2$ fix for cracked cb carb boots

[DCON]

my air tubes on my cb are severly cracked. last night i had an idea...
here you go, get a bicycle inner tube. pump it up and let it sit for a day to help stretch the rubber.
smear synthetic grease all over your boot. empty tube of air, cut a piece about twice as long as your boot. carefully stretch and slide it over your damaged boot. let it relax for a day and trim any overlap off. i used a bell universal 26" tube because its what i had. you can even get the tube seam to line up eith the original seam on the boot. it looks very presentable and it certainly wont leak. hope this saves you folks a few bucks. p.s. the task was not easy stretching the tube over, so be prepared the use extra elbow grease!

[bbap]

I love the "Macgyver" fixes that users come up with. :)

[mike1969]

Great idea! Just wondered, if you heat the tube with a blow dryer it might make it easier to slide on.

[G-Man]

Great idea!

Howe about dipping the tube in soapy water? That should help it slide over the inlet tube.

G

[DCON]

i thought of blowing the tube up after i made this repair. hindsight...
my tube was quite small like a ten speed bike would have. if you use a larger tube the job will be easier. didnt even think of soapy water-good idea. my results are perfect for all but a points bike. i love mcguyver tricks!

[Andy's CB]

nice, my bike didnt come to me from the po with carb boots, but thats a good idea! i do lots of stuff with 10 speed road bikes (usually 27") and i keep blown inner tubes, cut them open, then cut the long way too, they make nice tie downs for bikes on a bike rack, and im sure other things.

[bikedoctor99]

isopropyl alcohol will make that job much easier and when dry doesn't leave any residual lube that could cause future problems in certain applications. i keep a spray bottle with isopropyl handy for some seal installations, weather sealings, etc. will also work to "seat" standard tire beads- tubeless will require tire lube (auto store). hope you will find this helpful,allan