Couple of newbie carb questions...

[Lucky23]

hey guys! Question 1: I cant seem to find intake gaskets for the rubber intake boots anywhere. Could I just make my own?

Question 2: When I disassembled my carbs, I removed the black rubber plugs that were covering the pilot jets. Do they have to go back in? They were sealed in there with some type of silicone which was crumbling into pieces.

My bike is a 1980 XS1100 standard. Thanks so much!!

[CatatonicBug]

hey guys! Question 1: I cant seem to find intake gaskets for the rubber intake boots anywhere. Could I just make my own?

Question 2: When I disassembled my carbs, I removed the black rubber plugs that were covering the pilot jets. Do they have to go back in? They were sealed in there with some type of silicone which was crumbling into pieces.

My bike is a 1980 XS1100 standard. Thanks so much!!

No gasket is needed for the intake boots. If you want to, you can use high-temp RTV or some folks have used thermostadt gaskets from an old ford.

The black rubber plugs do need to be re-installed. DO NOT use silicone in there though. No sealants of any kind should be used inside the carbs.

[petejw]

Bug has u covered pretty well,
u can make ur own gaskets or use rtv to
help seal the intakes to the head,
and as uve already discovered sticking anything on those
plugs (make sure u put plugs back in) inside the carbs will cause a mess, make sure u give the carbs a thorough cleaning including the emulsion tubes, if rtv was used on those plugs u can bet itll find its way into every
little orifice.

[TADracer]

Make 'em

If you want the gaskets then make them yourself. These are one of the more simple gaskets on the bike to make.

It is very economical and handy to have a few kinds of gasket material on hand to make a gasket when needed. Also, get yourself a single hole, plyer type hole punch at the office supply store. Invaluable for making those holes in gaskets for the common 6mm bolts that are all over our machines.

[cywelchjr]

When I put mine on, I just use yamabond on them to seal and have not had any trouble. Any gasket maker on there will do the job just fine, though I would recommend a high temp type since the head can get a little warn under operation.