Glycerine??

[Guest]

Anyone familiar with the concept of heating old stiff/brittle carb boots in glycerine to make them soft and pliable again???

[KRISTI'SGS550]

Colin,
I haven't used Glycerine, but I did spray the boots with the stuff you spray on camping gear (tents, boots etc) to waterproof them. It is sylicone based and did a great job bringing these parts back to like. It added a little more of a glossy black color to the boots as well.

The process is simple. I sprayed them and put them in a big ziplock bag, and there they sit. It has been about 3 days and they are glossy and very pliable, which before they weren't very glossy or pliable.

I got this idea from soneone on here. Great idea!

Cory

[Colin Green]

Colin,
I haven't used Glycerine, but I did spray the boots with the stuff you spray on camping gear (tents, boots etc) to waterproof them. It is sylicone based and did a great job bringing these parts back to like. It added a little more of a glossy black color to the boots as well.

The process is simple. I sprayed them and put them in a big ziplock bag, and there they sit. It has been about 3 days and they are glossy and very pliable, which before they weren't very glossy or pliable.

I got this idea from soneone on here. Great idea!

Cory

Cheers.

That sounds even better. Don't suppose that "someone" told you whether they could be sprayed while on the bike? (to save taking them off in the first place)

[KRISTI'SGS550]

I think spraying them on the bike wouldn't hurt, but I am nost sure about the overspray getting onto other parts such as the metal parts. Might turn them yellow. I guess if you made something to shield the over spray. Also putting them in the ziplock is a part of the process, I am not sure how important it is, but it did great with mine.

Cory

[Steve]

Coating the boots might make them more pliable, but it won't restore cracks or missing pieces.

Can you spray just the outside? Sure, but it won't do anything to 'restore' the inside of the boot.


.

[Colin Green]

Coating the boots might make them more pliable, but it won't restore cracks or missing pieces.

Can you spray just the outside? Sure, but it won't do anything to 'restore' the inside of the boot.


.

Cool. I might just bite the bullet and take them off and do it proper

Thanks

[psyguy]

Kiwi

Anyone familiar with the concept of heating old stiff/brittle carb boots in glycerine to make them soft and pliable again???

giddy mate
nice to meet another gs-er from auckland :-D

regards the boots - it is VERY important that they seal well so half-measures usually don't do justice
glycerine or silicone can help a little but can't bring back all the softness of the rubber that you need
i use the glycerine/silicone/any rubber treatment just to prolong the life of rubber that already IS in good condition

[Colin Green]

giddy mate
nice to meet another gs-er from auckland :-D

regards the boots - it is VERY important that they seal well so half-measures usually don't do justice
glycerine or silicone can help a little but can't bring back all the softness of the rubber that you need
i use the glycerine/silicone/any rubber treatment just to prolong the life of rubber that already IS in good condition

Sounds like common sense. I have an almost complete spare bike with slightly more pliable boots. I might take them off and give them the bag treatment for a few days while waiting for the Boot O rings and carb kit which I have yet to source & order... any ideas? Parts prices in the local bike shops give me the ****s. I was quoted almost $400 for a carb balance tool (which can be bought for $150 on line) and told I'd be better spending the money on getting them to do the carb tune.. only to be subsequently told "Oh Noooo! We don't do work on bikes over 10 years old".

She was occasionally starving under acceleration (thought I had a petcock/vacuum prob and got them a couple of weeks ago) but last Friday the old girl started playing up real bad... Fine at revs over 5.5K but unless using a slow roll on the accelerator when under 5.5k rpm she starves big time. As Carb bleeding indicated crap in the gas I feared I had blocked jets but wasn't keen on stripping them out and down.

However I did spend the weekend doing the following;
Adjust bent clutch lever mount.
Front brake flush (much firmer and less travel)
Cleaned airbox and air filter
Oil filter and oil change
Hypoid oil to Trans and final drive
Flushed crap out of all 4 carbs 4 times
Petrol filter
New Petcock and vacuum hose
Took top off carbs and tried to blow through main jets
A bit of cleaning

My spare parts bike has a complete carb set stripped out and at least partly cleaned (though gotta check the baggy to see if it has all the jets and hinge pins for the floats etc etc) I should probably to the bizzo on them (and the boot conditioning) and do a swap out.

Cheers for the advice.

See you post on KB occasionally (just joined a couple or so weeks ago as flyingcrocodile46) I'm on the shore... Where are you in Akld?

[psyguy]

waiting for the Boot O rings and carb kit which I have yet to source & order... any ideas?

mr robert barr on this site sells all the o rings you need for your carbs
people find that the needles/jets are usually ok, but if you need replacement go for suzuki original parts, the aftermarket ones are (people here say) no good

[psyguy]

Parts prices in the local bike shops give me the ****s.

DO NOT buy anything locally if you like your money!
did you get the welcome post here by cliffbass? plenty of good info where to buy parts
i oder things mainly from z1enterprises.com, best shipping deals i could find

[psyguy]

My spare parts bike has a complete carb set stripped out and at least partly cleaned (though gotta check the baggy to see if it has all the jets and hinge pins for the floats etc etc) I should probably to the bizzo on them (and the boot conditioning) and do a swap out.

yes, probably the best course of action is to get those carbs spotless and do the swap

[psyguy]

See you post on KB occasionally (just joined a couple or so weeks ago as flyingcrocodile46) I'm on the shore... Where are you in Akld?

i'm in west akl
do you ever go to KB thursday night ride? starts in westgate and ends in albany an hour or so later. good fun. mind you most of the bikes there are from the "new millenium"...

[psyguy]

See you post on KB occasionally (just joined a couple or so weeks ago as flyingcrocodile46)

you might want to check this thread out

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=46404

i learnt heaps from other members through the process

[Zooks]

LOL cliffbass is actually basscliff (but I'm sure he won't mind).

You can soak the carb boots in acetone (nail polish remover) for a while and it will soften them up completely. The acetone evaporates off slowly and the boots return to 'normal' over time. It's a very good way of getting hard boots soft again so you can get the carbs into them. If you do this and then spray them with a rubber preserver (when the acetone has evaporated) they should last a while longer.

Acetone has long been used to soften rubber in various industries, just don't leave it too long or the boots will get so soft that they will swell and eventually dissolve (this takes a few days though).

[Colin Green]

you might want to check this thread out

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=46404

i learnt heaps from other members through the process

I read the whole thread. Damn!... You sure didn't get the dream run. Well done for sticking through it.... You did some hard yards and top work.

I intend to go to the Thursday night rides as soon as I get the carb sorted out. Just ordered the O-ring sets incl drain bolt rings and boot rings. No idea how long they will take. (have read the carb articles)

LOL cliffbass is actually basscliff (but I'm sure he won't mind).

You can soak the carb boots in acetone (nail polish remover) for a while and it will soften them up completely. The acetone evaporates off slowly and the boots return to 'normal' over time. It's a very good way of getting hard boots soft again so you can get the carbs into them. If you do this and then spray them with a rubber preserver (when the acetone has evaporated) they should last a while longer.

Acetone has long been used to soften rubber in various industries, just don't leave it too long or the boots will get so soft that they will swell and eventually dissolve (this takes a few days though).

Cheers Zooks As the wife has Acetone I might just give that a whirl:-D