Topic: 75 550F carb:airbox rubber boots source?

[anteak]

Hey all. I'm trying to put an old supersport back on the road and a couple of the rubber boots between the carbs and the airbox are cracked or torn. I've tried to score some replacements with NO luck.

The exploded drawings and  fiche I've found online seem to show these as an integral part of the airbox or not at all. The drawings don't seem to be all that clear to begin with.

I don't want to switch to velocity stacks or individual air filters. Anybody out there able to offer be a source for these? Maybe repro stuff?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[harisuluv]

Those drawings are old but it should be pretty easy to find the part number. The airbox boots are much cheaper than the manifolds so oem is the way to go. Worse case scenario just call your local dealer and they will order them for you. It will be cheaper if you order them yourself online though.

[TwoTired]

Honda never sold those rubber boots separate from the air plenum assembly.

However, David Silver Spares sells them separately.

Cheers,

[anteak]

Thanks a billion, guys. I'll get this bugger up and on the road yet.

 

[Scott S]

http://www.classicmotorcyclesolution.com/

[Zora]

anteak - I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm looking for the same part for a '77 550F. I sent an email off to the guy at classicmotorcyclesolution.com and the parts are available.

[anteak]

Me, too. Bought & paid for. Shipping soon.
Thanks to all.

[That 70s Bike]

Honda never sold those rubber boots separate from the air plenum assembly.

However, David Silver Spares sells them separately.

Cheers,

well I bought 4 (@$10+ ea.) for my CB750K6 few years back from Honda

[That 70s Bike]

Thanks a billion, guys. I'll get this bugger up and on the road yet.

 

Read the factory service bulletin on the 500-550 (pre '77) rocker cover. If caught early, an o-ring (4 total) in each rocker shaft's side cover has been reported to stiffel the steel shaft rocking & further shaft hole damage in the aluminum cover Unchecked, eventual valve train failure

[singedebile]

Thanks a billion, guys. I'll get this bugger up and on the road yet.

 

Read the factory service bulletin on the 500-550 (pre '77) rocker cover. If caught early, an o-ring (4 total) in each rocker shaft's side cover has been reported to stiffel the steel shaft rocking & further shaft hole damage in the aluminum cover Unchecked, eventual valve train failure

Hmmm this sounds important, but i'm a little confused still about which O-rings your talking about

[That 70s Bike]

How many miles on your 550?
On both sides of the aluminum valve cover there is a polished small cover held by one phillips type screw. It's cast with 2 plugs to rocker shaft ends. The extra o-ring is squished in there to "bind" & stop shaft from rocking with the rocker arm. Usually the same size o-ring as the ones on the "plugs".
There is also an "L" bracket that the phillips style screw fastens to. The bolt fastening that bracket to the motor has oil pressure behind it. If it leaks the o-rings are first suspect but leak is actually coming from the bolt, I forget how the bolt seals
See cb500/550 Service Bulletins (#8 -valve cover) here:
http://www.sohc4.net/index.php/cb500/cb500-tech-guide/

[TwoTired]

Honda never sold those rubber boots separate from the air plenum assembly.

However, David Silver Spares sells them separately.

Cheers,

well I bought 4 (@$10+ ea.) for my CB750K6 few years back from Honda

And yet, this thread was about a CB550.  So, what is your point?  Buy a different bike?

[Cvalero]

Thanks a billion, guys. I'll get this bugger up and on the road yet.

 

Read the factory service bulletin on the 500-550 (pre '77) rocker cover. If caught early, an o-ring (4 total) in each rocker shaft's side cover has been reported to stiffel the steel shaft rocking & further shaft hole damage in the aluminum cover Unchecked, eventual valve train failure

Hmmm this sounds important, but i'm a little confused still about which O-rings your talking about

71 through early 76's have a rockerbox whose rocker shafts rotate when the valves open and close.  This causes the rockerbox and rocker shafts to wear quickly.  There was a alteration sold by honda to fix this issue back in the day but the quick fix is to take four extra cam end cap o-rings and place them in the rocker shaft hole, up against the shaft.  When the end cap is reinstalled it will compress the extra o-rings stopping the shaft from rotating.  I had read this on a website and did it when I redid my top end.

[TwoTired]

The oring "fix" only works if the shaft holes aren't already worn.    Once worn, an unworn replacement is the only cure.   The shaft holes don't wear uniformly.  One side of the shaft wears oblong more than the other end, which tilts the rocker and biases the cam follower face to make contact more on one side of cam lobe.  This greatly accelerates wear on both the rocker follower AND the cam lobe.  Severe examples need the rockers, cylinder cover, and cam replaced.

 An earlier post about this:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=20408.msg212239#msg212239

[Cvalero]

The oring "fix" only works if the shaft holes aren't already worn.    Once worn, an unworn replacement is the only cure.   The shaft holes don't wear uniformly.  One side of the shaft wears oblong more than the other end, which tilts the rocker and biases the cam follower face to make contact more on one side of cam lobe.  This greatly accelerates wear on both the rocker follower AND the cam lobe.  Severe examples need the rockers, cylinder cover, and cam replaced.

 An earlier post about this:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=20408.msg212239#msg212239

Thanks for the clarification.  I actually didn't know this so you know I'm going straight home and taking by rocker box covers off to check for ununiform wear.  My bike has about 13k miles on it so hopefully I'm stll alright.
Sorry, appears this thread has gotten a little off topic.

[That 70s Bike]

Honda never sold those rubber boots separate from the air plenum assembly.

However, David Silver Spares sells them separately.

Cheers,

well I bought 4 (@$10+ ea.) for my CB750K6 few years back from Honda

And yet, this thread was about a CB550.  So, what is your point?  Buy a different bike?

when you said "those rubber boots..." and didn't emphasize only the 550 boots" I took "those" as any CB 4 cyl rubber airbox boots & felt Honda would offer them if they offered for the cb750. I checked & you are correct, one part # for plenum w/boots and no longer available. Thankful for David S.Spares as I need one set for a 550 project.