Katana 600 in the rain

[acudavid]

How come my 01 Katana 600 runs so rough in the rain. I have tried covering it over so it is dry. It starts and warms up fine, but once in the rain, it runs rough. I have to partially choke it to keep it from stalling. I've never had a bike that dislikes the rain like this Kat. It's like a Cat!

[shpielers]

Possibly old spark plug wires are arcing/grounding out when they get wet.

[Kreylyn]

What he said...

Also very possible that the drain holes in the head have stopped up and your getting water pooled up around the plugs in the plug wells.

I'd check those are clean/clear and draining properly.

Krey

[katanarider]

I had no idea there where drains in the spark plug holes. Where do the exit ? I just took a flash light and looked about the head but didn't see any exit drains.

[92xjunker]

Small hole at the header

[katanarider]

So its internal and blows out the exhaust then ?

[92xjunker]

No. It runs threw the plug port and exits threw a small hole in the head just below the exhaust port. It's kinda hard to see it, especially if your head is dirty. It's about 1/16" hole

[katanarider]

Ah, found them at the head gasket area.
Just one of the other nice parts about parking your bike in the house during the winter. I had to lay on the nice warm,dry floor to see it.
Would it be ok to jam a wire clothes hanger in that hole to unclog it ?

[92xjunker]

I use a pipe cleaner, coat hanger may be to large and there may be some slight bends in the passage. Thin piece of wire would work or a cleaner with a straw on the can.

[skjeflo]

Just remember where that junk that is causing the clog came from. If you push it back in from the header side it's going to end up right back where it started from, the plug well. Make sure you clean that out as well so it doesn't just clog again during the next rain.

[92xjunker]

Shop vac and an air source, canned or compressor works well.

[katanarider]

In my case, little mud dauber bugs like to clog holes. Its sand and usually crumbles out fairly easy when its dry.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Organ_Pipe_Wasp_nest.jpg&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber&h=1536&w=1117&tbnid=z4So-4-Fg4NqeM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=116&docid=Cf59n8-IpEkeoM&usg=__LX-LPHA8oa8M1HX5Aw1P0yeiMSA=&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ_oG1vJ3KAhXEGh4KHb0TBnoQ9QEIJDAA