Fitting carbs back onto bike

[Guest]

Hi guys, I have finally started to put my bike back together.
I cleaned and rebuilt the carbs last week but I am having trouble fitting the carbs back into the intake boots. May I also add that bike has been sitting without carbs in a non-heated garage for 6 months. Is it possible for the rubber intake boots to shrink?
I am riding a 1986 GS 400 E.

Thanks, Andrew

[Steve]

I don't think the last 6 months of "shrinkage" will be as dramatic as the previous 32 YEARS.

May not be considered "cheap" by any means, but new intake boots are worth the investment.

.

[cowboyup3371]

New boots are the best and should be the first option as Steve says. Getting new boots will save you heartache for quite some time and prevent potential vacuum leaks due to pinholes or other failures in the rubber.

[jsandidge]

As stated, new rubber is what you need. If you're feeling lucky (or you want to do it twice), you can heat the rubber with a hair dryer.

[londonboards]

Lots of wood helps:

[bwringer]

Extreme measures are a great way to bend or break some nearly irreplaceable parts.

If your carbs won't pop into place by hand, pry open your wallet a bit and order up some freakin' intake boots.

[gsrick]

If you can't wait or afford new intakes at this time, use a ratchet strap, WD40 and a rubber mallet. Spray the intakes with WD40. Put the hooks into the 1 and 4 carbs or the down tubes or to itself. Whatever is the best for the application. Basically you're running the strap around the down tubes and the carbs.Make sure not to run the strap over anything that can be squished or damaged. Slowly tighten the strap and tapping the carbs with the rubber mallet. Watch how they are going in and don't rush. If your boots are really hardened they my split if forced to quickly.

Here is a video of a guy showing how he installed his carbs on his Katana. https://youtu.be/e4qZIq0-cWg

[mrbill5491]

Lots of wood helps:

Geezus, never had to go to that extreme, a little silicone spray and lots of wiggling worked. My trick is install the carbs into the air box first then the intake boots. Helps if the boots are still good, new boots even better. Hard boots yeah no.

[BigD_83]

+1 on Mr Bill's suggestion, but be very careful over what you run the straps.

Try to get new boots when you are able, then it'll make installing/removing carbs a breeze.

[Big T]

Did someone say-Get new boots?

They do need to be replaced every 15 years or so

Best money you'll spend because when those hard boots leak air and you can't get the bike to run correctly, you'll blame the bike

[aclaytonb]

Is WD40 a good idea? Thought it didnt have the best interactions with rubber (vs silicone, etc).