Don't worry, it's nothing to do with geriatric fetishists on viagra - I've just had a try of the How To Refurb Rubber thing from this month's Practical Sportsbike and it's worked!
For anyone who's read the article and thought "Hmm..." I'd say give it a go. Two CB550 carb-to-manifold rubbers are now eminently flexible enough to use again - and they were stiffer than the aforementioned geriatrics before receiving the treatment.
The only thing I did differently to the article was to pop the rubbers in a container inside the pan of water - a double boiler affair - and cover 'em with the 50:1 solution recommended in the article. This has two benefits over a plain pan - firstly, you use less of the water / Wintergreen mixture and secondly it helps control the temperature better.
Popped them in and left to cook away for 90 mins with an occasional jiggle to keep things nice and even, I've just fished 'em out and given a good wash in cold water and Bob's my Uncle!
Okay, so at a tenner for the Wintergreen oil it's not
that much cheaper than new bits from DSS, but it's handy to know it'll work for the more expensive or hard-to-come-by rubbery bits.
