XJ550 Carb Slide Diaphragms

Howdy everyone,
I broke into the slide/diaphragm section of my carbs at the recommendation of a friend, and the diaphragms do need replacing. I've tried an ebay carb kit that claimed to be for an XJ550 Maxim, but the diaphragms are way to big to fit this bike (can't speak to the rest of the carb kit; the bowls are spotless and don't need anything). Does anybody have any recommendations on where to buy replacement diaphragms for these bikes? I know XJ4Ever sells a slide and diaphragm set together for about $50 each (I need all 4), but I just can't justify spending that much on a bike I paid $250 for. I also don't need the slides, just the diaphragms.

 

How bad are the originals? They may be able to be patched.

 

#4 is definitely beyond saving; the others have small pinholes and/or the rubber is just getting really weak. I mostly wanted to replace them as a preventative measure because they’re definitely reaching the end of their lifespan.

I wasn’t aware you could patch them. How does that work?

 

Here is one thread talking about it: https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/little-explotions-on-4th-carb.130351/#post-663471

You can find quite a few threads discussing patching these things if you go to the search bar in the upper right corner and search for "condoms".

Condoms or latex gloves and rubber cement seem to be the preferred method.

 

Bringing this thread back up because I just found this company JBM that claims their T-63 diaphragms might fit an XJ550. They are 63mm diameter, which I've measured the carbs on my bike to need. Does anyone have any experience with this company and their product? Links to a couple of their pages for their T-63 diaphragms below:
http://www.jbmindustries.com/Dimensions.html
http://www.jbmindustries.com/YDLS.html

 

Member Jake750 bought a set recently, and talks about them in this post:
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/help-with-jbm-industries-carb-diaphragm-replacements.131129/
I'm thinking of buying a set myself.

 

Jake750 seems like a cool guy. The JBM's fit like a glove and the bike runs perfectly. I was skeptical at first since their website looks like its from 1994 and is a little confusing to navigate. They are totally legit tho. They also have a few installation videos on their website that are super helpful.

 

I haven't met Jake750, but he probably is a cool guy.

I was a little disappointed with JBM's response to my email. Since I discovered I live 14 minutes from their shop, I asked if I could stop by to pick up my online order to save the $8 shipping. All he could do was say no, right?
Well, he said no. His response was that they don't have a store front, and they only do mail order.

I'm thinking "you don't have a door you open and walk out at the end of the day, to hand me a paper bag on the way to your car?"

I guess he doesn't want to meet customers, or he loves the feel of corrugated packaging and tape... or someone at the package drop-off. Fair enough, I suppose.
It's not a deal breaker, obviously... I just expected that it would simplify the transaction for both of us.

Come to think of it, his "no" will save me 28 minutes of driving and $4 of gas. The $8 shipping might be the better deal!

 

Members here have bought from JBM for many years. Nobody has complained about anything, other than a few who found that their diaphragms became a bit hard after several years. IIRC that was down to a bad batch of them.

As to him not wanting customers over; there are laws in more than a few cities that prevent businesses with foot traffic from operating out of private homes without a fair amount of paperwork being done, and not at all if the home is zoned residential only. It could be that he had a run-in with the city or Homeowner's Association over that at some point. Or maybe he just prefers to not have strangers over.