Carb to airbox rubber hard as rock.

[dogseal]

Hi to all,
This may be of use to others on this forum, & I had to try it out as described on other jap bike forums.
Bought a can of xylol thinners locally & wintergreen oil off ebay..mixed it 75% xylol & 25% wintergreen
oil. I then dunked everthing including the airbox rubber in an old sealable sandwich box for 2 days.
The results have been great, an airbox rubber that is easy to fit & as soft & pliable as a new one.

Previously if I took the carbs off I was soaking the rubbers in hot water..it works until the rubber cools
which is'nt long enough to get the clips on.

Don't know how long the rubber will stay soft for, or when the stink of the wintergreen oil will disapear
from my workshop though.

[Suzsmokeyallan]

If you are referring to the six intake rubbers for the 74-77 GT750, you are wasting your money and time, simply buy the replica ones from Cruisinimage off of Ebay. Three boots with clamps at these prices are simply an outstanding deal, so buy two sets each.
They also have the two styles for the 72-73 models as well.
One problem with old boots is they get hard and also shorter, on many 74-77 bikes the rear ones wont even reach the airbox as both the front and rear have been effected. You see the gap at the back of the carbs and think its the rear ones only when actually both have been effected.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/74-77-Suzuki-GT ... 3b&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/74-77-Suzuki-GT ... 1e874307f0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pearljam724]

Agree, with Allan. For the cost of the chemicals for that home brew. It makes no sense, not to buy new ones. I don't doubt that it works for a period of time. But, I find it impossible that they would magically reform the exact original shape, thickness and lengths that they were originally and stay that way for a long period of time. As Allan also stated, if one out of six shrinks back to the hardened state. It will affect how all of the remaining boots fit. Leaks, refitting the carbs, etc. Doesn't diminish, that I appreciate you sharing the information with the rest of us. Another problem that arises from these boots hardening, they get egg shaped or slightly kinked. Making it a nightmare to reinstall the air box and carbs. Easy installation of the box and carbs is worth good boots alone.

[celt_rock]

I'll try it for my intake boots for my T500. They are in great shape but pretty hard. One boot on ebay costs $40. The mixture
I need should cost less than that and allow me to fix both of mine. It's worth a shot at least. I was just missing the ratio
which you provided. Thanks!

[Suzsmokeyallan]

For the T500 model, a set of two intake boots with clamps are around $30.00 with shipping, from the same seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/68-72-Suzuki-T5 ... 1e80029001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/73-77-Suzuki-GT ... 0465&rt=nc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Blokhead]

I tried that same mix of wintergreen oil, and xylene on some old Kaw carb to airbox elbows. It made them swell up, and get soft, but after a couple days when they started to shrink down they were already stiffening up. In about 2 months they were back to hard as a rock.

Some people have had good luck with just boiling a wintergreen, and water mix. I have not tried this personally yet.

Come to think of it, I tried in on my original GT750 fork gaitors too. I don't know if I left them in too long, but they swelled, AND got distorted. They shrunk back down, but didn't look the same. They eventually got hard again, and just stunk of wintergreen oil the whole time. Maybe I should have boiled them?

[dogseal]

I got a couple of pairs of carb to barrel rubbers off ebay, cruzinimage. Cant fault the rubbers but the clips broke on the spot welds.
I should have said that my bike is a 77' gt500, and the rubber part I was talking about is the one that fits between the back of the carbs & the airbox. I have seen nos parts but they are expensive..and no doubt getting rarer to source.
At the moment, all I'm bothered about is to be able to remove the carbs & refit them with no hassle..Iv'e fitted some expansion chambers to the bike & have had to go up 2 sizes on the main jets so far. Soften the rubber & its no problem getting the carbs on & off.

[ConnerVT]

celt_rock, you have a PM. I have a brand new pair I don't need.

[pearljam724]

I got a couple of pairs of carb to barrel rubbers off ebay, cruzinimage. Cant fault the rubbers but the clips broke on the spot welds.
I should have said that my bike is a 77' gt500, and the rubber part I was talking about is the one that fits between the back of the carbs & the airbox. I have seen nos parts but they are expensive..and no doubt getting rarer to source.
At the moment, all I'm bothered about is to be able to remove the carbs & refit them with no hassle..Iv'e fitted some expansion chambers to the bike & have had to go up 2 sizes on the main jets so far. Soften the rubber & its no problem getting the carbs on & off.

The Cruzinimage clamps were at one time a problem. But, they have addressed that. There now is a nut that is spot welded to the clamp and it's welded very well. I found the boots and the clamps combined are a fantastic bargain. They are every bit as good as the originals and if by some chance someone does have a problem with the clamps. They could use their originals.