Dodgy bikes on the OZ market
 

When I was in Bulahdelah today getting petrol, I saw a truck at the servo with a heap of new shiny bikes on the back. Most still in partial knock down kit form (partly in frame crates - partly out, some wheels off, some fully assembled, all sorts of different makes). One was white and grey Tenere. I thought it might be this year�s model so I went over for a good look but what the driver told me chilled me to the bone.

And I quote (roughly):
�Mate you wouldn�t touch one of these with a barge pole. All of them came from the same warehouse and have been under 20 foot water in the QLD flood. This is my second run this week.�

They are being steam cleaned, dried out and rushed interstate for quick sales ASAP. So be very careful about buying a cheap, near new bike at the moment, particularly in Sydney or Melbourne, it might be a wet one! I don�t know how you can pick them because they looked so new, no mud at all. Long term it can�t be good for a bike to be under water,

One thing, I would have thought the computer would die straight away but apparently not?
What other long term effects?

I would guess the computer is a sealed component. On top of that I would rather have a submerged bike that a salt weathered one. The ECU is sealed, as is most of the engine. Any water ingress into the oiled engine can be changed quite easily. The big bonus I suppose it that nothing would have been moved while the bike was under water and if new it is unlikely to have got in. The only exception to this that I can think of it the steering coulmn. The external pressure may force water into the air void inside. The engine will likely fair well as most of the components exposed to the air/water are not steel and water is unlikely to have entered if the bike was stored upright.
I say this as I capsized a boat in the Amazon many years ago and it was underwater for 5 days. When we recovered it, the Honda 40, despite having been hydrauliced (is that a word ?) and the con rods bent like bananas, the engine had not suffered from the water. The water was mud like as in Queensland.
Of course I could be talking b0ll0x....who knows...

Sounds like some dealer has no insurance. I know a few motor cycle freighter in Brisbane, I will catch up with then to find out more.