Hitchcocks Forum

Hi Guys.

I have a question regarding the Rubbers that fit on both sides of the Cylinder head & Barrel that are wedged into the fins, there are I think about 9 on each side, I say I think because some of mine have fallen off one side whilst riding & on the other side 2 others were hanging off. I am not sure what these are for or how important they are, any advice would be very welcome & appreciated.

Thanks. Lewis

Lewis i think (judging by the photos) most people have taken them off anyway..

Only there to help dampen any resonance in the alloy fins at certain rpm's..

Don't worry..

Lewis - they are sound dampening devices to stop the fins ringing as Gwilly says. They don't do anything and if your wear ear plugs (as you should!) you can't hear the difference anyway. I've kept mine on my GT.

Didn't MZ two strokes have them as well?

The El Suprimo of the ring dings, rugged though..

Hi Guys,

StephenR, I would have kept mine on but some have just come off whilst riding, so not happy about that,however I do wear ear plugs all the time,that's not what bothers me its if by not having them the vibration gets worse?


I have just put some grip puppies on for that very reason & when fitting them I noticed that one of the bar end rubbers was also missing so I get more of a buzz in the left hand bar where the rubber is missing than the right.

The frequency at which the vanes vibrate is in the audible range, and of a very low amplitude compare with all the other sources of vibration, which means you won't be able to feel anything through the handlebars (or any other part of the bike) from them. As has been said already, they are there to reduce any "ringing" sounds that might occur. You can check this yourself: remove the rubbers from either side of a vane and "pluck" or "ping" it with your fingernail. It will make a very brief "ding" sound. Now replace the rubbers and try it again - it won't "ding".

About these Cylinder rubbers you would think they would stay in situ and not fall out mine are still where they should be or at least they were the last time I looked
Lewis try the dealership warranty were you got the bike from.

After reading this I took a look at mine, 2 missing from the Left Side, action, I just took 2 off the Right Side, not noticed any difference.

Completely off the wall and difficult to verify but i wonder if it does in fact interfere with the flow of cooling air over the fins,both under the rubbers and immediately behind..

5% less efficient maybe.. Nah i'm sure they know what there doing, make noisy fins and then cover them up.. Indian engineering excellence again...