Rubber goods…

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There classics purchasing (copy)

My dream bike, a Moto Guzzi V7, I didn't buy while it was running, and the V-twin had to be woken up after years of sleep. Such a beautiful sleeper requires quite a bit of TLC before it can run at full speed again. But that was taken into account, and already working on such a new acquisition you get to know the machine in all its nooks and crannies.

The case had become a lot fresher after the carburetors had swum in the ultrasonic tank (2 parts water to 1 part Dasty. Rinse with plenty of water. The Dasty attacks the light metal of the Dell'Ortos).

The importer of Dell'Orto's, Startrick Tuning, is located in Terborg. So there were no internet orders needed with such a late summer/autumn. The two gasket sets were also not expensive.

But there in the intake side was a problem that the salesman had warned me about: the 'trouser section' between the carburetors and the air filter was done. Thoughtful attempts had been made to keep the decayed synthetic rubber thing more or less in shape and to seal the sore spots with duct tape, but that was only partially convincing. The salesman had told me that this improvisation, which was so different from the otherwise neat work that had been done on the Guus, had been done because the rubber in question was no longer available at the time of the rebuilding of the V7.

Then you look at the remains of the trouser piece, realizing that patching it up with tape is not the way to go.

But at the local car parts store Silfhout and Hornbach in Duiven they have 'window sealant' and non-hardening plastic repair paste in succession. That window sealant is a very fanatical type of glue that also adheres perfectly to your hands, for example. But it is also so strong that it makes the glue bond between window and car body a supporting part of the body. Trying it with a leftover that I got from friend and fellow villager Theo Terwel showed that window sealant did not work optimally. The stuff had too little 'body'. The tube of black repair glue/paste from Hornbach cost a little more than half of that from Praxis and gave good adhesion and had enough body to 'sculpt' the stuff where necessary.

Rubber goods...

Long story short: Restoring the air filter pan to satisfaction took – including all the thinking and doing – about a day, about twenty euros worth of repair paste and some driving back and forth. While the piece of craftsmanship was quietly hardening, another little thing for the other Guzzi came along.

Before that, a phone call was made to Jan Robers/Stein Dinse in Boekelo. In that conversation, it was mentioned in passing that it was such a shame that the air filter rubbers for old V7s were no longer available. “Ah, they were indeed no longer available. But now I have them in stock!”

Well, no matter how proud you are of your own work, you still order a new one. And even the price of that was lower than my repair.

Rubber goods...

Between 'new', 'not' and 'reference'

At some point, NOS stocks (new old stock, unused stocks) run out. Then, in terms of parts, you end up in the corner of repairs and/or improvisations. But if 'the market' notices that there is a demand for something, then those no longer available items are put back into production. Friend Rob Koster (search on FB and Heemstede) makes them as a 3D printer hobbyist, if necessary per piece. But there are also – in China – always production facilities that can supply 'replica parts' with 'runs' of a few hundred pieces. Unfortunately, the quality and fit of these are often substandard.

No idea if my pants are also Made in China. But if you buy this kind of stuff from a reputable shop, you at least have someone to talk to in Dutch if something goes wrong. Because buying only in the Netherlands is no guarantee. There are many 'dropshippers' on the internet. Then you think you are buying via a Dutch website, but your order goes straight to China after payment. And then a delivery time of 3-6 weeks can be the least of your problems...

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Rubber goods...

3 comments

  1. nice that you have a V7 again, great that the ignition is accessible without having to remove the tank, that alone is a reason to get a V7, I'm too lazy to pay attention to that air filter housing thing, hence my open cups, see photo, already have 70.000 km on it with still the same compression, have fun with your V7.

    Rubber goods...

  2. I collect window sealant for free from a window specialist. The leftovers they have are for their chemical waste and for me enough to glue something with and usually remain usable for up to half a year.

  3. Due to the increased interest in classics, the supplier market has also taken off; many Out of Stock parts are now (again) available, often counterfeit and often of varying quality.
    But something is better than nothing.
    Thus the component position of many an Englishman or American is back to normal, and most oil-leaking scrap horses can trot or gallop again.

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