Clutching at straws....

[baldrick]

Right I've been dicking about trying to get my carbs on to some rock hard intake rubbers. Jesus wept,  what a job. Used fan heater on them to try soften them up.....nope...tried sitting them in boiling water but by time I got em on bike they cooled and nope. So I've taken off rubbers and done the boiling water then forced them on individually. I'm wondering if I can fit them on the bike ? I can get an Allen key through from the back. 

Anyone ever tried this? I'm getting desperate 

[TLRS]

Sometimes a ratchet/ring spanner and a socket or bit can work in pretty tight spaces. Especially if the ratchet has a fine mech.

Apparently there's also stuff available to make rubber bits supple again.

[Pegleg]

Vaseline and a ratchet strap worked for me. 

[SiBag]

Red rubber grease and rachet strap works for me.

[Dezza]

Instead of using a fan heater try a hot air gun. You'll be able to get the rubbers much hotter and more flexible but maybe try this out first on a set of spare rubbers so you know exactly how much heat is required. The carbs have to be on the engine first but it seems like a good idea to try a few times with them off the bike so you get a good feel as to how much force is needed to get them on. If it's really tight then you may have to heat the rubbers, slide the carbs in behind the head, and then try to get more heat into the rubbers again before dropping the gun and then getting the carbs on before the rubbers cool. I agree that a little red grease on the inlet stubs also helps. Also,what is your carb rubber/carb combo?

[baldrick]

This is for 36mm best from 1100L engine, into the 36mm rubbers. 

I've not changed anything, they have just gone solid over time. 

I've a set of the cheapo AliExpress rubbers, but heard they don't work. 

I might try them.

In the meantime I'm sorting out wiring issues on my TL, it's proving to be such a great laugh.......not

[baldrick]

Oh I tried heating, but they didn't soften up much at all

[Dezza]

You could try some Blandit 12 rubbers for comparison. There must be bucket loads of them out there. It's the rubbers for BST38s that are really difficult to source now as you know. I have a box full of oil cooled carb rubbers so getting an OEM set that will fit and aren't like concrete shouldn't be too difficult. GSXR rubbers for some 750s are definitely shorter than those for the Blandit, bringing the carbs closer to the head by 5mm but I don't know about ones for the 1100s.

[Pegleg]

I've used the cheap intake rubbers and they worked fine. Think Tourmax are the better ones. 

[clivegto]

Hotter fan heater + gt85 or wd40.

Sit astride the bike to wobble, force the carbs into there home 

Edited May 24, 2023 by clivegto

[baldrick]

I will try the AliExpress jobs see if they have enough give. 

When you ratchet them on are you just putting some steel plate over the carb intakes, strap round the front of the engine and force them on, I presume?

[davecara]

I've got aliexpress rubbers on my throttle bodies and they work great. 

Wintergreen oil is supposed to be the stuff to make old carb rubbers supple again

[Wagola]

2 hours ago, baldrick said:

I will try the AliExpress jobs see if they have enough give. 

When you ratchet them on are you just putting some steel plate over the carb intakes, strap round the front of the engine and force them on, I presume?

Yeah, thats pretty much how I do it but using a length of 4" by 2" timber. 

[Dezza]

1 hour ago, Wagola said:

Yeah, thats pretty much how I do it but using a length of 4" by 2" timber. 

That must be fun having to use this method taking the carbs on and off when setting a bike up on a dyno

[Duckndive]

The OEM ones on my 1216 are still nice and flexible but i always end up using a strap to Get the RS38,s back on 

I think its the lack of room between float bowl and alternator / hump on cases that makes the RS's hard work  

I've never had issues getting CV's on   

[KATANAMANGLER]

I use a smear some petrolium jelly a heat gun to get them hot. I sit on the bike and lock the front wheel with a zip tie on the brake. I then use brute strength and a magic wiggle to get them home. I have used a wooden strap accross the intake flats and a ratchet strap once or twice when they have defied me.

[Nick]

I took the rubbers off and sprayed them up with silicone spray and left them in ziploc bags for a few days, which seemed to help make them more pliable.

Used a smear or rubber grease on them and a hair dryer to get them back in.  It's a bloody awful job though, it really is...

[Dezza]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

I took the rubbers off and sprayed them up with silicone spray and left them in ziploc bags for a few days, which seemed to help make them more pliable.

Used a smear or rubber grease on them and a hair dryer to get them back in.  It's a bloody awful job though, it really is...

That sounds like a good idea. I wonder if doing the silicon spray/ziplock bag thing and then leaving the bags in direct sunlight all day (weather permitting) would enhance the effects. Or put them in a car that is parked in direct sunlight (this springs to mind because the inside of my car at the moment is like an oven inside.)

Edited May 26, 2023 by Dezza

[Upshotknothole]

Like everyone else has said, a little grease, a 2x4 or a pry bar of some type, and a lot of swearing. Every set of RS carbs I've owned has been a bitch to install compared to CV carbs.

At this point with Suzuki discontinuing more and more of the stock rubbers and Mikuni RS or TMR carbs being the only aftermarket ones that you can still buy new, it would be really nice if someone would just make rubbers specifically for those carbs.

[baldrick]

well, dont buy the aftermarket ali express ones, theyre miles out, 3 of the carb bodies lined up to an extent that you could probably stretch a bit to fit, the other one was half a hole out, ..waste of money........cheap shyte....

Im going to soak the original ones in oil and will ratchet these fukas on, with the help of some 4x2, if it kills me.......

[slayer61]

5 hours ago, baldrick said:

well, dont buy the aftermarket ali express ones, theyre miles out, 3 of the carb bodies lined up to an extent that you could probably stretch a bit to fit, the other one was half a hole out, ..waste of money........cheap shyte....

Im going to soak the original ones in oil and will ratchet these fukas on, with the help of some 4x2, if it kills me.......

Yup. I bought some from the bay & had the same experience. I bit the pillow & bought OEM 

[Dezza]

What are the OEM part numbers on the rubbers you have and can you take one off and measure it, i/d and the length (where it meets the head to the edge where the carb goes in). I have a box full of rubbers and they aren't all like concrete and I'd be surprised that there isn't a usable set in there that will accommodate BST36 carbs. My guess is many on here have the same so probably no need to struggle fitting carbs into rock-solid rubbers or paying a small fortune for new OEM items.

[spiderpig]

Apparently wintergreen softens them right up.... I however have no idea what that is or where to get it 

[SheepDog]

I had the same problem mate.

Ended up using a WD silicone lubrication and a ratchet from the bedroom ... sorry from the back of the shed. Like a lot of things I've come across in life, sometime it just needs a little bit of gentle persuasion. The intakes were approximately aligned and free from clapping as the photo above shows.

Use plenty of padding around the bike/fins for protection and they should just slide/pop in (ie with the ratchet system)

Anyway ... worked for me and my intakes were pretty hard.

 

 

[Dezza]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:08 AM, spiderpig said:

Apparently wintergreen softens them right up.... I however have no idea what that is or where to get it 

It's on the shelf next to the sky-hooks, elbow grease, and the black and white striped paint