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Airbox Base Seal

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RidetheLightning

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Messages
275
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Okay so real beginner question. I took the airbox base off, and when putting back on realized I didn't note whether the rubber seal at the bottom was fitted within the hole of the base or whether it was just pressed up on the bottom. I assumed it must be an actual seal given the lip, and tried for about half an hour to get the lip pulled through all the way around the hole, only for it to pop right back out once I tried to bolt the filter back down to it (since it has an open airbox mod). Here's a picture of what it looks like with the seal pulled up through the base. If this is the way it's supposed to be, can anyone tell me how to thread a nut under the bottom without pulling it back off?IMG_4008.jpg
 
Here's a picture of what it looks like with the seal pulled up through the base. If this is the way it's supposed to be,


THAT IS INCORRECT!

here's the easy proven method and YOU will need to remove your airbox base-plate before going to step #1. as follows:
1-confirm that rubber air boot is correctly seated onto the throttle body AND that the spring clamp is correctly positioned onto the base of the boot.
2-either put a light coating of O-ring lube or mist some WD-40 onto the entire top side of the boot lip. the lip is the part that you will be pulling up thru the hole in the base-plate.
3-install base-plate and tighten all 4 plate-to-frame torx screws.
4-now with THICK straight blade screwdriver....work the boot lip up thru the hole. you will see that the lip actually consists of 2 halves separated by a slit.
5-once you have a few inches of the lip up thru the hole then switch to a long shaft THIN straight blade screwdriver and go around the slit of the lip working just the UPPER PORTION of the lip onto the base plate. the lower portion will automatically seat itself under the base plate when done correctly.

what most people fail to understand is that the motor is designed to "move around"....and the base-plate is affixed to the frame...so the base-plate is in a fixed position. the boot and sealing lip is what ties both together and forms an air-tight seal between the throttle body and the complete airbox assembly. if not installed correctly the bike inevitably runs like sh*t.

make sense???????????????
 
Last edited:
It does to me and I also learned something new today. I have been just bolting down the base plate, not pulling the lip up.
 
Your steps are definitely easier, but I may not have mentioned that I actually did have the two halves separated so the bottom part below the slit is below the airbox base. I will definitely use your steps to get it back up through, but my main issue was getting the washers and nuts back on the bottom of the bolt that holds the air cleaner down. I'm guessing I should probably just flip the bolt over so the nut is on top, as there isn't enough room underneath to get my hand once the boot is sealed.
 
What year is your bike ? As far as 2007 and up, there is no bolt that holds the air cleaner down, that I know of.

I just realized something, you have a modified air box, yes ?

2007, and yes it's a modified airbox from previous owner. It has an acrylic top holding the air cleaner down to the base with a large bolt. I flipped the bolt so the bolt head was under the airbox base, that way I could pull the boot up through and not have to worry about getting my fingers back under the base to thread the nut without the boot sliding back below the base. Followed the instructions from lunatic and got it all fixed up.
 
Here's a picture of what it looks like with the seal pulled up through the base. If this is the way it's supposed to be,


THAT IS INCORRECT!

here's the easy proven method and YOU will need to remove your airbox base-plate before going to step #1. as follows:
1-confirm that rubber air boot is correctly seated onto the throttle body AND that the spring clamp is correctly positioned onto the base of the boot.
2-either put a light coating of O-ring lube or mist some WD-40 onto the entire top side of the boot lip. the lip is the part that you will be pulling up thru the hole in the base-plate.
3-install base-plate and tighten all 4 plate-to-frame torx screws.
4-now with THICK straight blade screwdriver....work the boot lip up thru the hole. you will see that the lip actually consists of 2 halves separated by a slit.
5-once you have a few inches of the lip up thru the hole then switch to a long shaft THIN straight blade screwdriver and go around the slit of the lip working just the UPPER PORTION of the lip onto the base plate. the lower portion will automatically seat itself under the base plate when done correctly.

what most people fail to understand is that the motor is designed to "move around"....and the base-plate is affixed to the frame...so the base-plate is in a fixed position. the boot and sealing lip is what ties both together and forms an air-tight seal between the throttle body and the complete airbox assembly. if not installed correctly the bike inevitably runs like sh*t.

make sense???????????????

do i need to do an INSTALL video to go with my removal ASMR-ish vid. I promise there will be grunting :eagerness:
 
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