Inlet duct to carb fit?

[Turbojoe]

It's obvious that the carbs have been pulled from my bike by the previous owner/shop. (The pilot screw plugs have been removed.) While the inlet duct on the right side fits fine and is completely sealed the left side sucks. Literally. I took a small propane tank and did an idle enrichment test last week. No increase of RPM on the right side but the left side picked up right away. I spent a LOT of time today trying to get the duct to fit well to the left side carb. It is no longer affected by propane enrichment but the fit to the carb throat is still unacceptable. After a few miles I'm sure it'll fall loose and I'll be back to square one. Anyone else seen a problem with the intake boots fitting securely to the carbs?

Joe

[Triangles]

Ive never had a problem even with my old 1994 bike. It's been some time since I've had mine apart but IIRC there is a groove on the carb/intake port and a corresponding ring inside the boot that fits into the grooves. Are your clamps that secure it bad?

Assuming your clamps are still good, a new boot is less than 10 dollars at my local shop. Many online shops have parts fiches you can use to find and order the part you need. The intake boots(ducts) are under the "cylinder head" section. This is what I did.

[Leaf]

Yea, you'd probably be farther ahead to just replace it. Rubber parts seem to go weird like that, esp. if the vehicle has been sitting for a while before you got it.

Lucky they're $10 for the 500. I had to spend $56 to get some for a 1980 CB400T, and they weren't even OEM. X_x When I grabbed the old ones to pull them off the carb, they just crumbled in my hand...

[Turbojoe]

I'd love to see a picture of how the boots are mounted up inside the air box. It's as if the boot is too short. They're both still very soft and pliable with no damage. Not even weather cracked. Clamps are good too. My thinking is that the boot just isn't seated inside the air box and that's why it won't seal at the carb. Whoever pulled the carbs may have pushed the boot out of place. If I could get the air box out without pulling the carbs I would have done it by now. While I have a car the bike is my preferred transportation mainly for parking reasons. I can't risk having something go wrong and needing parts. There isn't a dealer in the area that doesn't suck mightily. I'd have to wait a week for an online order. Money is way too tight to just go ahead and order all new boots.

Has anyone seen pictures posted anywhere of the inside of the air box?

Joe

[Leaf]

Ohh! You're talking about the airbox boots, not the intake boots between carb and engine?

It's ok if they are sucking a little. Wrap some duct tape around 'em and ride.

If I can remember to do it, I'll take some pictures inside the airbox of mine (though it's an A and may be a little different) and post 'em for you, after the Christmas Festivities are over.

[Turbojoe]

Sorry 'bout that. I should have been more clear. Yeah, not sure how much different the "A" model air box is but I'd still like to see inside if you get the chance to shoot a picture someday.

Joe

[Turbojoe]

I just stumbled on this picture. http://www.powersportsplus.com/parts/search/Kawasaki/Motorcycle/2004/EN500-C9+Vulcan+500+LTD/AIR+CLEANER/parts.html. It looks to me like the boots mount from OUTSIDE the air box. Mine appear to come from the INSIDE. I'd take a picture but it's dark and I don't have a camera with flash that works right now. I'm pretty sure it was reassembled wrong somewhere along the line.

Joe

[Triangles]

ah I thought you were talking about the carb-cyl. head boots too! Come to think of it I've never had a reason to pull the carbs on my "C" yet. I'm not sure how the air box to carb connection goes together. If I remember I'll take a look at my service manual when I get home to see if it sheds any light on the situation.

[Triangles]

It does look like they install from inside the air box. I also noticed they have a spring retention instead of the hose clamp style retention I thought they had. Here's a couple of pics. One of my carb to air box area and one of the exploded view of the service manual. Looking at an online parts fiche might be helpful too. Hope this helps you figure it out.