Can I really not use this Tennessee gasket?

[93Bandit]

The liter + displacement GS engines have the tack drive in the lower part of the head, so this is not an issue.
I've used the same Real Gasket on my GS1100G for 10 years +, because it's fully reusable. The fiber type dry up in days and can only be used once.

How do you keep the bolts from backing out? I used the factory torque spec on mine but they routinely come loose and it leaks.

[Buffalo Bill]

I tighten the bolts to personal judgment watching the gasket deform slightly, below standard torque spec.
Some oil drips over time while on the side stand, not surprised because the oil pools in the left front corner. That's a Suzuki design failure, not the gasket. The screws loosening over time does not happen on my cover. Maybe I use Loctite on them, I dunno.
The GS gaskets are the old school flat fiber design, destined to have leak issues.

Having a 90 GSXR engine in my other bike is a good comparison of how much the gasket and seal designs were improved over the decade.
The GSXR uses neoprene gaskets with a groove in the head for the gasket to lock into. Those are much better and reusable, no leaks.

[salty_monk]

I used one. It's really hard to resist doing the bolts up too tight... They do work but I went back to a stock one after a few years.

[NCGS]

So does anyone want a Tennessee gasket? I’ll send it to you for free. Seems a shame to throw it away. Email me if you want it.

[Who Dat?]

Nice offer, but the only engine it will work on is another one just like yours.

It will have the same problem.

[storm 64]

Tennessee Whisky... YES

Tennessee BBQ.... YES

Tennessee Music... YES

Tennessee Gaskets.... NO !

[NCGS]

Nice offer, but the only engine it will work on is another one just like yours.

It will have the same problem.

This is the gasket I have. It fits multiple GS bikes. I’m sure some of these didn’t have a tach drive in the valve cover. it should work for those bikes.

https://realgaskets.com/product/valve-cover-gasket-gs-750-and-gs-1100-2/

I will hang on to the gasket for a while. If anyone wants to try it they are welcome to it.

[rphillips]

I looked at that ad, and of all the bikes they show this gasket works on, they all have the tach dr. in the cover except...the "83" Katana...now see the picture of that gasket and it doesn't have enough holes (24) for the "83" Katana cover... I've heard of "Real Gasket" silicone reusable gaskets for yrs., but this is the first time heard of not working with tach dr.??????

[Cipher]

The silicone gaskets are squirmy miserable things. SOme cheap sets put them in for a water pump application instead of a more expensive metal reinforced type.
Point of failure.
Never understood the need to not use paper. Are the OEM resin impregnated? Its seems the case gaskets are.

[salty_monk]

I think they're good when designed in at the start like the 83/84 750 for example. Take any GS oil filter cover as a case in point. Works great. As a replacement for a stock flat gasket, I didn't like it personally.

[bwringer]

Wild to see these being re-discovered... it's been a long while since I've used these... probably 12 years or more.


Anyway, we learned several things about these way back when and mostly stopped using them:

1) The sealing surfaces on the 16V cylinder heads/covers are just too skinny to work well with Realgaskets. They always seem to squirt out and make a gawdawful mess.

2) They CAN work OK-ish on the 8V engines. You have to make sure there's NO oil at all on the gasket or sealing surfaces, and be very careful torquing the bolts (you need a frightfully low amount of torque) so you don't damage the gasket. If there's any oil, the gasket can squirt out to one side.

2a) Don't use brake cleaner to clean the gaskets, or any solvents at all for that matter. They absorb solvents and swell up horrifically (they will usually return to normal size, but not always). Warm water and a good dish detergent will do the job.

3) Usually the bolts don't back out. Usually. Experiences varied in this regard...

4) ... so in the end, we all sort of gave up on these.

5) The best option we've found by far is to get an OEM gasket, and give it a light coating of grease. The grease keeps it from sticking, and it can be re-used through several valve checks. Aftermarket gaskets are no good at all, at all.

6) The company's primary business is gaskets for assorted airplane engines. They'll be OK without us.




Hm, this looks interesting:

https://realgaskets.com/product-category/motorcycle/suzuki/fuel-cap/

[NCGS]

Well, I got a paper gasket in the mail the other day. I started to do the valve adjustment tonight and discovered some other minor issues that I posted about in another thread this evening. You never know what you’re gonna find on old motorcycles. Looks like I’ll be needing a new throttle cable too. Good grief.

[NCGS]

Today was the first day that the unexpected good weather here in NC coincided with a day I wasn’t working or traveling so I finally got to take the GS750 for a ride after adjusting the valves and replacing the throttle cable. All that trouble to get a paper gasket and the damn thing leaks! The leak is at the “nose” as I call it. The protrusion just below where the tach cable goes. The gasket surfaces were so clean you could eat off them, I used grease on both sides of the gasket for reassembly, and tightened everything in a criss-cross pattern Well I guess it needs gasket sealant. Now I gotta take this thing apart again, get another gasket, AND new half moon pieces. Why did Suzuki make this so complicated? Grumble, grumble.

[bwringer]

Are you sure it wasn't the tacho drive leaking?

The principles are the same, even though yours is mounted to the valve cover:

https://www.bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html

Also, is that an OEM gasket? The OEM gasket is fairly thick, and the correct thickness is very important on bikes with tacho drives in the valve cover, so that the tacho drive gears mesh correctly. You used the word "paper", so I wonder if yours is one of the thinner cut out gaskets sold on fleaBay and such. If this is the case, the gear may be keeping the valve cover from seating.

In other words, there's some other problem. Sealant won't fix this.


You can see the gasket on my bike peeking out behind the tacho drive; it's more of a thick, dense cardboard material.



Over time, we've found pretty consistently that the aftermarket gaskets are usually too thin and don't work well.

And you don't need new half-moons; it's best to just re-use these. New ones sometimes don't squish down enough and can cause issues.

Finding OEM gaskets can be tough; they're NLA from Suzuki at the moment, but they are found on fleaBay if you search for the part number: 11173-49207-H17. There are several sellers with stocks of older leftover parts.

For example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295298542769

[NCGS]

Interesting. The tach cable is definitely not leaking. It’s coming from the gasket. This is the gasket I used. It looked like it was made from the same gray gasket sheeting I’ve bought from Napa in the past to custom make gaskets. It’s definitely a little on the thin side but not super thin. I ordered one of these Cometic gaskets yesterday to have as a backup. If this one looks thicker than the one I installed maybe I’ll just change the gasket. It’ll arrive in the mail in a couple days.

Edit:
Jeez, I just found an old post on this forum saying the Cometic gaskets are too thin as well. I will order that OEM one too and compare it to the Cometic.