Cracked air intake boots, Carb bikes.

Hello,
This will be the first of my series of "Things to watch out for tips", series of posts to educate my loyal followers. As you know carbs need air and fuel to make the engine produce rotating energy which propels us forward. The carb is basically a toilet, it has a float and a needle valve just like the "John", in your house. Imagine for a second that there is a straw in your toilet, the business end, not the part that holds water in the back,  the carb draws fuel through the straw and atomizes it in a venturi, simply put. The air that the fuel is mixed with passes through the venturi of the body of the carb, mixes with fuel and is drawn into the cylinder by means of a specific passge way, the carb  intake boot. The carb intake boot is usually a rubber molded part that joins the carb to the head of the engine with a tight fit, not allowing any air to be drawn in by the connections, only through the rear of the carb.  When the "Intake Boot" ages from hot and colt cycles and uv radiation from the sun exposure, they develope cracks. These cracks cause unwanted air to enter the combustion chamber after the mixing of fuel has occured. This additional air entering changes the mixture from just right to lean. The symptom of this problem can easily be detected by being aware of the principles of combustion and a few other tips  I have observed over the years: Cracked air intake boots cause the bike to : Caugh , like it has a smokers hack or a cold, crackle from too lean of a fuel mixture, sometimes backfire, engine runs too hot, blue pipes, meaning the chrome header pipes are not a golden color, they are blue. When an observance of blue header pipes happens, pay attention to other symptoms listed previously.

   I hope this helps with understanding this common problem that can be easily misdiagnosed .