Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Since I dissassembled the ZX6R to change valve shims few months ago, it seems that the bike develop dislikes for rain. Once after quite a heavy rain sometimes ago it would stutter the whole 20km commute home so I was thinking it's not related to plugs etc (as they would dry up quickly with engine hot).

Yesterday after that rin/hail/thunder i rode back home. It stuttered again as expected but this time it stops halfway from home . Perfect timing as all the phone did not work and RACV was inundated with calls. So I had to take off the tank by the side of the road and try to dry all the cables. It did nothing. After leaving it awhile I could start it but with terrible sound and it goes all the way home and I had to keep the rev above 3k. Again the temperature was raised to 100+ in an attempt to dry up the thing.

This morning it started beautifully.

So I was thinking it must be something/some connector somewhere. Anyone have any ideas which part I should look at ?

Did you route the rubber flap the right way to ensure the plugs stay dry?

water splash or drip into airbox/carby area..???

Well it rained heavily again today and the bike was drenched in water. I started it without problems so that piece of plastic bag I stuck in above the wire must've worked

I think your bike has caught the R1 disease Andi. Think about it, have you ever seen an R1 ridden in the wet? Huh, didn't think so

Which wires /where did you put the plastic bag over?

ride my 9 through all kinds of shit weather and it runs like a champ!

Another option is disconnecting the offending plugs.Dry with CRC CO cleaner and then pack with Lanotek grease.
This stuff is awesome.Keeps moisture out, has excellent dilectric properties and will protect the terminals from the GREEN DEATH!!

Highly recommended for the plug sockets too..It's amazing how much water will get into plug tubes till a misfire occurs!!

Mate o mine suffered the same fate on boxing day. Hey borrowed his missus's zx6 ( 01) to go for a ride and found it was running like a tractor. The problem? This is coming from him, but others may be able to confirm, the drain from the ram air plenum chambers drains directly onto the head and subsequently the plugs. Now generally speaking this wouldn't really be too much problem given that the small amount of water that makes it's way to this point would drip directly onto a hot engine and evaporate. But... He found that enough insects and road dirt had built up causing the drain on one side to block up. Since the bike had been ridden a fair distance in the heavy rain week before last and then parked the engine had time to cool as the water drained ever so slowly over the next week and filled the spark plug wells.
So J-man take apart the ram air ducts and plenum's and check the are clear and clean.