gs850 airbox boot fix

[gs850cafe]

so may know this some may not...

i bought a brand new set of Z-1 carb boots not even a year ago for my 81 850...

within then and now the boots are in the trash..since day one they sat the box so close to the carb it was hard to tighten the 2-3 clamps down..

i had to take the airbox off about a week ago, for the life of me i couldnt get it back on...the boots kept sliding off...

so my buddy brought down a used set of fairly soft gs 1000 boots...with them a hair bigger then the 850 boots, the fit very very snugly inside the 850 airbox, which made a super good seal...and with the 850 clamps they tighten down very nice on the smaller carbs...and gave plenty of space to tighten it all down.

so from now on i will be buying the gs1000 airbox boots for my 850

i dont know how many people have had this issue...but i was so ticked at that stock airbox i about threw it in the highway to be destroyed...now i can have the airbox off and on as easy as can be

 

[Steve]

Interested in selling the 850 boots?

PM sent.

.

 

[Dogma]

Interesting. I have new boots on both my 850 and 1000 (each correct to the model), and have no troubles at all installing the airbox. It makes me wonder if a PO put a 1000 airbox on your bike.

 

[bwringer]

Agreed -- something is wrong with the airbox.

Perhaps the airbox is warped? Are you missing the spring rings inside the airbox boots? Did you install them the correct way around (very important, and a very common error)?

I, for one, will continue to order 850 parts for my 850.

 

[GSScoobie]

Great tip.
Even after they shrink from time, they will still work.

 

[850 Combat]

I have had airboxes and carbs off and on numerous numerous 850, 1000, and 1100G's. One of them, is always a bitch to get the airbox boots on and off. This one was also a bitch to line the boots between the carbs and the cylinder heads when I replaced them. The carb to airbox boots will barely go on at all. I don't know why.

I do know that more often than not, when I mess with the airboxes, the airbox boots have never ever not even once been correctly installed to the box with the sheet metal opening in the slot between the two rubber flanges, unless I put them there myself.

 

[rwcfrank]

I use a socket that is 1mm larger than the carb spigots, heat the boots with a "real" heat gun and quickly slip them on the socket. While they are still warm I then heat them a bit more and then slip them on the carbs. Works very well with moderately hardened boots.

 

[loud et]

I use a socket that is 1mm larger than the carb spigots, heat the boots with a "real" heat gun and quickly slip them on the socket. While they are still warm I then heat them a bit more and then slip them on the carbs. Works very well with moderately hardened boots.

+1 on the heat gun. Yesterday I had my carbs plugged into the intake boots, the airbox all lined up and the airbox boots started onto the carbs but they would just not go on.
Literally 30 seconds of heat and pushing with a dowel rod from inside the air cleaner box, the boots pushed right onto the carbs all the way in. I held the dowel rod in place for 30 seconds while it "cooled" and they stayed fully seated on the carb throats.
The haeat really made it happen. I meant to heat the boots as you said and stretch them with a socket or something but forgot before I popped them into the box so I used my method of just heating in place.

 

[gs850cafe]

well i found some boots of a 07 gsxr 600...they seem to fit the 1000 airbox just fine...a nice snug fit...did some cutting on them(little tabs)...

i also got a 81 1000 g airbox now...it is more squared then angled like my current...the 1000 will fit my 850 right?

edit: the gixxer boots are kinda a pain to get on...but they work...and the 1000g airbox said 850 and 750 on it too...so now i have a correct box