Possible damage to Catalytic Convertor from floods?

[lazlo woodbine 1,211]

Storm Desmond has caused extensive flooding in our area and it is impossible to do any local journeys  without riding through floods. A friend at our local biker meet on Sunday advised me to avoid riding through floods because of the risk of damaging the Catalytic convertor. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? Also how deep can I ford with the NC?

My TTR250 is the obvious choice for riding through floods but unfortunately for me  my son is still using it as his commuter bike.

[Guest Badger77]

The Cat is very hot in use, and a sudden douse in very cold water 'can' cause the metal to crack, causing an exhaust leak, rendering the cat scrap

[Tex 36,817]

One of the things that is theoretically possible, but unlikely in practice.

That being said, I would advise caution when dealing with floods anyway. If you can't see how deep the water is then don't bloody ride or drive into it. Also be very aware of unseen obstacles under the surface, all sorts of shit gets swept away in deep water and running into it can have you off in a heartbeat.

I spent a good portion of every winter towing people out of flooding, you would never credit the excuses some gave. My favourite was a Volvo (almost new) up to it's roof. The guy - who had swum 'ashore' and expected me to swim out to his ****ing car and dive down to attach a tow rope (!) - said "I wanted to see how deep it was" when asked why he'd driven into a clearly impossible situation.

Just be careful, or your cat could be the least of your problems!

[Guest dentonlad]

Isn't the cat up at the top/front end in the link pipe near the engine?

 

You'd have to be up past your footpegs to dunk it - or going at great speed to get the bow wave onto it wouldn't you? 

 

Either way I'm not sure you'd be riding out the other side. As Tex says if you don't know how deep it is, don't go in there.......

[CFB 4,602]

Good advice Keith.

My two penneth...

If you don't know what's under the water don't drive/ride through it either.

It's not uncommon to find flood water has popped manhole covers off.

You wouldn't want to find one that has!

[aquaboy 105]

I expect being a Honda it will be a double skin pipe so the outside will never be hot enough to crack and will protect the inner anyway.

[Slowboy 20,596]

Considering that it's in the firing line for all the spray, I willing to bet it won't nor was ever likely to crack. Any how, it's not like it's part of the mot test like a car.

Forded some pretty deep (over a foot) water on mine without an issue when getting through a ford in Dorset once

[embee 7,288]

Don't worry about it.

 

The ceramic monolith inside the can is the more delicate element, but it is held by a wadding pack and is effectively insulated from the outer can so doesn't get the thermal shock from cold water. The can is made from the same stuff as the rest of the system and pretty much every car exhaust out there, so don't worry about it. Not a problem. Manufacturers do think about these things.

[lazlo woodbine 1,211]

Thanks guys I love riding the NC in bad weather conditions so  will head out for the nearest flood in the morning watching carefully for obstacles and missing manhole covers. 

[Rev Ken 6,347]

I was taught to keep the revs up to stop water getting into the silencer. But what I realised is that I don't know how high the airtake is on my car, and even when driving/riding through floods my pet hate is large goods vehicles charging through from the other way, drowning cars driving at a sensible speed.

[Tex 36,817]

The early models of one small French car, that I'm not allowed to name (think 'Papa'? 'Nicole'?) had a very low air intake and hitting even a puddle at speed would suck water in and wreck the engine. As Murray says, they do think about these things, but they don't always get it right. Just sayin..

[embee 7,288]

The early models of one small French car, that I'm not allowed to name (think 'Papa'? 'Nicole'?) had a very low air intake and hitting even a puddle at speed would suck water in and wreck the engine. As Murray says, they do think about these things, but they don't always get it right. Just sayin..

Indeed. We used to do what we referred to as "fording tests" for water ingress into air intakes. It's surprising where water can get to when going through standing water.

 

I think it's one of those things that the further back you go the more likely it is that there were cock-ups. It seldom happens now, but it does still occur. I believe some Fiat twin-air models had a major issue with not being able to pull away up a hill quite recently, and then there are the Vauxhall/GM "thermal events" in the glove box.

 

Back to the cracking exhaust question, if there were issues I think we'd be seeing problems by now after 3yrs of NC use.

[Griff 1,556]

I think the main thing to remember is to keep making steady progress through the flooded section especially if the water is at wheel bearing height. I was once brough to a halt in a large pool on an XR with the water slightly above the axle. A few weeks later the bearings were toast. There was a lot of rusty water inside the seals.

[michael 324]

the basic engineering of catalytic converters is currently hanging underneath hundreds of thousands (millions maybe) of automobiles that get submerged or wet over time…..

 

I haven't seen a water related failure yet. but then again i'm a cloistered little fellow.

[Scootabout 2,276]

Don't worry about it.

 

The ceramic monolith inside the can is didn't cover it and soon.  re delicate element, but it is held by a wadding pack and is effectively insulated from the outer can so doesn't get the thermal shock from cold water. The can is made from the same stuff as the rest of the system and pretty much every car exhaust out there, so don't worry about it. Not a problem. Manufacturers do think about these things.

I have wondered from time to time whether the exposed position of the cat mattered, why the front cowl didn't cover it, and so on.  I'm less worried now.  I'm also less worried about the fact that the front mudguard extender that I bought 2 years ago remains unfitted 

[kharli 100]

Well i went through a flood under a bridge that was deeper than my knees on the bike . The bow wave went right up over the screen and up my arms and blinded me , however the bike never faltered and i`ve not noticed any problems in the 1000 or so miles ive done since ..i think a prolonged ride at that depth would have got to the filter though and caused problems.

[Guest Pickaxe]

Even if the performance of the cat was compromised, its never checked or part of the requirements of the MOT and wouldn't affect how the engine runs.

On some motorcycles, owners deliberately drill out the cat material to improve gas flow.

[Guest Stephen S]

I did my Bloodbikes test ride in deepest Devon last week. So when I met a 2ft deep flood, 50 yards long, I had to make a rapid decision. Turn me and my observer around with traffic backed up in a narrow lane or go ahead.

So I went ahead, having waited for the cars in front to get through so there was no danger of having to stop.

Luckily my observer followed.

Passed, by the way. So now awaiting some training.

[Rev Ken 6,347]

I did my Bloodbikes test ride in deepest Devon last week. So when I met a 2ft deep flood, 50 yards long, I had to make a rapid decision. Turn me and my observer around with traffic backed up in a narrow lane or go ahead.

So I went ahead, having waited for the cars in front to get through so there was no danger of having to stop.

Luckily my observer followed.

Passed, by the way. So now awaiting some training.

Glad to see you've got your water wings......

[Guest The Ronin]

Well i went through a flood under a bridge that was deeper than my knees on the bike . The bow wave went right up over the screen and up my arms and blinded me , however the bike never faltered and i`ve not noticed any problems in the 1000 or so miles ive done since ..i think a prolonged ride at that depth would have got to the filter though and caused problems.

 

I too had to do the same thing a few years back. The NC just powered through but I was a bit breath taken to say the least.