airbox

[ricardo]

Why won't my air box fit against the carb intakes without a headache. Have they become hard or has the box become soft and bends when I try to fit them?

Would a new one solve the problem??

Ricardo

[Nurse Julie]

Nope, a new one won't be much better. You just have to persevere, its just an awkward job to do.

[kent400]

A whole lot easier if you loosen the clips that secure the carbs so they are flexible. 

[Clem2112]

With care it's not too tricky.
Good lighting helps too.
Get the throttle cables up and clear, out of the way of the pulley and cable bracket.
Flexible inlet rubbers (or new ones if possible) will help too, with the clips loosened off.
Also loosen the large clip between the manifold on the oval connector, then use a bungy to hold the manifold against the frame which gives a few mm extra clearance to ease the carb bank into position.
Angle the back of the carbs down as they are moved into position from the RHS, then insert them into the 4 insulator rubbers (again, clips loosened). Quite a tight fit so a tiny amount of WD applied by finger to each carb spigot helps.
The rubber connectors can then be adjusted/rotated correctly. I put a smidge of WD on the inside of each one to help them onto the carb inlets.
Then have some more fun routing the four drain tubes and two vent tubes between the engine and swing arm !

[Clem2112]

Are the carburettors already in situ?

The manifold is less flexible being a plastic moulding. A warm garage helps.
If its just the four intake rubbers that are not fully onto the carburettor inlets you can again loosen the large oval clip and carb clips then push the manifold from inside the airbox with the handle of a screw driver (or something more suitable) to get the rubbers fully engaged before tightening the 4 clips.
Fiddly but works for me.

[ricardo]

Many thanks to you all. getting carbs on was ok it was just the airbox. From what you say I was on the right track so will persevere. Anyone know a cheap supplier of knuckle skin. I'm getting a bit short of it.

Cheers

Ricardo

[taysidedragon]

Warm the rubbers with a hot air gun or hair dryer first. That makes them much more flexible for a few minutes, just long enough to get the air box on. Makes a big difference.

[robvangulik]

I always put the airbox on the carbs when they are off the bike, and then slide the assembly in the frame from the right side. In my eyes the only way to make sure the air inlet is as smooth as possible on all four carbs.

[ricardo]

Thanks for those further suggestions. That's my job for today.

[robvangulik]

It is a really tight fit, best is to remove the large oval rubber from the rear of the airbox (is easy to replace later through the empty airfilterbox).