Time for a new Real Gasket

[Guest]

Hi,

My trusty Real Gasket had made it through 8 valve adjustments. But I had overtightened it a couple of times and killed it.



I didn't mean to. I just got carried away when snugging up the bolts after a couple of heating cycles. Even as bad as this looks, there was just a little weeping and no real leaks.

I replaced it today with a brand new one and swapped a couple of shims while I was at it.



I don't know if it's just because this is a new gasket, but this one seems a little sturdier than the one I put on 4 years ago. I do at least 2 or 3 valve checks a year. Even though I got only 8 uses out of this gasket, I'm still money ahead since the cheapest valve cover gaskets go for $10 plus shipping. This Real Gasket is about $30 delivered.

I cleaned up all the edges really good, used NO sealant of any kind, and tightened the bolts to get just enough "squish factor". The instructions state 15 inch pounds of torque. That's about finger tight plus an extra 1/2 to 3/4 turn. I'll check the bolts again tomorrow after a heat/cool cycle.

Here's my "squish" factor:



For those of you with the tach gear in the head (NOT the valve cover), the Real Gasket is a time and money saver. There's no scraping old gasket and it's reusable for years.

And that's how I spent my afternoon. I just thought I'd share.

(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Real Gaskets. I'm just a satisfied customer.)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[niclpnut]

Yep I dig the real gasket on my 1100ES.



Can pop off the valve cover anytime, wash the gasket with warm soapy water, clean oil off of mating surfaces and you can reuse it a number of times.


I think the problem most people have with this type of gasket is overtightening. It is definately kind of wierd only going a little more than finger tight You almost WANT to crank it down!

I've had my valve cover off 4 times now, and it still looks about like new. It can be kind of a bugger to get lined up just right as it's rubbery and not rigid, but other than that it's great!


Nic

[Larry D]

Looks nice and squishy Cliff. I have to keep an eye on a couple of the valve cover bolts on my GK, they tend to want to back out, but, I don't want to torque them down to far.

[BassCliff]

Mr. niclpnut,

Is your tach gear in the valve cover? Do you have any trouble aligning the gears so that the don't get chewed up? In the past this has been a complaint with the Real Gasket. Perhaps the gasket's thickness has been modified as of late?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[bwringer]

I finally killed my RealGasket after about 60,000 miles of valve adjustments -- I think that's about 12... I can't complain.

I have also noticed that the new ones are stiffer, and they do seem to hold up a lot better. I've installed several on other bikes.

My bike is still wearing an OEM valve cover gasket, since that's what I had lying around at the time. It's been through four or five valve cover removals with no issues.

[niclpnut]

BassCliff,

Electronic tach for the ol 1100ES.

I tried to line the realgasket up on my 1100E with mechanical tach and it won't work.


Nic

[Mysuzyq]

Mr. niclpnut,

Is your tach gear in the valve cover? Do you have any trouble aligning the gears so that the don't get chewed up? In the past this has been a complaint with the Real Gasket. Perhaps the gasket's thickness has been modified as of late?
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff

The folks at Real Gasket had taken note of the complaints re. the tach gear issue, and promised to modify the height of the gasket, to address it. I don't know if those changes have been made as I'm still using the older style one on my bike (for about 4 years now), but they may have gone with a thinner & stiffer product, going by comments in this thread.
FWIW, with a little sensitivity, it's possible to tell if the tach gears have meshed, or are simply lying atop each other, (ready for a good grind at start up ) when installing the cover. I think this style gasket is great, although extra care is needed WRT this issue, and also to make certain the metal surfaces are bone dry, to prevent the gasket from pushing out & leaking (usually if over-tightened).

[Mysuzyq]

BassCliff,

Electronic tach for the ol 1100ES.
I tried to line the realgasket up on my 1100E with mechanical tach and it won't work.
Nic

Not sure why.... as far as I know the gasket is one & the same for both bikes. Mr. Bass was referring to the tach gears meshing, I think.
EDIT: Unless your 'E' is an earlier model, with fewer valve cover bolts....those use a different gasket.

[niclpnut]

To clarify, I meant I can't use the real gasket with the mechanical tach in the valve cover of my 83 1100E, as the gears won't properly mesh.

Same gasket for both bikes (same valve cover etc...).

Thanks,

Nic

[BassCliff]

Looks nice and squishy Cliff. I have to keep an eye on a couple of the valve cover bolts on my GK, they tend to want to back out, but, I don't want to torque them down to far.

Hey Larry,

I use the white thread sealer (NOT thread locker) from Lock-Tite and it does a good job of keeping the bolts in once they've been checked after a couple of heating/cooling cycles. I've never had one back out.

Thank you for your indulgence,

Cliff

[azr]

thanks for the reminder cliff. I had better check mine, I'm sure I did a bit more that finger tight.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

And to finish up my weekend of maintenance (I had other "honey-do" stuff in between) I synchronized my carbs this afternoon.



After cleaning the air filter, adjusting the valves, installing a new Real Gasket, changing the crankcase oil and filter, changing the bezel gear oil, changing the final drive gear oil, checking the tire pressure, and synchronizing the carbs, I took Jessie for a spin. She is smoooooth!

Since I do most of my riding on the freeway (ugh), I did the "main" sync at 3000 rpm. I also checked it at idle (1100 rpm) and made some adjustments to level the vacuum readings at idle. I also checked it (but didn't have to make any adjustments) at 5000 rpm, and the levels were even. This made for a really smooth ride at 70 mph.

The manual states that the #2 and #3 levels should be slightly below that of #1 and #4. But I experimented this time and put all the gauge heights at the same level. There is virtually no vibration at the handlebars.

Now I'll have a nice, smooth commute to work tomorrow. Oh goody.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[salty_monk]

I didn't rate the one I had... the bolts kept coming loose at the specified torque & if you tighten it you wreck the gasket.

If they've changed the material maybe I'll give it another go at some stage

[DanTheMan]

I didn't rate the one I had... the bolts kept coming loose at the specified torque & if you tighten it you wreck the gasket.

If they've changed the material maybe I'll give it another go at some stage

Hey Dan,
I put my RealGasket on last year, so far it's been through 3 valve adjustments and I've had no problems with it. I tighten the bolts just a little bit tighter than you might think they should be tightened, no damage to the gasket and no leaks. It's all in the "feel" and watching the gasket as it squeezes down. I use a 1/4" drive ratchet wrench with a short handle, torque values don't count here to me anyway.

[salty_monk]

I got maybe 4 or 5 on/off's with my 1000G. I had to cut the corners as it didn't fit with the Cam end covers on, the last 2 changes it weeped from one corner & as I say I had issues with bolts loosening on the road.

This could be down to:

1. The 1000G gasket just isn't cut as good or as suited
2. That was a high mileage engine with good service history, bolt threads may have been sloppier than some due to multiple valve adjustments over it's life.
3. I was too heavy handed in tightening it.

All in I've had mixed reports of these gaskets but in general more positive than negative. I can get 3-4 off/on's from a stock gasket with no leaks, that's what I'm with at the moment.