I recently noticed a popping sound coming from my carb. When I took a closer look I noticed that my front carb boot had slightly come off of the carb. I removed the air box and refastened the boot to the carb. After doing this it was very difficult to line up the tabs that hold the air box to the frame. Needless to say I got it to line up but it was difficult.

On my last trip I ended up tearing the carb boot since I had tightened it enough that it would not come off. I installed a new boot but still the same line up issue, so to save the boot this time I have not installed the bolts that hold the air box to the frame.

Could this be because my motor mounts are loose and the engine has moved forward? Has anyone else had a problem like this with their air box not lining up properly.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.