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Failed rubber boots/gaiters

Warwick Robinson

Just got it firing!
Joined
Sep 12, 2017
Messages
6
Location
United Kingdom
Chaps,

New to this forum - in fact am new to any forum.
Hoping that fellow forum members may be able to offer a little guidance.
Would ask that you'll bear with me - I have checked the archives for the issue I'm dealing with, but without success.

Three rubber boots/gaiters have failed on my 2015 Griso SE.
Two of these cover electrical connectors which I think are fuel injection related - one on each side of the bike. The third is for a plug connection to the right hand cylinder located under the tank, in the engine vee.

The official resolution is to replace the entire wiring loom......

Sadly, I made the discovery just days after the warranty expired.
Piaggio have declined a warranty claim, suggesting instead that I might seek out after-market replacements for the plug connectors and associated rubber boots.

My attempts to identify such replacements have thus far been unsuccessful.

A possible plan B might be to substitute the failed components with PVC sleeving.
But as with the Piaggio solution, this would be dependent on disconnection and dismantling of the associated plug connectors being practicable - I've yet to work out how to do this.

I've attached a photo.

Owned since January, current odometer reading is 792 miles - around 200 these by myself.

I'm located in the UK.
I'd be grateful for any advice fellow forum members may be able to offer.

Many thanks, Warwick Robinson
IMG 20170915 161552 resized
 
Super glue works very well on rubber. Looks like it would be worth a try on the boot in the picture.??
 
Thanks for the replies chaps,

A solution using some sort of tape is a possible that I'd been considering.

Difficult to make it look good mind.
Not so important for the connector in the vee of course.

But with the other two instances being external and therefore more visible, I really wanted a more professional looking solution. Hence the need to disconnect the plugs.

But at the end of the day I can't leave it as it is.
It's an Italian bike and this is the UK. It rains here - a lot....
So needs must.

Thanks again everyone.

Warwick
 
Extreme Tape (by any other name) is a self molding silicone tape which adheres to itself. You can, with just a little care, make permanent, waterproof, heat resistant and good looking fixes to problems like yours. Looking at your photo, I'd cut the torn rubber boot off completely and rebuild it with Extreme Tape. The tape doesn't have any adhesive. The silicone adheres to itself and eventually molds into itself to form a homogeneous silicone boot/seal. After a few days you can't unravel it because it's become 1 single piece of silicone. It's not only cheap(ish) and easy, it's better than the original boot. It comes in a range of brand names and colours.
 
Actually, I do have some.
Have avoided using it thus far because of the quite visible nature of this application.
And because I've never managed to get this material to look tidy.
But, as I say, needs must.....

Thanks chaps
 
Never heard of that tape but there will be a roll or two of it in my possession shortly.
Thanks!
 
Actually, I do have some.
Have avoided using it thus far because of the quite visible nature of this application.
And because I've never managed to get this material to look tidy.
But, as I say, needs must.....
Rule 1: Keep it clean. Any dirt, dust, grease or oil on the tape will reduce its effectiveness and its aesthetics.
As you apply the tape stretch it quite firmly - up to double its normal length. When you're finishing off, relax the stretch in the last inch or there-abouts, so that the final tail of tape has almost (but not none) no stretch. It's important that this final bit is clean so that the tail will adhere to the rest and eventually mold in. I wrap my whole hand around the job and give it all a good squeeze just to be sure, to be sure. Some of my early efforts with this stuff looked a little gungey, but with some practice you can do some really nice repairs.

The heat shrink idea works well too, so long as you don't have a bulky plug or other obstruction to have to slide it over first. Heat shrink typically shrinks to about ½ its original size. I use it extensively, but the silicone tape can do a more pleasing looking job.
 
Tyco amp View attachment 13874
Chaps,

New to this forum - in fact am new to any forum.
Hoping that fellow forum members may be able to offer a little guidance.
Would ask that you'll bear with me - I have checked the archives for the issue I'm dealing with, but without success.

Three rubber boots/gaiters have failed on my 2015 Griso SE.
Two of these cover electrical connectors which I think are fuel injection related - one on each side of the bike. The third is for a plug connection to the right hand cylinder located under the tank, in the engine vee.

The official resolution is to replace the entire wiring loom......

Sadly, I made the discovery just days after the warranty expired.
Piaggio have declined a warranty claim, suggesting instead that I might seek out after-market replacements for the plug connectors and associated rubber boots.

My attempts to identify such replacements have thus far been unsuccessful.

A possible plan B might be to substitute the failed components with PVC sleeving.
But as with the Piaggio solution, this would be dependent on disconnection and dismantling of the associated plug connectors being practicable - I've yet to work out how to do this.

I've attached a photo. View attachment 13874
Top Photo arrows shows where to insert paper clip/thin rod to release connector lugs. Connector logs shown as well, which need releasing.
Owned since January, current odometer reading is 792 miles - around 200 these by myself.

I'm located in the UK.
I'd be grateful for any advice fellow forum members may be able to offer.



Many thanks, Warwick Robinson
View attachment 13540

Just like mine, must be using Chinese Pirelli rubber! Shrink wrap or self amalgamating rubber is not recommended.

Now there are 3 alternative fixes.
The plug has female pins with a retaining lug each side. Lift the wire retainer (no need to pull it off) and remove the plug,
Buy the boot and remove the pins in the plug making a note of which goes where. The pins come out easily with a small watchmaker's screwdriver or a stout paper clip (you will need two one in each side. Top Photo arrows shows where to insert paper clip/thin rod to release connector lugs. Connector lugs shown as well, which need releasing. If you look at the picture you will see the retaining lugs on the pin that you push down. Work a thin wire or blade (either side) up from the plug side while gently pulling on the wire. The connector then pulls out from the top. You may push the retaining lug flat, remember to make sure it is sticking out before you put it back, or it will not clip back in. Remove the old boot and Push your new boot back over. Silicon grease or ACF50 will lubricate the rubber. Also grease the pins, They get exposed to the elements with the perished boot.
Here is a video of how the pins are retained, not the same plug but it will give you the jist of removing the pins, easy once you know what is holding the darn things.



