athena gaskets

[Guest]

looking for a gasket set for my gs 1000 woula athena gaskets do the job

[Steve]

Probably not.

Look for an OEM set, if possible.

Which gaskets?

.

[fixmybrokecomputer]

Personally I would say yes. That isn't the popular answer on this forum to your question, but I think if the shop hadn't screwed up the head gasket / base gasket job THREE TIMES, the athena set I provided the first time would have been fine. The shop used Suzuki gaskets on two of their attempts. I currently have Vesrah head and base gaskets on my GS1100GK. I installed them a few years ago, they have been just fine since. If I remember correctly, I didn't use any sealer on any of the gaskets. I used sealer on the rubber half moon cam plugs though. A full Vesrah gasket set cost me $50 on ebay. What a steal!

[Nessism]

Athena gaskets suck. Check the archives for numerious threads discussing how bad they are.

[bwringer]

Nope. The aftermarket sets are incomplete low-rent garbage.

If you used them and your bike isn't leaking, congratulations -- you got very lucky.

Personally, I value my time and safety. I've been burned more than once, and I'm no longer willing to take chances with crappy imitation components.


That said, there are ways to save some money. If you visit one of the many OEM parts websites, (for example: http://www.onlinecycleparts.com/oemp...torcycle/parts -- don't bother with the fake part numbers and high prices at BikeBandit) you'll find that most of the various bits and pieces are actually reasonably priced. However, a head gasket is usually around $100 and they want around $45 for a valve cover gasket.

So grab the part numbers and head to eBay. I don't know where or how they get them, but there are legitimate sellers such as Paul Miller Cycle offering new OEM head gaskets for $60 or less, and new OEM valve cover gaskets for $15.

How do I know? I'm getting ready to do the top end of my GS850 (I made the foolish mistake of installing crappy aftermarket piston rings a few years ago, and the oil consumption is getting unseemly), and I just received these gaskets yesterday. I ordered the smaller bits from the dealer at onlinecycleparts.com -- it's actually a dealer local to me, so I can go pick up the stuff when it comes in. And I got a few things from Z1 Enterprises.


For lower-stakes stuff like the clutch and stator cover gaskets, the Athena/Vesrah stuff can be OK. But base and head gaskets and o-rings, (and piston rings, as I've learned) it's OEM only.

[GregT]

Personally I would say yes. That isn't the popular answer on this forum to your question, but I think if the shop hadn't screwed up the head gasket / base gasket job THREE TIMES, the athena set I provided the first time would have been fine. The shop used Suzuki gaskets on two of their attempts. I currently have Vesrah head and base gaskets on my GS1100GK. I installed them a few years ago, they have been just fine since. If I remember correctly, I didn't use any sealer on any of the gaskets. I used sealer on the rubber half moon cam plugs though. A full Vesrah gasket set cost me $50 on ebay. What a steal!

I'd agree - and yes, not popular to say so on here. LOL. If the engine is being built on the bench rather than in the bike, surfaces can be cleaner. I do wonder if a lot of the problems encountered are due to just this. What I have noticed with later Athena kits is that the cylinder base O rings at the oil feeds behind the block have got thicker. The main problem with the earlier sets was that there was not enough crush on the O rings and they'd leak.
Vesrah sets are top quality. sadly the wholesaler here in NZ who used to carry them has stopped.

[Nessism]

Regarding Athena, below is a photo of a base gasket that squeezed out of place under torque load. Maybe Greg T can tell me what I did wrong to make this occur?

IMG_1931 by nessism, on Flickr

IMG_1930 by nessism, on Flickr

[bwringer]

In a similar vein, Photosuckit ate the pic of my GS850's leaking base gasket thanks to crappy imitation Vesrah o-rings that swelled up, got mushy, and failed (the pear-shaped o-rings at the back corners of the block) in combination with a crappy imitation Vesrah base gasket that also failed. Just picture a GS with an oil leak.

And while we're in the mood for besmirching, let's include Cometic on the list. I've tried using Cometic's crap gaskets several times on several different bikes, and every last one failed or didn't even fit in the first place.

Again, if you've used this stuff and it worked, bully for you. You got lucky.

Me, I got better things to do than repeating work I've already done because I was too cheap to spend a few extra bucks on OEM.

[Agemax]

I have used Cometic head gaskets and never had a problem. Always use OEM Suzuki for all the other gaskets (including exhaust/head) and have never had any issues.

[GregT]

In a similar vein, Photosuckit ate the pic of my GS850's leaking base gasket thanks to crappy imitation Vesrah o-rings that swelled up, got mushy, and failed (the pear-shaped o-rings at the back corners of the block) in combination with a crappy imitation Vesrah base gasket that also failed. Just picture a GS with an oil leak.

And while we're in the mood for besmirching, let's include Cometic on the list. I've tried using Cometic's crap gaskets several times on several different bikes, and every last one failed or didn't even fit in the first place.

Again, if you've used this stuff and it worked, bully for you. You got lucky.

Me, I got better things to do than repeating work I've already done because I was too cheap to spend a few extra bucks on OEM.

Well, our roadrace engines are put together with Athena gaskets - other than the Cometic head gaskets. Around 11:1 compression, regularly spun to over 10 grand and never had a base gasket failure.
For some engines other than the GS's we're dealing with here, Athena are the only available option. Interestingly, the GS's are the only group I've found with problems.
What I will say is that they seem to be sensitive to some oils. Like some early Honda gaskets which will disintegrate around synthetic oil as an example.
But if your circumstances allow you access to OE gaskets and you prefer them, fine. Others are not so lucky.

[Nessism]

That light green Athena gasket material clearly can't take the pressure in a base gasket application. Since posting the photos above a number of different people have PM'ed me with similar experiences. The black gasket material they use for the head gasket is soft and porous. Inferior to the OEM Suzuki gasket material that has an almost rubbery consistency and withstands several valve clearance checks without coming apart.

I've posted these experiences and photos numerous times before yet we still get new threads on this same subject. I guess people just can't be bothered to look for info?