DIY O-Rings

[wirespokes]

I'm replacing the clutch in a 77R100RS and decided to replace the rear main seal while I'm at it. Did you know those things are something like $38? Ouch! Gone are the days of a $12 seal.

Anyway, while in there, I might as well check on the oil pump and replace that cover seal as well - just a 60x2 O-ring. That was going to be another eight bucks. I passed. Eight bucks for an o-ring? Well, the cheapest I found on ebay was four or five bucks for one o-ring. And it wasn't viton either, just regular old nitrile. I'm not sure if the OEM is viton, which for the money, it should be. I'm sure nitrile will do.

I've made o-rings before and they worked fine. But I wasn't always pleased with getting a square cut, though they still worked fine. There are o-ring making kits but there really isn't much to them, I'd probably make my own fixture to cut and join the rubber.

And then I read that water can soften the superglue bond holding the two ends of the o-ring together. I'd never heard of that before and don't recall that ever happening to me either. But now I was a little concerned about installing a home made oring that might not hold up, buried deep inside the bike like that - and sealing the oil pump besides!

A little more searching and I located some 60x2 o-rings I'd collected a while back just for this application. Problem solved.

But I am curious how many of you make your own o-rings and if you've ever had them come apart in a damp location.

[jrt]

I've done a lot of things in my life, but I can't say I have made my own o-rings.  I just bought a big indexed box of o-rings.  They have most all I've needed so far.
But good on you- cool idea.

[fotoguzzi]

$38 sounds like cheap insurance to me.. oh wait, this is a Guzzi forum.

[John A]

It at least would give you something besides tires to think about as you ease down a deserted county road after an 800 mile day looking for a place to get out of the cold rain, having missed the turn to East Bad Gulch as the sun goes down. Was that the oil light that just flickered? If you were in a car, you wouldn’t even remember it..

[Dukedesmo]

Never made an 'O' ring but, we have a domestic air-conditioning unit on which the fan is driven from the pump motor by a rubber 'band' which to all intents and purposes is like an 'O' ring in section but much longer and this rubber band is not available as a one-piece item and so requires the purchase of a length of the rubber which you then cut to length and glue together using 'superglue'. Apparently, according to the manufacturer that is how they do it.


I was very skeptical that this would work but I gave it a try and it still works 3 years later (at least it did last summer - not tried it this year yet) and this on an 'O' ring than runs as a drive belt so, strength and flexing at speed is obviously good though not sure how superglue would hold under chemical exposure?


The tricky part is getting a clean, square cut but can be done with care and a sharp blade. 

[SIR REAL ED]

$38 sounds like cheap insurance to me.. oh wait, this is a Guzzi forum.

 

Yep!  This sounds like the prelude to a really great story to told over a few beers or around a campfire a couple years down the line.

And one of the listeners will reply, "Well as my Daddy used to say, that's why stupid is supposed to hurt!"

Life is short, take chances.  His heirs will find a better use for that $38!

[SIR REAL ED]

This thread takes me back to building our barn out of used lumber and used corrugated steel when I was about 10 years old.

My Dad made my brothers and I spend hours pulling nails and hammering them straight.  Just so they could be thrown away when 3 out of 4 of them proved impossible to drive into the wood.

My Dad never owned a Guzzi as far as i knew, but he should have.....

[Moparnut72]

My old barn/shop was built out of old used rough sawed cedar. When it caught fire it would have made a Roman candle proud. I couldn't get anything out it went up so quickly, my beautiful pristine Harley Deuce was one of the victims.
kk

[Vagrant]

Don't worry honey, I glued the rubber with super glue!

[wirespokes]

Yeah, when I was a kid I also pulled nails from used wood, but don't recall if we re-used the nails. Uh, maybe we did since I recall straightening them. :-)

Evidently superglue is the preferred way to bond rubber. I had a slit in an almost new front tire, maybe half way down into the tread. For the hell of it I superglued it together and it held for the rest of its life. After that experience I superglued back together a horribly ripped Volvo 240 shift boot - rips going every which way. Washed it really well and spent a while gluing it all back together. Those shifters have a lot of movement, but the glue held completely for the next three or four years I had the car.

