Topic: Can the intake boot be revived

[Honda Hansel]

So here it goes
I was talking to Larry the machinist and motorcycle enthusiast as we are
He told me that the rubber intake could be revived
and I asked how
Not believing the trick would work

Wintergreen oil and rubbing alcohol
1 Part wintergreen oil 3 part rubbing alcohol
soak for what ever time needed to soften the rubber ??
skeptic how that would work

So I did it
Soaking the intake in the Mix and left it for 24 hours
pulled it out and IT WORKS
That surprised the hell out of me
I normally don't believe in this stuff
Now I do
just installed them on the #5 bike and it works
Dont throw out the old intakes if you are looking to do a budget guild

Honda Hansel 

[scottly]

If you do a search for "wintergreen oil", you will find about 10 pages of results.

[Kelly E]

I've been using it for years. Works great and smells good.

[willbird]

I have about a gallon of it at home, have not tried it yet. Some videos gave mixed results. The who knows when Honda made the last ones I got as new in wrap OEM from Ebay were pretty stiff as new.

[Don R]

 I treated a few extra and sealed them into a plastic jar. They seem to be staying soft. I used Oil of Wintergreen and hot water in my ultrasonic cleaner. I also tried go kart tire softener and oil of Wintergreen, it was more temporary.

[Laids]

I have used Wintergreen for a while. I can confirm it does work. The only place I could find it in Ontario was health food stores and was pricey. The ratio to use may contribute to it’s effectiveness, I didn’t have a lot but I found about 30ml in a pot of water enough to submerge 4 old and hard insulators made them soft enough (relatively speaking) to mount carbs. How long they remain that way is questionable. The resulting aroma is quite strong, you may not want to do this in your family kitchen without permission.

[Laids]

Should have mentioned, this would be a boiling pot for about 20 minutes.

[HondaMan]

I did it with my 750 and they lasted for about 3 years before leaking vacuum again. They wouldn't soften up again a second time, they were as hard as a rock!
But, in the meantime Honda started making them again, at least for a while,  so I got a newer set.

[Rayzerman]

I can only find small quantity bottles of Wintergreen, I mixed with alcohol and soaked some very hard fork seals for a few days.  It worked.  The Honda carb boots seem to be hard to start with and will only soften a little.... one of mine was cracked so I just got a new set from Vintagecb750.  Not OEM, but they certainly were better.  The originals seemed like they were more like a vinyl material than rubber?? Dunno, but I think more difficult to soften than rubber.

[Kelly E]

Oil of wintergreen is also used for horse lineament. We got our 16oz bottles from a farm and feed store.

[Don R]

 I had some K&N air filters that were fuel soaked, I tried the same mix that cured my carb rubbers. It didn't work on the K&N's. It did however, swell some airbox rubbers so big in the soft areas that I couldn't recognize them, the hard areas didn't do a lot. Moral of the story if you do thin rubber, be aware of how long they soak.

[seanbarney41]

I have a hunch it is a main ingredient of Marvel Mystery Oil...my evidence is the smell.  I have wiped down rubber parts with MMM and felt like they were slightly more supple...or was I just trippin?

[RAFster122s]

You can always boil the rubbers on a thrift store pot on the gas grill away from the house. Side benefit is the wintergreen will open the sinuses...

[Honda Hansel]

My Garage smells wintergreen fresh
all most to the point where it is to much

I got a bottle from Amazon $17.95 Can

went to the health store and yes they know how to charge ?

Honda Hansel

[willbird]

I had an OLD set of OEM CB750K sitting around, dropped them into a mix that is roughly 25% methyl salacyliate and 75% seventy percent rubbing alcohol. Will see what it does at 12 and 24 hours. Two fit into a quart mason jar.

[HondaMan]

I have a hunch it is a main ingredient of Marvel Mystery Oil...my evidence is the smell.  I have wiped down rubber parts with MMM and felt like they were slightly more supple...or was I just trippin?

Well, you have a fellow tripper, then!
I used that on my [former] again K&N air filter (750) and accidentally had to leave it overnight (something pulled me away back then). It was sitting in a pan with about 1/8" of the oil i it, and the sitting side became very flexible by the next day. So, I turned it over and waited 'till Monday before cleaning it off, and the filter fit back into the airbox again OK (still snug). Before that, when I took off the airbox lower the filter popped off the upper half and wouldn't fit back on by 1/8" or more.

