Hello everybody,
I just bought a BF 750 about a week ago and this past Sunday was its maiden voyage into the swamps and muskeg of northern Alberta. Nearing the end of the trip I got a little too brave or stupid and drove into a beaver dam and sunk the front end in over the racks (the back end was in up to the fenders). I got pulled back out and and eventually had to get pulled all the way home (about 10 miles). After getting out of the water we drained the belt drive, checked the oil (it was white) and when we pulled the lid off the air breather we found quite a bit of mud and water inside. Please give me some tips or ideas on how I can waterproof this beast and perhaps drive it home next time. Thanks

 

If you plan on going into water that deep again you will want to do a full snorkel job. There are a ton of guys that have done it. Contact bruteforcebob for snorkeling and waterproofing tips he has a sweet setup and is well versed in water riding.

 

Just like what a doc would say, don't do it if it hurts.
You are not just risking the engine damage, like main rod bearing failure, but all the suspension bearings and electrical connnectors that come in contact with water/mud would have much shorter life than if you had not done so. Finding water/mud inside the air box/intake path is not a good sign at all. It is like shoving water/mud into your nostrils. I know it is too tempting to go into deep water/mud when riding quads. Even some quad magazines show photos of their readers submerging their quads in water/mud and getting stuck. One time I counted how many such photos in just one issue and I counted over 20! That's not right. It seems the magazine is promoting the activity that would shorten the lifespan of a quad. Sure, to other readers, it looks fun and cool when others doing that. At least, the magazine folks should say something about possible consequences of doing such things to the quad. We paid lots of money for our toy. We should do those adventurous activities in a reasonable manner so that we can "continue" to enjoy what we like to do for a long time. Getting towed back home is not my way of having fun. After all, it is your quad and your investment. I am just expressing my opinion as a quad enthusiast for others. You can ride your quad anyway you want it.

Back to technical issues:
Installing snorkel will only help the air intake system. There is a carb vent canister (small white plastic bottle) in front of air box. That needs to be taken care of as well. All the electrical connectors should be disconnected and waterproof grease should be applied on contact pins to avoid or "delay" the corrosion. Poor electrical connection will cause some weird electrical problems on quads that are really difficult to diagnose. All the non-sealed type pivot bearings on suspension should be replaced with the sealed type. Mud/sand grits on shockabsorber rod will tear up the oil seals, and still some metal will corrode somewhere on quads...

 

what should be done to the carb vent canister?

 

What I've done to my 750 was to get rid of it, and attached a longer tube to the handlebar and pointed the hose end "downward". The canister has some baffle mechanism or divider, but I said hell with it and got rid of it. I noticed that water/debris getting inside the canister even I didn't go submarining my quad. Eventually the water/mud in the carb vent canister will find a way to the carbs because they are in a series. It appears that water/dirt accumulation can happen just by tire splashing or pressure washing quad or something. I just didn't like the design.

 

looking at the vent it has 3 tubes going in it 2 on one side and 1 on the other so you just moved all three of them up under you handle bar by adding a little more tubeing to them right (just wanted to make sure this is the same vent i was talking about)

 

Yes, you are looking at the right part. It is screwed onto front of the air box. Just replace it with 3-way ("Y" shape) fitting. If you are planning to submerge your quad deeper than your kneem, attach a longer tube and route it to the handlebar and POINT IT DOWNWARD. If you are not planning to ride your quad like a submarine, just use the original tube and point it to the ground.

 

Thanks alot for all the help!