help installing air intake carb boots

my 82 maxim 650 was missing the boots.
found a set on ebay labeled as being from another 82.

tearing my hair out trying to install these suckers. they appear to be too short. more or less able to snap them into the air box, but then the angles are a little off and there's about 1/2" of space between boots and carbs. not sure i can slide the airbox forward that far. even if i can, what is the secret to installing these t hings? carb side first? airbox side first?
what a royal PITA.

also have a set of POD filters, but airbox would have to come out completely for that, and still not sure how/if they'd work.

thanks for any tips.

 

It is possible to push the throttle side of the carbs too far into the intake boots. Have a look at that side of the equation.

 

thanks, k-moe.
not sure which is the throttle side, but the side going into the air box has a little secondary ridge which i assume needs to "click" into the air box (because it does if you push it). without that click it's just a floating connecting of about 1/4".

my bike is labeled '81 on the fork, but titled 82. it's YICS.
ebay sale was marked '82. so i'm trying to figure out if i got the wrong boots (assuming 81 and 82 aren't interchangeable).

thanks.

 

you can look in the XJ4EVER graphic link on the top right of the page to see if
81 & 82 are the same.
in the area where a clamp would be on the carb side you should find a little oval mark, that's the top.
i don't think their all the same so your going to have to snap them into the airbox, spin the mark to the top and figure out where each one fits.
silicon spray helps. get them in the air box first.
thoroughly clean and set-up your carbs first, or you'll be doing this again

 

The throttle side of the carbs are the side closest to the engine. Follow up on Polock's advice too.

 

If the boots you picked up are old/used, then they probably shrunk. I couldn't get the boots on my XJ700X and when I realized they seemed impossibly short (and the airbox couldn't go any farther forward) I checked the forums here. Somewhere there's a picture of old boots next to new boots, and sure enough, they shrink over time. I ordered new boots and they were definitely larger. They installed fine. Maybe you got bum boots on eBay.

Check this -> http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=30444.html

 

I, unfortunately, have a great amount of experience in removing and replacing the carb to air box boots.

The easist way I found was to loosen the bolt of the front of the air box so it has some forward and backward movement.

I use a very, very light coating of silicone grease on the inside of the carb side of the boots.

Starting on the left side of the bike, I start with the #3 carb boot.
Locate the two little ears on the top rear of the boot. That will be top dead center in the air box, I squeeze the bottom rear of the carb boot and squeeze it up and in to the top into the air box with it seated into the groove on the boot,then work the boot into the air box until the airbox is seated in the groove on the boot firmly.

I then slide the air box forward and slide the carb boot on the carb until the boot seats to the "ears" on the carb. Clamp tight.

Repeat on #2 carb, then #4 from the right side of the bike, and finally #1 from the left side of the bike...as if you were sitting on the bike.

the key is to get #3 on and fitted correctly, then #2.

1&4 become a breeze...

last, push forward on the air box and tighten the bolt to hold it.

It is easier to start with #3 from the left side of the bike because you will not have to deal with the clutch cable.

With as much practice as I have had, I can remove all 4 and replace in about 15 minutes, but that is not a bragging award I seeked or desired to have.

Hope this helps

 

BRAND NEW, unshrunk boots aren't all that expensive.

That being said, 1/2" seems like an excessive amount of "shrinkage." I'm more inclined to think they aren't for your bike; the '82 650 SECA was a non-YICS motor in a completely different frame and the airbox-to-motor relationship was slightly different.

You absolutely cannot trust eBay sellers' "application" info; most simply assume an XJ650 is an XJ650 and aren't aware of the subtleties.

 

All four boots are the same for the XJ650 Maxim/Midnight Maxim/RJ Seca models. The XJ650 Turbo's are a completely different animal, though.

It sounds as though what you have are airbox boots for the XJ750 models....they look almost identical, but are about 1/2" shorter than the XJ650 M/MM/RJ boots.

 

there you have it, while your waiting for the right ones, clean your carbs again

 

Dude your full of it. Hoooow do u possibly think u can seat the carb boots 1 at a time?????? Since u tighten the clamp down before u start the next how do u possibly have room to start the next 1 without that boot coming off.

 

I ordered new boots from xj4ever nice fit ,it is easy a little wd40 put the inboard boots in and work your way out to outboard easy peasy . I can pull carbs in 15 minutes, and reinstall in about 20 , of course I'm a professional aircraft mechanic , but even if you've never done this shouldn't take long , Patience is the rule. Good luck

 

What I found hard was not the engine side, but the airbox side. What a major PITA!

 

Way to represent yourself on a first post dude . . . . Welcome to the camp!

The airbox boots (at least mine and obviously Bruce's) are soft and flexible enough to allow a one at a time installation. The carb to engine boots are not flexible and cannot be done one at a time. Bruce clearly stated that he was talking about airbox boots.