It eventually shrank again (prying the airbox open and splitting the lower bolt mounts, wrecking the airbox ) after 15 years or so.

[CBJoe]

Whats funny is I did this same wintergreen trick on some old GS1000 boots about 2 years ago. I swear that bike still smells like chewing gum when I work on it 

[newday777]

I have a hunch it is a main ingredient of Marvel Mystery Oil...my evidence is the smell.  I have wiped down rubber parts with MMM and felt like they were slightly more supple...or was I just trippin?

Well, you have a fellow tripper, then!
I used that on my [former] again K&N air filter (750) and accidentally had to leave it overnight (something pulled me away back then). It was sitting in a pan with about 1/8" of the oil i it, and the sitting side became very flexible by the next day. So, I turned it over and waited 'till Monday before cleaning it off, and the filter fit back into the airbox again OK (still snug). Before that, when I took off the airbox lower the filter popped off the upper half and wouldn't fit back on by 1/8" or more.

It eventually shrank again (prying the airbox open and splitting the lower bolt mounts, wrecking the airbox ) after 15 years or so.

I have 2 NOS K&N air filters that don't fit into the airboxes

[HondaMan]

I have a hunch it is a main ingredient of Marvel Mystery Oil...my evidence is the smell.  I have wiped down rubber parts with MMM and felt like they were slightly more supple...or was I just trippin?

Well, you have a fellow tripper, then!
I used that on my [former] again K&N air filter (750) and accidentally had to leave it overnight (something pulled me away back then). It was sitting in a pan with about 1/8" of the oil i it, and the sitting side became very flexible by the next day. So, I turned it over and waited 'till Monday before cleaning it off, and the filter fit back into the airbox again OK (still snug). Before that, when I took off the airbox lower the filter popped off the upper half and wouldn't fit back on by 1/8" or more.

It eventually shrank again (prying the airbox open and splitting the lower bolt mounts, wrecking the airbox ) after 15 years or so.

I have 2 NOS K&N air filters that don't fit into the airboxes

Another rider here came by with his NOS K&N (eBay) in the same situation about 2 years back. I suggested the Marvel Mystery Oil approach: he said he'd try it but I haven't seen him lately.

[Don R]

 I had a K&N that didn't really fit, I don't know if it shrank or what, but I ended up with a cracked K0 Candy Blue Green airbox. It now has an aluminum bottom plate.

[willbird]

I had an OLD set of OEM CB750K sitting around, dropped them into a mix that is roughly 25% methyl salacyliate and 75% seventy percent rubbing alcohol. Will see what it does at 12 and 24 hours. Two fit into a quart mason jar.

24 hours soaking and they are maybe a BIT more flexible. The fluid has changed to a darker color for sure.

[Don R]

  The last set of previously softened intake rubbers that I installed had just spent an hour in the ultrasonic cleaner water/wintergreen bath getting warm and minty just before I installed them. They went on easily.
  I also like to use a little Syl-glyde silicone grease to help with the installation and the sealing. I'll check my container of intakes today and also test fit my new Vintage CB750 K0 intake rubbers. I've heard they don't fit well.

[HondaMan]

I had a K&N that didn't really fit, I don't know if it shrank or what, but I ended up with a cracked K0 Candy Blue Green airbox. It now has an aluminum bottom plate.

Now, THERE's a good idea! I should make one for my K2 airbox. The new(er) filter has been a real snug fit.

[Don R]

 I did get out the two plastic jars of intakes, the two sets that I softened in the ultrasonic cleaner are still pliable.
  I discovered a set of F2 rubbers that are pretty soft and two more sets of K that could be treated. I apparently disposed of the jug of miracle juice. As I remember, it was getting pretty gross.

[willbird]

I had an OLD set of OEM CB750K sitting around, dropped them into a mix that is roughly 25% methyl salacyliate and 75% seventy percent rubbing alcohol. Will see what it does at 12 and 24 hours. Two fit into a quart mason jar.

24 hours soaking and they are maybe a BIT more flexible. The fluid has changed to a darker color for sure.

48 hours soak the ends are quite a bit more flexible, the center section is still "hard as a carp" as my dad would say :-).

Bill