intake pipe repair

[BLT]

1981 gs850l ready to re-install the carbs but discovered that on one of the intake pipes the rubber is separating from the aluminum. the rubber itself is fine, not deteriorated, not overly hard at all ... i just need a product that bonds rubber well to aluminum. any ideas ? i have found that most 2 part epoxies work well for bonding like materials, but can't say that i have ever tried it on gluing rubber to aluminum. suggestions most welcome.
thanks
joe

 

[Steve]

I have seen several reports here with the same problem.

Several things were tried, they all ended up replacing the boots.

.

 

[earlfor]

1981 gs850l ready to re-install the carbs but discovered that on one of the intake pipes the rubber is separating from the aluminum. the rubber itself is fine, not deteriorated, not overly hard at all ... i just need a product that bonds rubber well to aluminum. any ideas ? i have found that most 2 part epoxies work well for bonding like materials, but can't say that i have ever tried it on gluing rubber to aluminum. suggestions most welcome.
thanks
joe

Epoxy (JB Weld for example)will not endure. Gasoline breaks the bond. Replacement is the only permanent solution.
For any adhesive to work, clean surfaces are needed. The induction rubber will have absorbed petroleum contaminants that can not be removed or wiped away because they are IN the rubber.

 

[BLT]

and of course those aren't the answers i wanted to hear ... sigh. adding that to the growing list of parts i need.
anyone in the vancouver, b.c area selling a parts bike ?

 

[earlfor]

and of course those aren't the answers i wanted to hear ... sigh. adding that to the growing list of parts i need.
anyone in the vancouver, b.c area selling a parts bike ?

If I had to make that repair. Loctite epoxy weld is probably the most resistant to gas adhesive. I don't know how long it would last in this application though.

 

[Carter Turk]

Try Supersport or Bent Bike in Surrey.

There in the same industrial complex.

 

[BLT]

thanks, carter. i've been to bent bike, but never to the other guys in that complex. i need a fair number of parts for this bike and i have other priojects to play with, so i think i'll just do what i can with what i have and keep scanning for a donor bike to pop up over the monsoon season.

 

[salty_monk]

There was a resource on here recently with a cheaper version of the intake boots... I can't remember what it was though. Maybe this will jog someone's memory!

 

[1978GS750E]

Try Cruzinimage.net

 

[bwringer]

Try Cruzinimage.net

Early reports on CruzinImage stuff are good:
https://www.cruzinimage.net/2017/10/06/80-83-suzuki-gs850-intake-set-insulator-4-intakes-included/


And yes, it's quite true that there are no known ways to repair these once cracked or separated.

And used boots will probably be in even worse shape. Not really worth the effort.


If they're hardened but not cracked or separated, you can make them softer with wintergreen oil. I and others have done this successfully.

But really, get some new ones. You'll be amazed at how the carbs just gently pop into place. Worth every penny.

 

[BLT]

well that is interesting; i wasn't expecting them to be available at all, much less at a pretty reasonable price. at first glance it looked like $45 per boot, when in fact it's $45 for the set of 4 INCLUDING o-rings (but not clamps).
here's where it gets even more interesting ... they are all over ebay for $18 for 4 boots, 4 o-rings and 4 clamps. the seller that i am looking at is (supposedly) in new jersey, but it's not hard to guess their country of origin. so the question now is ... is Cruzinimage selling the same goods at a normal retail mark-up or do they have a better product ?

 

[salty_monk]

As always with Ebay... you pays your money & takes your chance. They could be the same... they could also be junk

 

[BLT]

As always with Ebay... you pays your money & takes your chance. They could be the same... they could also be junk

OR ... they could be the same junk !

anyone tried the Cruzinimage set ?

 

[Steve]

Have not tried the Cruzinimage intakes, but have gotten a few sets of piston rings, which seem to be doing fine.

From what I have seen, Cruizinimage is in Japan, not China. :-k

.

 

[Guest]

Try parts outlaw, May be a little more expensive but their OEM.
Mike

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d401a6f8700230d8b4e53c/cylinder-head

 

[rphillips]

A little more expensive????? $45 vs $110,...yep, I don't know about the "little", but "more expensive" is correct.

 

[PeteD]

I bought a set of CruzinImage rubbers for mine, they weren't an exact replica of the originals but they fit well enough and the overall quality seems good.

 

[salty_monk]

For the sake of $25 I think I'd go with the ones that are a known quantity... stuff from Ebay usually comes from a parts mover, they don't even really know what they are selling most of the time.