Had a stow-away in the airbox..

A few months ago I took the WR/R to West Virginia and rode the Buffalo Mountain, Hatfield McCoy trial. I had to get gas down there and I must say, the gas there is terrible. Anyways, I suffered a rear flat and rode 14 miles back to the truck. Once back to the truck, I jumped on my KFX450 and took off. So, the WR/R has been sitting since the first week of May with a flat rear tire.

Well, last weekend I finally had time to do the normal maintence on the WR/R. I installed my new tires, oiled the air filter, changed the oil and oil filter, lubed the chain, etc.. Everything looked normal. Airbox was clean, oil was clean, all seemed well.

So I went riding over the last week noticed the engine making strange noises, popping and hiccupping. So I figured this was likely just bad WV fuel as my KFX450 had similar issues until I filled it up with good 93 octane and then those issues went away. Still, after filling it up with 93 the bike started running much better. Then it started getting worse over the next several days. So, I figured maybe it was the spark plug. So I ordered a new spark plug and a K&N air filter.

Well, today, I decided to install my K&N airfilter and swap out the plug. I opened the airbox and found this...









It seems that I had a critter who decided to make a nest in my airbox. No critters were found in the airbox and the air filter was completely intact. I rode the bike yesterday over 110 miles and figured something in the engine was going to let go at some point. I managed to pull down 55 mpg yesterday though, which is about normal for me on the highway. That is also rather amazing when you see how clogged the airbox was.

So, the critter that built this nest either did it all in one night or did it over the course of a few days. Also, keep in mind the bike has been ridden every day since I did the service to it a week ago when the airbox was perfectly clean.

What a strange course of events..

Actually, that's not so uncommon with a motorcycle sitting parked.
Snowmobiles and even pickup trucks, too.

Now, you know what to check more often.

This wasn't there last week when I did normal maintence on the bike. I have ridden the bike every day since. This critter likely did this over night.

I wouldn't call that a common thing.

Had it sat for a few week or longer, sure I could see it. That however is not the case this time.

It has happened to me, too.
 
I don't think it takes very long for a rodent to make a nest in your airbox.
They're experts at it.  :)

They love to chew on wire insulation, as well.
Have you removed the seat to inspect that?

All the wires and everything are good.

That all looks like pink insulation? Much missing in the walls of your shed/garage???   

sewerat wrote:

That all looks like pink insulation?  Much missing in the walls of your shed/garage???    

That is definately what it is, along with some shredded news paper. Not a shed or garage. A 75' x 65' two story barn where all my toys are kept.

Now I just need to find this little critter and kill it until it dies from it.

Good fun!

Damn wristpin. I feel lucky now. Looks like you pissed that thing off when you blocked off it's access.

Apparently critters think the WR/R airbox is a good place to call a home?

I've had ATV's, bikes and karts my entire life and have never had a critter nest in the airbox, on any of them, regardless of how long that have sat. Until the WR/R.

When I'm working I park my bike in a parking lot across the street from a guy who tore down a huge barn. They were all looking for a place to relocate to, and my bike was good. I was bringing mice home under my seat every day for a few weeks. I have caught well over 30 in my mousetrap in the shed since.

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Mice set up a cozy home in my airbox and nibbled these same wires (not as much as yours though--youch!) What do all these wires/this unit control because everything seems to still be working on my bike.

How did you repair this damage?

thank you

As bad as it looks there was only two strands of wire that had been cut through. I just taped up all of them individually then wrapped the whole mess up with tape. Then I zip tied a dryer sheet around the wiring harness. Mice hate dryer sheets.

wristpin wrote:

As bad as it looks there was only two strands of wire that had been cut through.  I just taped up all of them individually then wrapped the whole mess up with tape.  Then I zip tied a dryer sheet around the wiring harness.  Mice hate dryer sheets.

Glad it wasn't as bad as it looked. Thanks for the reply and the dryer sheet hint. Good one...