deteriorating rubber components

[dlaing]

Deteriorating Rubber bums me out. I ought a bunch of O-rings to replace the rear brake return bumper, so that was easy to fix.

Now I am looking for a better than aftermarket replacement for oil coolers rubber mounts. The type of rubber bushings that they put in skateboard trucks would be ideal. Now if the Skateboard Truck bushings were just a little smaller, they would be perfect. Perhaps I just need to figure out how not to torque down to much on the rubber. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Also my rubber intake manifold things are starting to show signs of deterioration. Can I coat them with silicone rubber to slow down the deterioration?

[big unit]

Sorry I can't help, I have the same problem. The intake rubbers on the throttle bodies of my bike have cracked but don't appear to go all the way through. Is their a better aftermarket solution to replace these rubbers.

[Guest ratchethack]

Ditto both problems here. I did a pretty extensive search for delrin replacements for intake boots in May but came up with zip. I got a pair of stock replacements from MG Cycle ($11.50 ea) as spares, 'cause it's just a matter of time now in my case before the one on the right hand side (the left looks OK so far) starts drawing air. As for the oil cooler cushion-grommet gizmos, it looks like a standard electrical grommet might work, but haven't tried this yet - and I'd be suspicious about durability & resistance to oil, etc..

[jrt]

So, my pet theory on rubber deterioration is based on pollution. I couldn't find a map of NOx and ozone dispersments over the US, but this map sort of demonstrates my point. Most complaints of rubber deterioration are from the coasts, particularly the west. I wonder if it's a combination of ozone and NOx, both of which are extremley reactive, and sunlight (depending where you park your bike). I've not had any major deterioration in the rubber bits on my bike. Maybe it's all the corn pollution around here?

Just a thought.

J

[Guest Bruce]

My first set of rubber bits died an early death. Now I spray all of them on a regular basis with some stuff ( a plasticizer?, not sure ) that I get from "Griots Garage" and they still look like new. Looks spiffy too.

 

Though apparently not too spiffy. In the name of research I parked near a new Ferrari Sunday morning at Starbucks and decided to count how many women looked at the bike and how many looked at the Ferrari. I am sorry to report that no women looked at either! Well that's Vermont for you.

[twhitaker]

Though apparently not too spiffy. In the name of research I parked near a new Ferrari Sunday morning at Starbucks and decided to count how many women looked at the bike and how many looked at the Ferrari. I am sorry to report that no women looked at either! Well that's Vermont for you.

Maybe the Vermont marriage laws have something to do with this phenomenom.

[Guest jerroldt]

I have used a product like Armorall or Son-Of-A-Gun religiously on all rubber parts on my bikes for years with great results. No cracking or aging. I do it after every cleanup job. My problems have only occurred in places that I couldn't readily get to. I am probably too picky but bikes are my hobby.

[jrt]

In the name of research I parked near a new Ferrari Sunday morning at Starbucks and decided to count how many women looked at the bike and how many looked at the Ferrari. I am sorry to report that no women looked at either! Well that's Vermont for you.

Hmmm, you need a control experiment. Were there any Subaru's parked nearby?

[Guest Gary Cheek]

A simple mold could be turned from aluminum or steel . GE makes a kit for molding silicone rubber parts that we use for prototype work . The stuff is just about perfect for this application and should outlast the rest of the bike .

The bushings on my Scura and V11 are still fine . Just have to wait and see.

Could well be atmospherics ,or something ???