Changing the knee pads

[rowan.bradley]

The rubber knee pads on my 1958 Super Rocket are very tatty, perished and cracked (not surprising given their age). I ordered a pair of new ones from a company in India, and they arrived today, but I can't see how to fit them. The old pads each have a couple of exposed screw heads. I have removed the screws (which presumably screw into bosses on the tank) but I still can't shift the pads with a reasonable amount of force. Is there a technique for removing them, or do I just apply more force, or break up the old rubber and remove it piece by piece? How are the pads attached to the tank? The new pads (see attachment) don't have any holes for screws, although on the underside there are a couple of hollows about where the screw heads would be. Also on the underside there is a groove about 2cm from the edge all the way round. It looks as if a piece of metal should go into it, but the Indian company didn't supply one. Is this the case? If so, where do I get the piece of metal from? Or do I have to make it? And how do I do up the screws without making holes in the pad?

Any hints on how best to do this job would be most welcome!

Thank you - Rowan

[rowan.bradley]

In the end I decided that I lost nothing by breaking up the old rubber pad and removing it bit by bit. This wasn't too difficult , although the rubber was stuck pretty firmly to the tank in places. I guess this was just rubber under pressure for many years, not any sort of glue. It turns out there IS a metal plate. It doesn't look easy to make in a home workshop since it is curved in two dimensions, presumably to match the curvature of the tank. But i've got both plates, so this isn't a problem for me. The old plate fits quite nicely into the indian pad. What I have decided to do is to use button head socket screws in place of the original slotted screws (which seem to be 1/4" BSF 1/2" long), because this means that I can make a very small hole in the rubber, just big enough for the allen key to do up or undo the screws. If i do it carefully (with a sharp punch) I think the holes will be pretty well invisible.

[muskrat]

G'day Rowan.
I had similar problem a few years back. The original 1951 pads were well past their use by date. I knew about the plate as they had been on and off quite a few times in the 43 years of my ownership. The new ones from India were the wrong shape. I can't remember where I got correct ones but they didn't have the holes. I did the same as you with a very sharp wad punch.
Cheers

[Rex]

Or you can soak the pads in hot water, run washing up liquid around the lip and ease them on without making any holes.

[rowan.bradley]

Or you can soak the pads in hot water, run washing up liquid around the lip and ease them on without making any holes.

I imagined there would not be enough gap between the metal plate and the tank (with the screws done up tight) for the rubber to fit in. And I didn't want to leave the screws loose in case they vibrate out. But there IS room, is there?
Thank you - Rowan