GS1100E Airbox Installation Frustration

[Tourmaster]

I'm sure this has been asked many times before ... but haven't been able to find any good tips on how to get my carbs installed back into the airbox boots.




So are there any tips to help ease the seating of my carb throats back into these boots, such as:

• Do the boots have to be rotated to a particular position for better alignment?
• Does warming the boots up a bit with a heat gun help?
• Should the inside lip of the boots be lubed with silicone grease, or should they be left dry?
• Clamps all loosened off and in place on the boots?
• Clamp the carbs down to the engine side boots/insulators first .. and then wiggle the airbox around to seat that side ... or vise versa?
• Angle the carbs a bit?
• etc, etc, etc ???

Was at this for almost 2 hours and could hardly even get one throat started into a boot ... so am getting no where fast. Think I'll give this a rest tonight and try again in the morning ... but any tips provided would be greatly appreciated.

[SKD]

I USED OIL ON THE CARB BOOTS AND HEATED THEM UP WITH A HEAT GUN FOR JUST A MINUTE AND THEY SLIDE RIGHT IN. sorry bout the caps...

[Tourmaster]

I USED OIL ON THE CARB BOOTS AND HEATED THEM UP WITH A HEAT GUN FOR JUST A MINUTE AND THEY SLIDE RIGHT IN. sorry bout the caps...

Thanks SKD. That's what I thought would work, since I do a lot of work on CB750's ... and that seems to be the magic trick for them. So, I heated them up today and applied some lube, but that didn't even seem to help at all in my case

Maybe, I've got to heat them up a bit more ... but there seems to be an ever so slight alignment issue also. Do you need to rotate the boots around to any specific position?

Also, I have the clamps just hanging loose on the boots, ready to tighten into place if I get lucky. I presume this is correct?

[tkent02]

The 1100E kind of suck for the airbox removal/replacement. Just force it.

Are your boots still nice and flexible?

[Tourmaster]

.
Are your boots still nice and flexible?

No ... and that's probably part of my problem. I've continued my search for other posts on this topic and found a recent one by Fizzyhair. The comment on this post was that these airbox boots can shrink as they age. Mine certainly seem very tight, as if they've shrunk some. If this is my problem, only thing I can think of is to warm them up a bit more with the heat gun. But, I continue to be open to other ideas for sure. Thanks

[friedshrooms]

i'm not sure if this is relevant. but you could take the carburetors off the intake manifolds and push them back into the airbox instead of vice versa, could be a lot easier.

[Baatfam]

Pods..............

[Tourmaster]

i'm not sure if this is relevant. but you could take the carburetors off the intake manifolds and push them back into the airbox instead of vice versa, could be a lot easier.

Yep, tried that today several times, all to no avail. I've since found several other posts on this topic and the consensus seems to be:

• Grease, or silicone lube the rubber mating surface
• Warm them up thoroughly (especially if old, stiff and shrunk like mine)
• Start from one end and work your way across methodically, using a tool to guide the rubber over the lips as required.

Better yet, if you got old brittle, shrunk boots like mine ... last resort is to go buy nice new ones.

[friedshrooms]

last resort is to go buy nice new ones.

heaven forbid

[Don-lo]

Hard boots make the job much more difficult, but it can be done. Heating with a heat gun helps quite a bit. The best way with those carbs is to loosen the clamps, push the carbs out of the front boots, then spin the front boots and remove them. In fact, I usually remove only the 2 right boots, and remove the carbs out the right side. Reinstallation is the opposite, carbs in from the right and install the boots (pointed up, then spin them down) after the carbs are in place. Again, soft boots are sooooo much easier.

[tkent02]

Buy some boots, cheap bastiges ****ing away your time over a stupid boot that should have been replaced eons ago.

[Tourmaster]

Agree ... will probably give it one more quick go tomorrow. If no go, will order up a set. Thanks guys.

[jetta90]

Tourmaster, I have had to remove and install the carbs on my 1984 GS 750E several times in the past. All that was mentioned is very important............needing to have boots that are flexible, a bit of lube to help them slide on, and using some muscle to get them on.

On my 750 the battery box needs to come out and then the air box needs to be loosened from its moorings. Once I have done this I am able to slide the air box back (towards the rear of the bike) and this allows to get the carbs back on. The air box won't slide all that much .........I don't recall how much - maybe 1/2 inch at the most............but it will give you a bit more room to force the carbs back on.

Your 1100 air box set up is probably very different than my 750 but you never know, could work for you as well.

[Nessism]

Yes on the new carb and airbox boots.

One tip is to install the carbs into the airbox boots, and tighten down the clamps, before sticking them into the boots attached to the engine. Keeps those pesky airbox boots aligned.

[Tourmaster]

BTW ... while looking for airbox boots on an on-line parts fiche, I see a part call "Ring" ... and I've seen others talking about these "Rings" elsewhere on the forum. These "Rings" do not appear to be on my boots. Are they necessary, and if so .. where do the mount? Inside or outside of the boot?