At this moment I'm in a world of hurt because my new bike is ruined.

I purchased a Rincon in August so that I would have a bike for duck season. I have been on it a few times and it only has 54 miles. I have never changed the oil or done any work to the bike it I have it like it came to me from the dealer. Keep in mind that I purchased it out of town.

This week I went with a buddy to check on the ducks and to locate a place to launch a boat. He was on a Foreman and I was on the Rincon. We were in a little bit of water, up to the top of the tire. We were parked in water when my bike cut off. I left if off for about 10 minutes while we talked and never got it started again. I looked down and saw oil in the water and a light cream colored oil just outside the oil fill. We pushed the bike to dry ground and removed the cover to find that the oil fill cap was gone and oil was oozing out. We towed the bike back to the truck and drained all of the oil.

The following morning I took the bike to the local dealer, not the same one I purchased the bike from, and was told that I was S.O.L. The service manager told me that the oil fill cap was my responsibility and that the depth of the water voided any warranty.

I understand the disclaimers that tell you to check your bike before you ride and all of that stuff but common sense tells me that Honda and/or the dealer are responsible for anything that happens to a brand new bike with 54 miles on it. I expect that the bike is put together the right way when I purchased it and that I shouldn't have to remove parts to make sure every hose is secure and every cap is on tight. It would be a different story if the bike had been serviced several times or if I had done work to it myself.

I'm in the process of contacting the dealer that I bought the bike from to see how he feels about it but I'm assuming the worse. I'm not sure a law suit is worth the cost considering I could buy a new engine for cheaper (I say new engine because that is the worse case scenario). Regardless, I will fix the bike and trade it for either a Rubicon or Foreman. The like the Rincon but the service manager at the local Honda place said that the Rincon is not good for water and deep mud.

I'm interested to hear if anyone has had a similar experience or if anyone feels like I do, that regardless of the warnings, disclaimers, and small print the dealership has some responsibility.

 

Good luck getting anything from the factory. I dont know how rincons are in water or mud but i know for a fact that the ranchers are great for it. i have had the 350 and 450 rancher in water over the fenders. They just keep going. i have even seen a 250 recon with water over the fenders but i wouldnt advise it. the rancher might not be the fastest or strongest but it will try. i havent found a hill it cant climb if you have the nerve to take it up it. As for your motor drain everything put oil in it ride it for 30 min. then drain it again. oil it up and see how it works after a few hours if it smokes the rings will need replaced. good luck!!

 

if you didn't check the quad before u left especially as something as important as a oil fill plug, then its your own damn fault, i don't care if the machine had one mile on it you should at least look over your bike before using it, stop being lazy, and trying to start a lawsuit against the dealer, people like you with your lawsuits make me sick, when its your damn fault it happened, stop trying to get something for nothing

 

Let me make something clear. I'm not talking about the dip stick that you can look down and see. I'm talking about the oil fill cap that is concealed by the body of the bike. Its not a big effort to check it but how many other holes are there on the bike that I should check everytime I ride. I don't check under the hood of my car every time I drive it.

I'm not sue happy, I just feel like the bike should have been put together properly. I don't think its too much to expect a bike to work after spending $8k (w/ accessories).

 

um do you drive your car over the wheel wells with water? do you drive over the top of your oil fill tube on your car? do you take your car offroading on a daily basis, do you drive through swamps with your car? no i didn't think so, i don't know what all these holes are but, really beside your oil and making sure your tires aren't flat, there really is nothing to check on the bike, there is a reason why there are disclamers , and that reason is you

 

Litle Bill,
What kind of crap is that?? Your car is designed for the road. When is the last time you saw a car company driving a car through mud/water or taking it duck hunting? Every atv company shows that you can do that with their atv, in their comercials, but when you do it, it voids warranty! The machine has like 10 inches of ground clearance and 4wd and mud tires. HE was not trying to take a Lincoln duck hunting he was using his ATV( I better illaberate, All Terrain Vehicle) IT has a purpose, what spenced was doing with it, off roading! Your arguement is just assanine. Yes you should check your machine over everytime you ride, no doubt. Had he have checked his oil he more than likely still would not have seen that. The manufactures still have some form of responsiblilty I believe.

Good luckSpenced!

 

Heh fella, I doubt that your engine is hurt. I have bought car engines that have sat in a garage floor for a year or more and drained the oil before cranking to find that a gallon of water came out before the oil ever started to drain! Rain from being in a wrecking yard or what ever. Replace the oil and filter and run it a little while , then drain and replace it again untill you see no more milky looking oil. There should be no damage to the engine from sitting there in the water. Will the atv crank or not? Connectors may be wet and need to be dried out if it doesnt crank and of course the plug wire. I dont think you have anything to worry about. I personally wouldnt be a bit afraid to own it after what happened. The oil coating in the engine would prevent any rust because it was on the internal parts before the water. Its not like it sat for a month or more. Good luck. Check over and seal everything good. I sealed my crank cord with rubber silicone to keep water out on my foreman. If I need to manual start it, all I will have to do is pull the handle loose from the silicone. I am sure you are gonna be just fine. Good luck again.

 

I highly doubt there is anything wrong with the machine....assuming it wasnt driven too long in the H2O with water entering the engine.Dry it out and drain the oil a few times and it will be fine.You may want to check the front and rear diff. also.Does the transmission on the Rincon use the same oil as the engine as on the rubicon?.If not you may want to check that also.I had a problem with a machine taking on water ,,,happened 5 times before we found the issue......still runs perfect.

 

Drain the oil clean it out. There are a few threads here that will help you out. You are not the first person to use a quad as a submarine, good luck with everything.

 

Do not worry! I have a 1998 TRX 300 4X4 it has been submerged five times before I made a snorkel for it. Every time it got submerged, I stood it up on it's tail, took out the spark plug, drained the fuel bowl on the carberator, hit the starter a few times with the spark plug out to blow any water out of the motor, dried and replaced the spark plug, fired it right back up and drove home. You will need to change the oil and filter about four times to get all of the milky oil out. Once all of the water is out you are good to go. Honda engines are bullet proof and if you get all of the water out, you should have zero problems. Good Luck!