A sponge? That's not standard equipment!

I had nearly forgotten the joys of buying a used vehicle and discovering the crazy crap that people do.

I was looking for my oil filter under the bike, and I found a sponge wedged between the filter and some hoses that come to a junction there.

I pulled it out and inspected it, and the sponge was not full of any fluid, so I don't think it was there to mask any leaking problems. The bottom of the engine had a bit of oil and crud on it, but it did not seem excessive.

I suspect it was put there to dampen vibration noises. I personally would have used something like a bit of foam rubber and some zip ties, but this was... innovative, I guess.

Can anyone else think of a reason why the previous owner would have put a sponge there?

By the way, the previous owner was the kind of guy who would put a "Fox Motorsports" sticker on the muffler cover to hide some scratches from when the bike was laid down, rather than buy a new $80 cover, or just sand/paint it.

:not worthy:

Keeps the pipe away from the filter, just using something that was to hand.

If nothing else you now have a free bath sponge, or use it for what the Romans did with sponges (on a stick).

Cheers,

Oh, yuk!

Is the water hose OEM or homemade repair---sponge is good as anything if there is rubbing-----the rubbing I am sure is not in the standard honda design. I know used sometimes has to be brought back to normal.

They look like OEM hoses. I'll take a closer look later and secure the hoses with a less ghetto method.

It looks like a washing up sponge so you can put it to good use when you find an alternative solution. Personally, if there is contact between the pipe and the filter a short length of water pipe insulation should do the job. (In the UK the foam pipe lagging is grey - don't know if it is the same across the pond).

Cheers,

Yeah, that stuff is readily available in various diameters for cheap at the local hardware store, and it is dark grey. That's not a bad idea. I used that stuff on my Polaris RZR to cover a bar I kept banging my elbow on.

I'll start with just seeing if I can just use a cable tie to keep that hose out of the way, and if that doesn't work I'll think about the foam.

Why is it a problem for the hose to be touching the filter?
The only things I can think of is either vibration noise, or one of the clamps scratching a hole in the filter.

I think if you loosen that top hose clip you will be able to twist the pipe away from the filter.

That's worth a try. Maybe I'll give it a go this afternoon.