dirt bike riders often face issues with their flooded dirt bike. Some common signs determine if your dirt bike is flooded: dirt bikes won’t start, you will get a sudden gas smell from the engine, or you can notice black smoke and gas leakage through the exhaust pipe.
How Do You Unflood A Dirt Bike?
You can unflood your dirt bike in many ways. A flood happens when the extra fuels reach the dirt bike engine to stop the carburetor. So, you need to release the extra gasoline to activate the carburetor by cleaning the spark light or you can replace it if the spark light doesn’t work. Thereafter, you should kick start the dirt bike.
Final Verdict:
Finally, as a bike user, I recommend taking care of your bike. Before knowing about how to start a flooded dirt bike, you need to find out if your dirt bike is flooded. It’s better to gather some mechanical knowledge to start your flooded dirt bike if you want to do it yourself (DIY).