[fotoguzzi]

Ahh yay the 240. I had a Volvo 245 in Exorcist green.. great memories .. the original SUV in my world.

[SIR REAL ED]

Yeah, when I was a kid I also pulled nails from used wood, but don't recall if we re-used the nails. Uh, maybe we did since I recall straightening them. :-)

Evidently superglue is the preferred way to bond rubber. I had a slit in an almost new front tire, maybe half way down into the tread. For the hell of it I superglued it together and it held for the rest of its life. After that experience I superglued back together a horribly ripped Volvo 240 shift boot - rips going every which way. Washed it really well and spent a while gluing it all back together. Those shifters have a lot of movement, but the glue held completely for the next three or four years I had the car.

I LOVE IT!!!   

Supergluing tires as a repair method!

You are my newest superhero!

Yung-uns won't understand!

This would have been a great campfire story told as: "My brother once repaired a front tire by Superglueing a slit together!  It held together for the rest of his life!"

These truly are the posts that make Wild Guzzi a great site!!!

[Dukedesmo]

Quote from: SIR REAL ED on Today at 02:26:56 PM

I LOVE IT!!!   

 "My brother once repaired a front tire by Superglueing a slit together!  It held together for the rest of his life!"

___________________ ___________________ _________________

>

[Moparnut72]

This thread gets the rusty wheels in my brain turning. It is recommended that punctured motorcycle tires not be reused.  I am not trying to start a debate on that issue but then again I guess I am. I once threw away an almost new expensive tire with only a 1,000 miles on it upon advice of the shop that changed it. If super glue works so well on rubber wouldn't a plug inserted with super glue be a safe way to repair a tire? Interesting subject. I have an old inner tube that I cut elastic rubber bands out of to pack camping gear. Later today I think I will glue a couple of pieces together to observe the results.
kk

[SIR REAL ED]

If someone here does not decide to engage in oneupmanship by claiming they once repaired a slit in a tire with a staple gun, or with sutures using fishing line, I will be very disappointed in the WG membership....

[Dukedesmo]

Quote from: Moparnut72 on Today at 02:48:35 PM

This thread gets the rusty wheels in my brain turning. It is recommended that punctured motorcycle tires not be reused. 

___________________ ___________________ _______

>I've plugged bike tyres several times with no issues, done properly from the inside using the correct stem patch and all is good IMO.

The last rear tyre on my 916 had 2 such repairs and never gave me any bother but I would think superglue is not the best for this as it's not flexible enough?

[wirespokes]

I've had no issues patching tubes or tubeless tires. The Nealey kit for tubeless is a great permanent patch without removing the tire. There was a time in the late 90s I remember well because it was an adventure. (Adventure = one of those times when things didn't go pleasantly, like it snowed over the pass in July) I got a flat a mile after filling up in Kettleman City heading to San Francisco. Routine matter - not an adventure. Big black clouds heading my way, getting darker, wind picking up. BMW R100RS. Pull the front wheel, strap the center stand, lean her onto the front forks to get clearance to remove the rear tire. Remove the rear, remove the tube and patch it. All routine. Not a big deal.

The patch wouldn't hold. It was a new tube, but I discovered the glue ages and it's recommended to replace every year.

Ok, walk back into town. If I walk back to the freeway exit and into town, that's two sides of the triangle. No brainer - cut diagonally across the deserty landscape directly to the auto parts store. So there I am, leaving the bike precariously perched on the freeway shoulder getting buffeted by the semis, along with the front wheel propped against the bike. Not much choice, but hey, I won't be gone long. I carry the wheel and walk across the field in all my gear. Damn, it's warm!

