550,F2 side panel grommets

[florence]

I have the originals from 1974 and they are still fine.  You don't want them to be too soft otherwise your side panel might fall off.

[Sesman]

I also have my originals from 1977 and they are shite. I’ve drilled the top lug and inserted a thin r clip to prevent loss.

[Sesman]

To answer your question Ted, here I am half way across the North Pacific on Port Tack in 20mph wind. I’ve just taken the helm after a very painful experience involving a kidney stone. Thank god for morphine and diazepam.

Tonight I’ll be in the pub at 5pm and tomorrow doing the garden.

🤔🤔🤔

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

To answer your question Ted, here I am half way across the North Pacific on Port Tack in 20mph wind. I’ve just taken the helm after a very painful experience involving a kidney stone. Thank god for morphine and diazepam.

Tonight I’ll be in the pub at 5pm and tomorrow doing the garden.

🤔🤔🤔

I've sent you a PM about Kidney Stones.

[TezzerTel]

Are the cheap carb rubbers from Ebay any good or are they to hard as well?

[Sesman]

Hard to say. My apologies.

I’ve tried a few ‘cheap’ suppliers and been disappointed on all occasions. The grommets have been rock hard.

I received my wemoto products today, will report soon.

[DomP]

I could only find the oval ones and not the circular

[Sesman]

Yup, they have run out of the larger ones. Note that Wemoto have transposed the images and dimension descriptions. Ie the dimensions are for the large grommet, but they show the small grommet and vice versa. I bought the last two large grommets, product no AB1746. I now have two spare small grommets!

[Sesman]

Forgot to mention. The grommets arrived in sealed Honda packaging. I’m told by Wemoto that the longer ones are out of stock and replacements will be pattern. I’ll report on quality on receipt.

[DomP]

Forgot to mention. The grommets arrived in sealed Honda packaging. I’m told by Wemoto that the longer ones are out of stock and replacements will be pattern. I’ll report on quality on receipt.

Ah, that confused me for a bit there, if you want to sell on the two spare smaller grommets I'd gladly buy them from you.  When you get the patern long ones could you let me know how pliable they are?  Dom

[taysidedragon]

Has anyone tried softening the old hard rubber grommets with the magic carb rubber mixture?

It worked well on my carb rubbers.

[DomP]

Is that the winter green mix?  Does it work and last?

[Sesman]

Aha. That would be me. I tried this some time ago using the wintergreen/glycerine formula and it softened them beautifully. Within 6 months they returned to their marble like state. I was warned this might happen by a forum member. Honestly the stench is not worth the effort.

Grommet report: The pattern ones provided by Wemoto are comparable to the originals in size and suppleness. They should be available from Wemoto again later this week. Good price too.

[taysidedragon]

Is that the winter green mix?  Does it work and last?

Yes. I used Wintergreen and Rubbing Alcohol mixture on the carb rubbers. It softened them really well, they expanded as well but returned to size in a couple of days.
I did it about 3 years ago and they're still softish, probably not as soft as new rubber, but fine to get the carbs on and off with a bit of added heat.

On my side panel grommets I sprayed them with silicone spray and the panels slide on and off easier.

[Sesman]

Ok, so the second batch of large grommets has arrived. They came as ‘pattern’ parts, but I can happily report that they have the same pliability as the smaller grommets, which arrived in original Honda packaging. At £3.17 a pair, it’s a winner.