Carb-airbox rubber bodges?

[Guest]

I can see daylight between at least one of my carb-to-airbox rubbers when I look inside the airbox. I phone Robinsons to get a price for new ones: £16-odd EACH, nearly £70 for 4! Therefore I'm hoping somebody has got some experience with successfully bodging leaks on these. The rubbers themselves don;t appear cracked or too hard, so I'm thinking about trying to neatly apply some sort of sealant - the question is, what sort? Ordinary silicone instant gasket stuff? Or some kind of special rubber sealant if there is any?

I'm ready for a telling off for not doing the job properly, but I just can't afford this kind of expense right now. And I'm guessing I'm not the first person to hope for a cheaper solution to this issue.

[cowboyup3371]

The only way you'll have the piece of mind that your bike is running well is to replace them.

[Big T]

What he said

You should always budget a few hundred for rubber bits, they're 30 years old

[60ratrod]

I'm playing the devil's advocate here, but if you need to save up for a bit to get the new airbox boots, a brake fluid soak might rejuvenate them for long enough to save some coin and get some seat time. Otherwise chuck the coin at Robinsons and get the new boots. But remember, the brake fluid is only a temporary get you by, and by no means a long term fix

[sinkankan]

Have you tried your local Suzuki dealer, I got all mine from the local Suzuki bike shop over the counter. Saved $40 on postage to boot (pun intended)

[Steve]

If you are aghast at the price of those rubber bits, you had better hope the ones on the other side of the carbs are in good shape.

Depending on the bike, they are between 2 and 3 times the price.

.

[Jon]

The carb-to-head rubbers LOOK ok, but I haven't done any more than look at them fitted yet. I certainly can't see any signs of cracking or perishing, but I realise things might look different once they're off and closely examined.

I must admit, I naively imagined getting a classic Japanese bike would be less of a money pit than the old Brit bikes I'm used to - not the case at all it seems! At least my Tiger 750 has only one carb and no rubber bits...

[bwringer]

The only bodge here is to reach into your wallet and extract a plastic rectangle with numbers on it...

Just FYI, RTV deteriorates pretty rapidly in the presence of gasoline vapor. Not even worth a a try, as many have learned.

Also, you'll be astonished at the difference when you get the new bits -- they're a lot larger. The old ones have been steadily shrinking for 30+ years.

[Jon]

I did what you said and it kind of fits the gap I s'pose, but now I need some cash out f the machine and don't know what to do....