Somehow, I wound up walking a lot farther than I should have, but finally got to the parts store, but they were out of patch glue. I had to go farther into town to the next place which did have it. Then I walked to the freeway entrance where there was a gas station and I patched the tube and checked it. Then I found someone heading north that would drop me off at the bike. Put it all back together and rode twenty miles to the next rest stop to wash up, where I noticed the rear was again flat. Evidently the finishing nail (found and removed the first time around) that caused the first leak had stressed another spot which decide to slowly leak. This time I parked with the rear over a curb and didn't have to remove the front. An hour later and it was all back together and ready to go.

I don't recall it raining on me, but it sure looked like it would.

Recently I needed some tire patch cement. What I had was dried up so googled for DIY tire patch cement. Supposedly superglue is the go-to and the best. The patch held but a while later the tire again went flat. The patch had come loose partly. I think I wasn't patient enough to let the patch cure. Superglue needs some time to reach max strength.   

[guzzisteve]

Why not, you could have red recaps or yellow. Just color match your bike so you look spiffy at the bar.

I got an oring kit years ago to make some for something not available and found out that the glue is good to put on the sidecovers that are Guzzi junk.
I was at the bearing house to get some more glue, that's where I got the kit. The guy turned me on to a different glue, like superglue used to be.

[wirespokes]

Why not, you could have red recaps or yellow. Just color match your bike so you look spiffy at the bar.

I got an oring kit years ago to make some for something not available and found out that the glue is good to put on the sidecovers that are Guzzi junk.
I was at the bearing house to get some more glue, that's where I got the kit. The guy turned me on to a different glue, like superglue used to be.

One of my bikes is red (unusual color for a LeMans?) and the PO added even more red. One day when I was wearing my red helmet, someone commented that I must really like red. LOL  Just imagine what he would have thought if I was also running red tires.

Are you saying superglue isn't as super as it used to be?

[guzzisteve]

One of my bikes is red (unusual color for a LeMans?) and the PO added even more red. One day when I was wearing my red helmet, someone commented that I must really like red. LOL  Just imagine what he would have thought if I was also running red tires.

Are you saying superglue isn't as super as it used to be?

Loctite 495 is what I got from the guy, it glues the sidecovers & other things, like orings. Stuff in stores is junk. Mine gets hard cause I don't use it enough any more.

[wirespokes]

495 is loctite superglue. Keep it in the fridge and it'll last longer. Outside on the bench mine lasts six months to a year before solidifying.  Acetone dissolves superglue - I wonder if that would or could also reconstitute it? I'll have to experiment and see.
I wonder what's different about loctite superglue over the harbor freight variety?

[red stripeguz]

Quote from: Moparnut72 on Today at 02:48:35 PM

This thread gets the rusty wheels in my brain turning. It is recommended that punctured motorcycle tires not be reused. 

___________________ ___________________ _______

>I've plugged bike tyres several times with no issues, done properly from the inside using the correct stem patch and all is good IMO.

The last rear tyre on my 916 had 2 such repairs and never gave me any bother but I would think superglue is not the best for this as it's not flexible enough?

The Norge was (hopefully past tense) a nail magnet the 1st 6 months I owned it. Ended up plugging the rear tire twice. 2nd plug started leaking a bit so I just replaced the tire a couple weeks agoi. Holding onto the old tire "just in case" 

[wirespokes]

The Norge was (hopefully past tense) a nail magnet the 1st 6 months I owned it. Ended up plugging the rear tire twice. 2nd plug started leaking a bit so I just replaced the tire a couple weeks agoi. Holding onto the old tire "just in case" 

Was it patched from the inside? That's the best way to go when the tire's off.

Tubes and tires flex a lot, and superglue has held for me. Also, the volvo shift boot flexed a whole lot - those shift levers are long and move quite a ways. The repairs I made never opened up again. Even if it doesn't flex, the rest of the rubber will. I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.

[StuCorpe]

I used to make orings and rubber drive belts for turntables all the time when I had my repair shop.  Only remember one time that a belt only lasted about a week so I made another one and 2 years later it was still working well.  Orings used to be used in some cassette players and sometimes on the drive spindle for the phonograph.  Never had any problems with the glue and don't know if it was super glue or something special that Gates put out.