Waterproofing.

[CWilson]

I am about to get my 1975 Six Days back on the trail and have a question.  What is happening to create the situation where water/moisture invariably finds its way inside the ignition side cover?  My feeble attempts to use silicone sealant to prevent this from happening have failed miserably.  I am not talking about water crossings where the motor is submerged, more like shallow water that gets splashed onto the motor during a casual trailride.  Any advice or ideas are appreciated!  My apologies to the moderator for mistakenly posting this in the Wanted/For Sale section.

Craig Wilson

[TedG]

If I remember correctly you have to look out for a few things.
1. Are the cases flat?  If not you need to at least surface the the ign cover. I can't remember if the Sachs has a gasket on that side, if not, neatly apply a thin coat of RTV Silicone, if so rub silicone on the gasket on both sides and install.
2. Seal up where the wires come in very neatly and carefully. Use high quality RTV silicone.
3. YOU MUST VENT THE COVER!!!! Drill and tap a hole and use a fitting to run a small vent line up higher than any water level you might run through. And point the end of the tube down.
Anything you apply silicone to should be cleaned to perfection with Acetone.
Oh yeah, the vent allow any water to evaporate.

[paul a. busick]

Craig,
The vent will allow air to flow in to the ignition when cold water hitting the cover causes a vacuum to be formed in the ignition.  Without the breather vent water is drawn into the ignition by the vacuum.
Always remove the ignition cover afer ever ride and allow the area the area to breath.  A squirt of WD40 would not hurt either.
Amherst Paul

[Paul Danik]

Hi Craig,

   As far as posting your topic in the wrong forum, I have done that several times.  The person making the original post can delete the post and topic heading, if so desired, and re post in the correct forum. There are little icons in the top area of your post that will allow you to edit and delete the post. We are all friends here so don't be concerned

   With all due respect to Teds reply, and Amherst Paul,I have never put a vent in my ignition cover. I always worried that a stick or log or could quite easily snap the fitting right off the ignition cover allowing water to easily enter the ignition area.

  My procedure was to always air dry the ignition overnight with the cover off when I did my weekly maintenance. I would start the bike and spray some WD-40 into the ignition area to displace any moisture as soon as I had removed the cover. When the time came to put the cover back on I always made sure that everything was as clean as possible, usually compressed air was used to blow into the ignition area to make sure nothing was hiding....dirt or moisture.

  There is no gasket on the Sachs ignition cover, make sure that the mating surface of the cover and engine case are clean and free of old sealant, then put a bead of silicone on the ignition cover and install it. Usually it is necessary to spin the rear wheel to allow the speedo drive to line up so that the cover will push into place properly.

   As Ted mentioned the area where the wires come thru the engine case needs to be sealed properly. The other area that I always paid special attention to is where the wires come out of the sleeve at the top, by the wiring junction block. I always pumped silicone down into the sleeve around the individual wires, if you don't do this water can just trickle down inside that sleeve and by pass all the other efforts that you have put forth to waterproof the ignition area.

   I didn't mean to write a book, but I hope this helps. If anyone feels differently about what I have stated please feel free to jump right in and tell us your method. I know lots of guys did the vent tube routine, but I always felt I would be creating a vulnerable situation given my ability to crash and break stuff, especially little fittings for vent tubes

Thanks for the great question.

Paul

[CWilson]

I thank everyone for their input. Removing the ignition cover and drying things out after every ride is a task I have overlooked.  Not any more!!!  Again, thanks guys.

Craig Wilson

[wfopete]

Craig;

For what it's worth, I run a PVL ignition on my Jackpiner and it is vented. I run the vent line up to the top of the frame. Venting might help for light condensation but not for big water. When I got home from a very wet Michigan event I removed the ignition cover and water POURED out: At least half of a cup worth. But during the race the bike never missed a beat.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[TedG]

Put a right angle vent at the top of the case underneath the cyl fins out of harms way. Is it absolutely necessary...maybe not...but if you are going through all the trouble, why not do it right?

[SouthRider]

I'm with Danik on this one - the more gadgets & doodads you add the more things there are to break.

It came from Penton without a vent, and was race tested all over the world that way.

Seal it up -  and maintain it regularly & properly.

And one more note about silicon seal - more is NOT better. use the lightest possible coat that you can & still get full coverage.

Also - the ammonia in silicone seal is corrosive to aluminum engine cases. Some of the newer sealants like the black Suzuki engine assembly sealant don't have the ammonia and also dry into a nice semi permanent rubber type gasket (doesn't last forever, but longer than silicone).

If you do use silicone then DEFINITELY spray with WD40 after every ride. It helps to stop the corrosion from the ammonia. The absolute worst thing that you can do is to seal it up with silicone, go out and use it, and then park it all sealed up for several months.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do almost anything, with nothing."

1972 Penton Berkshire 100
1983 Husqvarna 250 XC
2011 Jayco 31.5 RLDS
2009 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax

[454MRW]

I always paint the area inside the Ignition cover to keep corrosion confined to a minimum, with the exception of the mating surfaced that create a ground. Note that the KTM engines all come with a right angle vent tube screwed into the Ignition cover and a hose leading up near the coil area for venting the ignition cover. Mike

Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Pentons-1980 KTM 175-400'S
1975 Can Am 175 TNT & 77 250 Black Widow
1979 Husqvarna OR250 & OR390
1976-78 RM & 77-79 PE Suzuki's
1974 CR250M 07 CR125R