Cylinder head gasket

[Bob Shaw]

Hi, I have an 82 gs850g. Has anyone used an Athena head gasket? I recently did rings, lapped valves, replaced seal guides with viton guides and when I start up the bike she smokes from both exhaust pipes. Once the engine is warmed up within 5 minutes there is no smoke from either exhaust pipe. I know I placed the rings in with spacing at 12/4/8 o'clock, when I lapped the valves I did a gas check, no leaks. a compression test is 135-140 on 1,2 &4 cylinders, #3 is about 120, That could be a valve adjustment hopefully. My question is really about the head gasket. Could that be the problem? The bike runs great, I'm just concerned about the head gasket. Any advice appreciated.

[Big T]

Wait, you did a complete top end redo, and you didn't check the valve clearances?
You do realize that lapping the valves can change the clearance?

How many miles have you put on it?

I can't comment personally on the Athena, some don't like them.

[Bob Shaw]

No, I did the valve clearances, sorry I didn't mention that.

[Bob Shaw]

All the valve clearances are .0025.

[Steve]

I can't comment personally on the Athena, some don't like them.

Need to adjust that a bit, Big T.

From those who DO have experience with them, it should read "MOST don't like them".

Athena seems to be on the bottom of the list, just above cereal boxes, for quality of gaskets. Virtually all others are considerably better, with Suzuki at the top of the list. Especially for critical stuff, like head gasket and base gasket. Those are gaskets that you don't want to do too many times, so splurge and get the best. Most of the others don't require complete disassembly of the engine to change, so it's not quite as bad if they fail (again).

.

[eil]

Stay away from all Athena gaskets, period.

OEM gaskets are definitely the "can't go wrong" route, although they will lighten your wallet considerably. To the point that if you ever have to rebuild the whole engine, you will spend about as much on new gaskets and seals as you might possibly pay for a running used engine.

I'm trying my luck with a Vesrah HG-3003 from Z1 Enterprises (https://www.z1enterprises.com/gasket...1-1-piece.html) on my 1979 GS850G. $46 instead of $100 for OEM. When I got it, I compared to a used OEM one I happened to have and it looked surprisingly similar. Not identical but seemed to be of about the same quality. No problems with it yet but time will tell.

[Brendan W]

There was a time that Athena was the go to for classic bike rebuilds.
There is a shop here with fine CB900s to their credit and the owner still swears by Athena.
However, in these times supply chains are changing so fast under the same banner that a reputation gained decades ago is suspect.
Marketeers are not above exploiting the good deeds of their forefathers.

[eil]

It's possible they make good gaskets for other bikes and vehicles but I haven't seen any Athena gaskets that were decent enough for my bikes.

[Steve]

I'm trying my luck with a Vesrah HG-3003 from Z1 Enterprises (https://www.z1enterprises.com/gasket...1-1-piece.html) on my 1979 GS850G. $46 instead of $100 for OEM. When I got it, I compared to a used OEM one I happened to have and it looked surprisingly similar. Not identical but seemed to be of about the same quality. No problems with it yet but time will tell.

I went the same route with my '80 850. Less than a year later, I had to replace it, went OEM.

Yes, OEM costs more, but you only have to do it once.

.

[Buffalo Bill]

I was lucky enough to find a NOS Suzuki head gasket for my 1100G on ebay, just $40.
Could not find one anyplace else.

[Noreg]

Stay away from all Athena gaskets, period.

OEM gaskets are definitely the "can't go wrong" route, although they will lighten your wallet considerably. To the point that if you ever have to rebuild the whole engine, you will spend about as much on new gaskets and seals as you might possibly pay for a running used engine.

I'm trying my luck with a Vesrah HG-3003 from Z1 Enterprises (https://www.z1enterprises.com/gasket...1-1-piece.html) on my 1979 GS850G. $46 instead of $100 for OEM. When I got it, I compared to a used OEM one I happened to have and it looked surprisingly similar. Not identical but seemed to be of about the same quality. No problems with it yet but time will tell.

I can get a spare enginge for a hundred bucks?

Altho I do think I might need new gaskets, there are oil coming out of the clutch cover (right by the oil check window). And some white smoke when started cold, so the oil isn't staying where it should... But it might be synthetic tho (just bought it). Ill change it all when the snow melts.

[erki52]

I have used Athena gaskets on my GS and on a CB900 I owned and had no issues with them leaking.

[Steve]

... And some white smoke when started cold, so the oil isn't staying where it should... But it might be synthetic tho (just bought it). Ill change it all when the snow melts.

Depending on the temperature, you will see some white "smoke" when starting. That is actually water vapor due to condensation in the exhaust system and will dissapate rather quickly. Use your hand to deflect some of the exhaust so you can smell it. If it merely smells rich, that's normal. Burning oil has a unique odor and the smoke will hang around, clouding up the area.

Please don't buy into the idea that synthetic oil will cause leaks or make your bike use more oil. The only way that is going to happen is if you already have a leak. Synthetic oils tend to have more detergents in them, so they will clean away deposits that might have accumulated at a leak point. Once those deposits have been cleaned away, the leak will re-appear. Yes, synthetic oil uncovered the leak, but it didn't cause it.

.

[eil]

I can get a spare enginge for a hundred bucks?

Well, maybe. Some people have gotten them for free. But I was referring to the price of a full rebuild, not just one gasket. I just priced this out a few months ago and all OEM gaskets, o-rings, and seals added up to $251.35 before shipping and taxes.

[Bob Shaw]

Thanks for everyone's response. I ordered Vesrah gaskets, got a complete rebuild set for $102. I've used them before and had good results. I was just penny pinching with athena. No more..