Rail motor mud protection

[RustyMojo]

Hi guys,
After some advice from those of you who have owned their rails for a while. As those in the U.K. will know, over the past few weeks it’s been wet, as such the trails I ride are claggy as hell and the bike is often plastered at the end of a ride. The issue I have is the motor guard seems to gather huge volumes of mud through the cooling holes. As such after one ride it looks like the pictures below….leaving moist mud sitting everywhere and specifically against the plugs into the motor. This can’t be a good thing, at least I would prefer to minimise it! Are there any solutions to help prevent or minimise it? Aftermarket sump guards perhaps? I’m guessing cooling is less of an issue in the U.K. winter, so maybe blocking the wholes in the existing guard? Just trying to prevent the chances of a problem before it becomes one!…these photos were after the bike had been washed (obv badly trail side

 

[Doomanic]

I have the same issue with the Rail collecting mud there but after 3000 miles in all conditions it hasn’t caused a problem. It may be worth spraying some ACF50 into the connectors for piece of mind but I have not yet done this myself.

 

[RustyMojo]

Yes that’s a great shout. I’ll whack some on.
I do wonder if one of these would help limit the amount getting inside:

TREK RAIL MODEL 9, 7 ,5 2020/21

Protect E-MTB manufacture simple but high quality bash guards for your E-MTB. Our guards are designed to protect your motor housing from damage from debris, roots and rocks. We only use the highest quality aviation alloys due to its high strength-to-weight ratio(222 grams lighter than steel) ...

protect-emtb.com

or if I should experiment with some form of fine mesh over the slots/cut outs. I’m never going to stop water getting In, but mud and detritus which holds moisture next to the electrics is something I guess to be avoided. Perhaps some form of mesh and a healthy dose of acf50 is the answer

 

[Doomanic]

I did consider using motofoam but the bash guard is pretty close fitting.

 

[Peaky Rider]

I've not had my rail long but I find mud collection a real concern. The cover lets in far more mud than happens with the Shimano powered bikes I have.
For recent rides the weather has been particularly cold and I have blocked the front two vents with insulation tape and this has reduced the ingress of mud somewhat with no obvious cooling problems.

 

[RustyMojo]

Yes motofoam would be a good shout, or gluing some stainless fly screen mesh to the under/inside of the sump guard.
I will give some motofoam a go I think.

 

[RustyMojo]

I've not had my rail long but I find mud collection a real concern. The cover lets in far more mud than happens with the Shimano powered bikes I have.
For recent rides the weather has been particularly cold and I have blocked the front two vents with insulation tape and this has reduced the ingress of mud somewhat with no obvious cooling problems.

Thanks, I’ll do the same for this weekend I think. Glad I’m not the only one with the concern/problem.

 

[crazyethnic]

I'm surprised bikes sold in the UK need cooling vents.

 

[RustyMojo]

I'm surprised bikes sold in the UK need cooling vents.

Telling me! But then I’m surprised bikes sold in the U.K. have some of the bearing setups and frame designs we do! I’ll bet in our summer months we get a day when overheating may be a problem. But I’ll live with that as the compromise for having a better sealed engine unit