While most motorcycle riders show hesitation at the first sign of a river crossing, dirtbike riders, on the other hand, relish the idea. It doesn't always go as planned as a submerged rock could topple the bike, causing water to enter the combustion chamber and drown the bike. The deeper the water, the higher the risk of water entering the combustion chamber and causing the bike to stall or seize.
This happens becaues a motorcycle's engine needs air to mix with fuel to form part of the combustion cycle – and water doesn't really work well with that. Get water - which does not combust - into the engine and it is literally dead in the water.
In the video below, Russian company, Milandr SM, which specializes in building electric motors and powertrains, purposely rides an experimental dirt bike into a deep pond over and over again. However, even in chest-deep water, the bike continues to run.
As it turns out, the bike being abused in the video is, in fact, an electric dirt bike. That means, unlike a conventional engine, it doesn't have an intake manifold or even an exhaust pipe where water could seep in. The bike, which is one of their latest creations, is an Enduro CM 250 dirt bike. It is powered by an electric motor that is claimed to produce a whopping 57 Ps (56 HP) of power. It gets juice from a 6.6 kW battery. The whole process is self-contained, does not need air, and, apparently, ia waterproof. This allows the rider to keep on riding even when the bike is completely submerged.
Can your motorcycle do that? Probably not. This demo should put to rest any doubts over electric bikes' (provided they're built very well) ability to ride through flood water.
