Patching or Vulcanizing intake boots?

During the removal of the carbs to extract the itty-bitty pieces of crappy OEM foam filter that disinigrated on my wifes Vulcan, I noticed the air duct (boot) for the rear carb has about a 1" tear on the inner portion where it bends.
Rather than shell out the $50 at the local Kawi stealership:angry:, I'm wondering if the surface could just be roughed and patched (from the outside of course) with an inner tube patch, or possible vulcanized.

I had the sidewall on a (only one day old!) BFG Mud Terrain tire vulcanized from an off-roading "oops" (1" long gouge from a sharp-edged boulder :whistle:)....the vulcanized repair outlasted the tires tread life!

I'm thinking that if the sidewall of a tire that sees pretty high running temps (ambient temps + road friction heat), and at 32psi of pressure (only 12psi when off-roading), then it should be able to withstand the small amount of "suction" applied from a bikes air intake system.

Has anybody ever tried, or heard of either of these solutions being used before?

The only thing I can think of is the difference in materials between tire rubber and whatever the intake tubes are made of (neoprene?). Since it's already cracked, I guess it won't hurt to experiment.

Maybe someone over at the Kawasaki Motorcycle.org forum might have an answer. There are a lot of Vulcan owners on there.

- Nate >>

Post edited by: n0nb, at: 2006/03/17 20:49

I already thought about posting this same question to the folks on the VROC board since I'm a member there as well.
But from the impression I get, they really don't seem to be a trusting bunch as far as newbies are concerned. And most seem very critical and/or demeaning in their answers/replies to other members - even if the question asked is valid and not an overly-repetative one.

i used clear rtv silicon to seal up mine, if it's clean and dry it sticks really good, do it on the outside, let it dry, and then wipe some on the inside. i can't find the intake boots for my '77kz750 and thats what i did

RRRR - The VROC has been around a long time. Lots of members. Don't let the heckling get you down... it is their way of showing love. I am VROC2420 so you can see I have been a member for awhile. I have owned a number of Vulcans and the folks on the VROC are actually great folks who will do anything for you and the heckling is sort of the way a family acts. You just have to get used to it or it isn't for you.

I personally can't say much about the technique you are suggesting. I am also not clear on whether you are talking about the boot that connects the carb to the cylinder head or the airbox boot (I don't know what kind of Vulcan it is)... If it is the intake manifolds, definitely get a new one. If it is associated with the intake or airbox, I would be careful on how I repaired the crack. If the crack can be patched from the outside where there is no chance of something getting sucked in, it would be OK to experiment. Which side of the carburetor are your trying to fix? Airbox or manifold?