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Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:50 am
by Coyote
Those little white discs that fit between the fins on our air cooled motors to prevent them from ringing' I have in excess of 100 of them that have been through the dishwasher. Out of the 100, about 6 of them fit. The rest are all too lose. They range from .260 all the way down to .220. Anything I can do to make them swell and stay that way? I omitted them on my cafe because what's the use when you are running chambers? I want this bike to as quiet as possible so I wanted to put the wedgies back in place. They should have been cast in place like brand Y. Any other silencing options?
I have about 30 more that haven't been through the dishwasher. They check the same way.

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:11 pm
by yeadon_m
Mine have shrunk also, mind you they are 35y+ old and subject to terrible heat. I managed to re-use them all by getting a thin strip of white insulating tape cut to about 5mm wide, 30mm long and folded up. If you stick such a piece of packing on one face, making sure a non-sticky surface faces up/down, they'll slide in nice and tight. And you cannot see the packing :-)
Cheers,
Mike

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:20 pm
by Coyote
Ingenious! Might be a language barrier though. Insulating tape = Electrical tape?

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 2:12 am
by yeadon_m
Thats the stuff, Coyote!
I also enjoyed 'silencing wedgies'. Wondered at first if they were some kind of very tight underpants?
Mike

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:03 am
by Coyote
Yup. Those are wedgies too. Look great on girls :up:

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:56 am
by pearljam724
Transmission fluid works well to swell rubber parts. I would closely check them after 12-24 hours though. I once put a bunch of rubber grommets, etc. in tranny fluid in the hope of softening them up. I waited too long. Came back a few days later and my headlight bucket grommet was about 3 times it's normal size. Very soft, though. :mrgreen:

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:22 pm
by Coyote
Are you talking about ATF? Did the grommet shrink back to size? Gasoline will make rubber swell, but after it evaporates and de-fumes the rubber goes right back to where is was. I need something that will stay put.

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:26 am
by pearljam724
Yes, atf. Try this stuff first coyote. I've used it. It's fantastic stuff. Very durable, extremely easy to apply and remove when your ready. Once each coat completely dries, add another if need be to build up the thickness. You can buy it at Walmart for about 6 bucks a can. You have to apply it in thin coats. Giving each coat recommended times to dry. It works fantastic if you apply it in thin layers. Otherwise, it doesn't dry properly. I used it on my RZ 350 rims and was very impressed with it. You can pull it off in seconds when you want to. http://www.ebay.com/itm/11-oz-Spray-PLA ... 5d485edeb6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Silencing Wedgies

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:28 pm
by Coyote
I have used the dip stuff but never aerosol . That just might do the trick + I can make them black at the same time 8) I'm going to the hardware store to get some tiny sheet metal screws for my muffler parch. Maybe they will have it. NO, not ACE!