Ignition switch cover - replacement rubber seal

Moto Guzzi V700, V7 Special, Ambassador, 850 GT, 850 GT California, Eldorado, and 850 California Police models

Created: 2016 March 17

Updated: 2017 July 04

The ignition switch cover uses a rubber seal to help prevent water inside the ignition switch mechanism. Most of the covers I've seen have badly deteriorated rubber seals. Here are several suggestions on what to use for a replacement rubber seal.

Thanks to Kim Schick who posted this information on the old Yahoo! Loopframe_Guzzi news group (which has now moved to Groups.io).

We used Ford brake kit rubbers and believe they were from the 1980's.

These look more like it: O'Reilly Auto Parts part number 16000.

I'm sure the parts counter guy/gal or Ford garage could confirm.

Just take the old ignition switch so they can see what is needed.

Boot ID is ⁷⁄₁₆ inch and ⁵⁄₈ inch.

Worse thing is getting the backing plate off the old key cover. Use patience and carefully turn and pry the sheet metal disc from the white metal cover.

You get more than one useable boot out of each rubber. Rubber brake seal also works well as a cover for the police style clutch adjuster....

Thanks to Ralf Brinkmann who posted this information on the old Yahoo! Loopframe_Guzzi news group (which has now moved to Groups.io).

The following plastic trap can be wrecked to source a new seal for the orinal Bosch cover of the ignition switch - or used as replacement.

eBay auction

Deckel für Schalter (100093) on the Oldtimer-Küpper online store.

Thanks to Hayden for sending me this information via email. In Hayden's own words:

Trying to get rubbers etc for ignition switch cover rubber, found out that JCB does a cheap cover complete. Not the same finish but perhaps a useful starting point. Also used in John Deere and some other tractors (sounds like a loop really).

Surface finish is good, but matt rather than shiny but can be used as is. The rubber was the bit I wanted so it can be changed over to the original. No mucking about with modifying brake rubbers, etc.

Thanks to Timothy Crump who posted this information on Facebook.

Toyotas use rubber sparkplug seals that are very similar...

I found them on Google as 1988 Celica, but another search indicated several models...my Ambo is in SoCal getting refreshed so I can't do a direct comparison.