Awesome Alt. to Airbox to Carb Boots

Make the connection to the carb tight, but not too tight. The c-clamp they come with doesn't fit exact around the lip of the carb, and could cut into the rubber boot.

I used a little wd40 to twist them into the position I wanted (in case you don't want the imprinted writing showing).

Take the cardboard wrapper off... :wink:

 

Actually I found it easier to put all the boots on after the carbs were in place anyway. I pulled the carbs to do some maintenance and put the boots in while I cleaned and couldnt for the life of me get the carbs back in properly with the boots in the airbox. They wont pull back like the old ones. So I installed the carbs and then put the boots on.
Cake
And no i didnt need to cut or grind.
I used Mest's same method. Works like a dream. Inexpensive too!
-Chris

 

EXACTLY. this is truly an off the shelf bolt on, be careful everyone - some months ago on page 1 and 2 some of these are real thick and need to be ground, I suggest trying to find the ones Chris/SLKid and I found. The two different references can be found in posts above.

 

This wont work on an X would it.

Yea I somehow have a knack for finding bikes with ultra short airbox to carb boots. Nighthawk 650's are nice and long. The Damn nighthawk S ones, the 700 ones are pityfully short, and for no reason.
The X needs the longer manifold boots cos the water pipe runs through the middle of them.
Cool.
Srinath.

 

ok so i have a carb issue that caused fuel to sit in this plumbquick boot for over a week and when i removed it the plumbquick was rock hard, only on the bottom where the puddle was. beware

 

Struggle! The Alch sucked all the moisture out of the boot. No fun

 

Has anybody fixed their crack intake manifold/boots with this method? from what i've been reading, this is only for the air box? I'm lost....right?

 

I think they may get too hot and melt to the head. If they had some high heat rubbers I would def try it out! Would take some altering of the rubber to make the bolt holes and such

 

There one more reason to spend time with wizards...i just finished cleaning carbs on my Maxim X and upon putting back wrestled for 2 hrs with the boots unsuccesfully as the they have grown hard on oneside and shrunk, lost shape as well hence air leaks atleast on 2 of the airbox boots. Now i know what to do for a perfect seal..Thanks to whoever thought of this cheap trick.
A QUESTION..COULD THIS AIR LEAK MAKE THE BIKE NOT FIRE..JUST ONLY TURN...??????????????????????????????

 

Just checked at HD its C$6.99 here in canada, wow...gonna check Lowes.

 

jesus christ this is awesome. looks like im making a stop at lowes on the way home

 

On my Maxim X I has 2 bad boots and i used only one -Plumbquick -boot from HD cut it exactly in 2 parts and it made a good fit, had to wrestle to pull it out of the airbox (I had to remove the carb rack in first place to put these boots in the airbox)Did not have to file as the circumference is tight fit by itself to airbox. I used the same maxim clamps which made a snug fit.

 

I got these exact part that yamahaman did...but they seem a little long. I saw another post that said that old ones are actually shorter, but the old ones were about 2" and these plumbing fittings are about 3.5". Does that affect airflow, or have to be cut off?

 

Alright I noticed that no one that tried the lowes boots did so on a 750. Bad news....it's not quite a direct bolt on. Looking at both chacal's parts catalog and the xjcd cross ref, I noticed that the intake boots are not the same between models. I measured from the notch where the boots meet the outside of the airbox to the carb end (about 1 1/2"). I measured 1 1/2" from the edge of the "channel" in the plumb quick, scoring with my caliper set to 1.50" and cut it carefully with an exacto knife making 2-3 passes. I stuck the end with the channel in air box, and it fit really good, so no filing, but I didn't bother putting a channel for the other end for the clamp to the carb body.

 

Cool, GREAT thread, just read it in entirety for the first time, a great idea and solution that is affordable and easy.

 

Thanks!
And you know I've been wondering about the airflow factor ever since I saw a thread on "High Velosity Air Box Boots"
But if their is a difference I'd assume its miniscule. I mean, as long as you're gettin tan plugs I dont see how their could be a difference. Maybe in some MPG
-Chris

 

You know I'm starting to reconsider this. Is there anyway to rehab old airbox boots (soften the rubber, RTV gastet sealant, etc). When it comes to the whole "velocity stack" principle, I realized pulling these off again that the inside diameter looks quite a bit larger in the plumb-quicks, and there is no notch that rests on the carb body, meaning air on the edge of the intake will hit the edge of the body and become turbulent just before entering the carb. I wonder if this is a problem? So while they fit into the airbox well...I'm not sure about the other end.

 

I think there must've been gas in my boots as well (OEM), they're hardly attaching to the carbs on the bottom, but on the top half they're fully covering the carb opening Anyone else have this problem?

 

I have the same problem...i plan on trying this fix over the weekend!

 

double post....not sure why but it keeps happening

 

The length of the 1- 1/2 X 1-1/2 plumbing boots could be a factor if not shortened because they would reduce the air capacity of the airbox in my opinion. I have come up with a solution though. I trimmed off one end of the 2 inside boots putting the non trimmed end into the airbox and then securing the other end to the carburetor. The outside boots I trimmed both ends off and the put one end into the airbox and the other end over the carburetor. This would help with the airbox loss of volume and make a more secure clamping to the carbretors. The boots all seem to be secure and fit nicely inside of the airbox with a tight fit. I welcome any responses to my suggestion be it negative or positive ! THANKS DON !

 

you'll get it, just keep keep persuaing it! make sure the clamps in front of the carbs are loose when fitting them and also the airbox bolts removed. I actually have a half inch spacer on top of the airbox, for the mounting bolt to go through, keeping the box pointed a different direction. Just make everything loose, find it's home, and tighten it up the best you can

 

Totally agree Yamaman. I think they work just as nicely as the stock boots. I've run em for a year and they are still pliable, and I see no gain/loss of performance.
Now if I could only get her start button to work as well as the boots...

