side cover rubber gromets?

[Mad Mark]

couldnt find anything on this. just wondering what everyone does about rotted out side cover rubbers? i made some ghetto ones out of rubber squares that work ok but wanted to see what everyone else does.

also one of the posts is broken off one of the covers, how does it last gluing them back on with epoxy or similar?

[Baatfam]

More than likely, Suzuki still carries new ones.

[Steve]

More than likely, Suzuki still carries new ones.

I can guarantee that they do, I have gotten them for every "new" bike I have gotten.

.

[smokydog]

Help

I got perfect ones in the "help" section at auto zone, most auto parts stores sell "help" products and I found grommets the perfect size to work. Helps if you have a old one to take in with you, or bring the sidecover with you. The help stuff comes in packages that easily open without tearing them open, so you can pull one out and make sure it fits. The post I would use two part epoxy, get it right where you need it, glue just the end of it to the sidecover, let it dry and make sure it is in the right location, then glob epoxy all over the post at the sidecover, making sure its not to thick so the post will go all the way in and lock in the grommet, hope this helps, Smoky

[loud et]

couldnt find anything on this. just wondering what everyone does about rotted out side cover rubbers? i made some ghetto ones out of rubber squares that work ok but wanted to see what everyone else does.

also one of the posts is broken off one of the covers, how does it last gluing them back on with epoxy or similar?

I had a broken off one on my Shadow, I used PC7 epoxy, two part mixable putty....built up a little epoxy gusset....solid like a rock.

[gsinister]

I lost the piece when I broke mine. I was thinking of drilling a hole through my side cover and putting a dzus (sp) fastener through it.

[loud et]

I lost the piece when I broke mine. I was thinking of drilling a hole through my side cover and putting a dzus (sp) fastener through it.

yeah, get a new cover or get creative...ya know! lol
I am crafty enough...I dont have any museam quality bikes plus its on the back so go for it, rig it up with some peg like tentacle and pop it on! ( I would not drill through it though....) just me. I just start lookin in the garage and junk drawers and somethin will catch my eye and you have that eureka moment ....That will work! ha ha

[bwringer]

Spend a few hours and maybe $50 trawling the Suzuki fiches for every "cushion" (Suzuki's universal word for grommets, pads, spacers, etc.) you can get for your GS -- everything will fit and feel like new, and your GS will stop rattling and shaking its bodywork over bumps...

The same applies to all hardware bits that get removed over and over and then lost, like the bolts, washers, spacers, and cushions used to mount the tank, the seat, the bodywork, the instruments, etc. and so on. Get the correct stuff, and it goes a long way toward making an old bike look and feel new.

[Mad Mark]

thanks guys, i figured if i couldnt get factory ones i could find something at autozone like smokydog said. and i think the term "cushion" will help in further research.

[mrbill5491]

Suzuki carries quite a few of the rubber bushings yet, though have run into few discontinued items such as the rubber bushings the instrument cluster mounts on. So I just took mine out and soaked them in some vinyl restorer. Now they are soft and supple again.

[sedelen]

You may still get all the grommets through Suzuki still, but if you need them for a '82,'83 GS1100E you'll get a revised part numbered one. Unfortunately, it's diameter is smaller, so tighter, and I broke a tab because of it. So, I'm still using the old worn out barely held together ripped originals that came with the bike, who knows maybe I'll find a good used set.
As far as fixing the tab, I just used a piece of copper from a 1/2" pipe flattened and trimmed to fit, cut a groove in it and it fits on a raised area so tight I didn't even have to glue it.


I had one broken post, I took some washers and roughened them up and glued them together, then I took a pan head phillips screw about the same size as the post and ground the head to match the post, then I screwed the post in the washers, then I flattened the area where the washers would fit and gorilla glued the assembly to it. No problems yet.