Airbox/Exhaust Question

[Havoc1231]

I'm revamping the old system and have a few questions on replacement parts.

Firstly, the rubber snorkel on the back of the air box...is this item necessary if I removed the battery box that would normally block air flow into the box? If it is, is there a good source for a replacement, or is krazy gluing the old one back together a reasonable option? I was thinking of just putting a piece of screening on there to keep any big road chunks and bugs out.

Secondly, the filler material at the junction between the headers and the mufflers on the exhaust. The old stuff was just rotten to pieces and beyond saving. Any good sources on this?

And finally, I'm thinking of wrapping my headers with this titanium pipe wrap stuff ( http://www.jpcycles.com/product/308-159 )...anybody use it before?

[cowboyup3371]

Boulevard Suzuki has the connector gaskets for $17:

8CONNECTOR MUFFL 14771-44010 4 $17.71

[850 Combat]

On the '82 GS1100G I had and gave to my brother, I lost the snorkel off the back of the airbox. The snorkel was warped and it had gaps around the aibox opening anyway. It made a big difference to how it ran after the snorkel was gone. I raised the needles with shims, and that wasn't enough. It was OK, but lower mid range and off idle response was always softer than it should have been. I found him another one, and it helped a lot. Yes, it would have been possible to rejet, but I didn't care to. On your bike, I think it will be way easier to live without it. The CV carbs are pretty sensitive to the vacuum at the Bellmouth.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Yes, an airbox without a snorkel will deliver more air to the carbs. This will make your air/fuel mixture lean so that you would have to rejet the carbs to compensate. You can make it work, it will just take some fiddling and experimenting to get the right jet size.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Havoc1231]

Thanks for the input everybody. Looks like I'll have to start hunting for a new snorkel on fleabay.

Cowboyup, I've seen the same part on bikebandit, but just have a bad feeling it's $17 for one gasket and not for all four. I was hoping I could use some other kind of insulation wrap or something that wouldn't cost me
$70.

[eil]

Header wrap is not generally recommended around here. Partly because it's overused by those doing half-arsed cafe/bobber/streetfighter/ratrod/<insert your favorite style this month> mods and partly because it traps moisture and heat. Making your header pipes hotter and more prone to rusting out completely. And personally, I think it would be a biotch to keep clean.

[cowboyup3371]

Yes, it is $17 for one - $68 + shipping for all four...