 

yank the button, connect the wires to a silver spring action toggle from radio shack w/ a clamp to go around the bars and Bam, new starter button. I like mine

 

I picked up the Lowes American Valve (not value!) RC40-23471 for $3.80ea tonight. I can't help but notice how much longer these are from the stock boots. Has everyone trimmed them or just leave them long?

 

TRIM! Mine are about half way on the lower clamp area, but I may have left them a little longer if I knew. Start with about 3/8ths and go from there. You definitely can't tell looking at it like the way you have in the photo.

 

I ended up cutting about 3/8" off. Here's what I did. Remove the OEM boots and clamp. Mount clamp on new boots and slide to smaller lip and hold it there then I drew a line with a sharpie. I then cut the boots to size, installed and reattached the OEM clamps. They went on SO much easier! Good bye old hard boots, hello new pliable boots! Here are some pics of the process.

EDIT - sorry for the orientation of the pictures, I took them with the iphone and it does odd stuff with rotation.

 

Did a great job and much cheaper then buying new ones

 

Using this method again on Project Maximus!

 

This needs to be stickied

 

How did I never hear of this?

This is, indeed, a miracle. I used the black RTV and bicycle tube method on my XJ, and no one ever notified me that there was an alternative that was so much more elegant.

Will definitely try this on my project 89 GPX 750. The carb boots on that make me want to shoot myself in the face every time I deal with them--which has been a lot, as it came as a non-running project bike. Cut my hands many times.

Such a beautiful solution.

 

Works great, and is flexible enough to put in with the carbs secured to the intake manifolds.
Reccomended removing the screw for the airbox, sliding it back, installing the boots, and then pushing the airbox forward, securing the boots, then securing the airbox.
-Chris

 

Hi guys,

I'm having trouble finding these couplings (relatively cheaply) in the UK but I have found This with a couple of clamps, do you think it will be ok?

 

I'd be wary of the silicon hoses to be honest, might be worth a try but I don't know how well they'd respond to being used near petrol, and there's no lips on them... How bad are your original ones? Ive read in a magazine about hard airbox rubbers being "rehabbed" by boiling in a solution of wintergreen oil :?

 

They're bad, 2 of them, split clean through when I took the carb off & the other 2 have splits & cracks all over them

I was going to solve the lip issue by scoring around the outside, doesn't need to be to deep or maybe a thin bead of sealant to make it air tight.

 

I think the main issue will still be how they react to being near petrol/fumes, looking at the American solution I think the lip just stopped the clamp coming off the end anyway & the pipe was the right size to seal against the airbox holes without a groove.

One thing the silicone hoses have going for them is how soft they are, so they'd probably seal really well against the airbox if they're the right O/D, but I'd still worry about them dissolving. I didn't see how much they were but maybe worth a try if they're really cheap, but I'd probably search places like Plumb Centre, Wickes, B&Q and Homebase for the rubber couplers first.

Or what about American Ebay? Maybe shipping wouldn't be all that bad for them especially if you requested them to be shipped without the clamps which you don't need anyway

 

Managed to find them for £6ish on Ebay

Thought I'd link them for any UK user looking

 

You won't have a problem as long as your using them for the airbox boots. Did this mod on son in laws bike, worked great.
You can use fuel filler hose(fuel door to tank on a car) to cover old intake(carb to head) boots or to replace said boots as long as they are stiff enough to support the weight of the carb.

 

That's a great idea Orange, but how do you deal with getting over the bolt hole, or making bolt holes if you replace the intake manifolds?

 

They're perished to, I might add.

 

You push the hose up to the bolt holes and use a band clamp and another band clamp to seal the hose around the carb throat.
Or you can use these if they are the same bolt pattern: http://www.tcbroschoppers.com/xs650-cho ... folds.html
If they don't match up, you might be able to slot the bolt holes. However at that price, you might find some originals for the same or cheaper. At least you get the idea. There's more than one way to skin a cat, but it probably doesn't taste like chicken.

 

Ah so something like this might do the trick, if i can adapt it for the bolt holes etc.

Thanks for the help on this, those carb manifolds are pretty expensive for what they are, I am going to get the right part, but at the minute want to just get the engine running before spending big bucks on it.

 

Just looked at the link for the XS ones, I can make something similar, I have a friend who's pretty handy at fabricating so those shouldn't be to hard, if they haven't got a similar set up on my bike

 

If you got someone to fab up something, should workout great. Show us some pics when it's done.

 

Just a note if you're going to remove the "manifolds", be VERY careful of the bolts as they might as well be chocolate & will be a pig to sort out if you snap them in the head. When you've carefully extracted them, find some matching ones in quality hi-tensile steel and send the originals to hell (in a handcart, if you so wish ) before installing the new ones with copaslip...

 

Yeah if I go the fab route I will. I will be updating my rebuild post as regularly as possible, but at this time of year, with money the way it is, it's going to be a slow process!

Yeah 750, I've heard that about these bolts, I found these carb replacement bolts on eBay, which I believe to have the replacement manifold bolts, but I can't read German lol. If not, I'm sure I can get a matched set to replace them.

 

Cheers Ref. What was your opinion on those two disallowed goals yesterday?

 

Back to the original discussion, and just for the record and for those of you new to the XJ series:

The original carb-to-airbox boots are NOT just simple tubes. The inside shape is not just "straight through" look closely at one.

They are, in fact, velocity stacks. If you replace them with simple straight-section tubing it will affect how well the carbs work.

 

Try it out fitz
Ive done it to 2 XJ700s. Before and after were exactly the same