Some WD40 on the silicon weather seal plugs makes it easier.

Or buy the complete plug with tails and splice the wires.

Or Black silicon sealer, smear around the boot and push the boot back together. Best removing the plug and straightening the wires so the silicone stays like the boot shape.

Remember to grease the connectors while the plug is off.

So search Ebay or the web for

AMP 2 Way MALE Junior Timer Plug, Pins seals and rubber boot Bosch EV1 Injector

Fuel Injector BOSCH Connector Plug EV1 OBD1 Pigtail Wiring Clip

Junior Power Timer 2 Way Fuel injector Plug Connector Kit For Bosch Jetronic EV1

https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/680 (also sell the boots separately)

One of those will be the same as the Guzzi plug.

If your in the Stoke on Trent area I can do it for you.
 
Last edited:
Extreme Tape (by any other name) is a self molding silicone tape which adheres to itself. You can, with just a little care, make permanent, waterproof, heat resistant and good looking fixes to problems like yours. Looking at your photo, I'd cut the torn rubber boot off completely and rebuild it with Extreme Tape. The tape doesn't have any adhesive. The silicone adheres to itself and eventually molds into itself to form a homogeneous silicone boot/seal. After a few days you can't unravel it because it's become 1 single piece of silicone. It's not only cheap(ish) and easy, it's better than the original boot. It comes in a range of brand names and colours.
So happy to have come across this article, as I was otherwise looking for an affordable Hugger' for Miss Stelvy'.. as I've been looking for a cure for the same issue.. Great Tip'.. Extreme Tape' on order.. Cheers'
 
also you might consider wrapping the old boot with the silicone tape,
the old boot will add protection to the wires the tape will seal the deal.
 
Apologies chaps, been meaning to write this up for a while.
Looks as though I might have missed some updates to the thread along the way.

The solution that I ended up with was pretty much as Philthunder describes.
Took me a while to find as I had no details in respect of what I was looking for other than what they looked like. A fair amount of time spent searching Google Images eventually brought photos of rubber boots closely resembling the failed items that I was seeking to replace.

I'm afraid that ignorance here on my part resulted in a somewhat "journey man" approach. Philthunder's search string would have been much more efficient.

The short version then is that an ebay search for "Tyco amp" brought a selection of rubber boots and matching connectors. Quite Inexpensive, so I bought a handful of the boots from each of a couple of suppliers. When they turned up, I used the ones which seemed best quality.

For removing the tank, I referred to the thread from February 2010. Thanks to both GT-Rx and Pete Roper for their expertise.

https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/tank-removal-on-griso-8v.4046/

Next there's the issue of disconnecting the plugs protected by the offending rubber boots. As Philthunder mentions above you need only lift the wire retainer on each plug to enable it to be disconnected. But these are spring loaded so there remains the risk of a moment's carelessness, allowing them to catapult to the far reaches of the garage and oblivion...

Got round this with a hook and pick set (eg. Sealey) that I'd bought previously for some reason - cost pennies and had a hook suitable for each of the spring retainers requiring attention for this exercise - see photo :
PSX 20180415 165831

The failed rubber boots I had to cut away. Used a Stanley Knife (other craft knives/box cutters are available). Take care here. In spite of their lack of longevity, I found them quite tough to cut free.

Wishing to avoid polarity issues when the time came to reassemble the connectors, I took photos of each one prior to disassembly, taking care in each case to ensure that the both plug orientation and the two coloured leads were clearly visible.

PSX 20180415 175406

Aware of the searches I'd entered thus far in pursuit of this exercise, eBay algorithms had apparently worked out that I might need to dismantle some automotive electrical connectors. So it was that I was unexpectedly presented with items for this task. An ebay search for "wire terminal removal tool" will pull up items consisting of around a dozen key-like pins of various shapes/sizes on a ring. I believe they do have a proper name - but I forget. Sadly I've misplaced mine, so no photo. This is one of those little items that will come in handy time and again - have ordered another. Not the same quality as the tool shown in the video in Philthunder's post. But they do the job and cost very little...

Don't use any force when using these to withdraw the connectors from the plug housing. If the connector does not withdraw readily, then it's very likely that either you've not selected the removal key of the correct size/shape, or it's not aligned correctly - remove and try again.

Mindful that proximity to a heat source may have contributed to the
premature failure of the rubber boots, I acquired a set spark plug heat socks. These can be pricey - typically around 40GBP for a set of 8. But you can pay that just for a pair. They are typically made from glass fibre. Mine are a mineral fibre - again sourced using ebay. I fitted one of these to each harness before fitting the replacement rubber boot.

PSX 20180415 201747

PSX 20180415 201121

When fitting the replacement rubber boots, I found I had to pass the now disconnected leads through the neck of the boot one at a time.

I didn't think to seal the new boots with silicon sealer. May go back and do that. I did seal the tops with small cable ties.

And the job finished :
PSX 20180415 202802

The heat socks are available in various colours. Mine are a bronze colour because of their mineral origin. I did note that some vendors indicated a possible health issue for some of these products - the glass based ones I think. But as no one is likely to handle them much (or inhale from them presumably) I'm assuming that the risk is minimal.

Hope some of this is useful.

Warwick
 
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