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GL1500 Underwater

8250 Views 101 Replies 33 Participants Last post by  RKB53
My 96 goldwing aspencade got caught in a bad flood where I work. Although it was in motorcycle parking the drains backed up in the lot and my bike was under water. I was told the seat was under water. I checked my side saddlebags and water came out when I opened them. Although this was a few hours later, the bike wouldn't fire. It would crank over but thats it. I had exactly 215000 miles on the odemeter. I pulled the starter(it finally did stop cranking) and when I took it apart, water came out and the armature is shot as well as the brushes (only had 10000 miles on the starter rebuild).
I am currently in talks with the my job as to if I will get any money for repairs. Of course I had just dropped my full coverage insurance 6 weeks ago.
Question, I have parts coming to rebuild the starter but I know that will only fix the cranking portion of it. I'm sure it still won't start. I have fresh oil in it and the old oil didn't look too bad so I 'm confident not much water got in the engine. What can I look at and where will be my coil packs or ignition system for my wires be should I not get spark? Thanks for your help-I can't afford to replace this bike at this time.
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When an automobile is flooded up to the dash the laws in most states require the insurance company to total it...for good reason. Unfortunately many times the cars or parts are later unloaded on unwitting victims who aren't aware of their history. Sorry to have to say this but: it's unlikely your bike will ever again be dependable. No way in heck you can submerge all those mechanical and electronic components and expect them to be the same in terms of longevity or reliability. Sea water is worse, but fresh water is bad enough. I'd disclose the flood damage to any prospective buyers and sell the bike to start over with another motorcycle although personally...I probably couldn't afford it.

I know, "easy for me to say" as it's not my problem, but this is the cold hard truth and it's a Beeatch :sadguy:

Maybe it's a lot different in Florida, but full coverage on a 'Wing here in Oregon is so cheap it's almost free ($160 yearly for me)...no reason to not to keep it in force. Sorry to hear you dropped your coverage. Sometimes we roll the dice and get Snake Eyes. We've all been there.
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