Gaskets installed dry?

[mhardig]

I'm polishing the side crankcase, not the battery covers)covers on the bike and getting ready to put them back on, but I would like to know, is it normal to put the gaskets on dry? the manual says nothing about gasket dressing nor hylomar nor nothing; is that what y'all do? You never (well, rarely, anyway) put a dry gasket on a car except the head, but I'm new to two-wheelers, so be gentle.

by the way, the emblems came off perfectly, thanks for the advice, all who gave it.

[Nessism]

The stock gaskets do not have anything on them so I assume the replacements can be the same. The covers are quite ridged which helps the sealing situation quite a bit thus no need for additional sealer. That said, if you want that extra measure of oil tightness, by all means add a light coat of sealer.

[mark]

I would just put them on dry. After taking my bike apart and seeing what the PO did with silicone I"ll never use that junk again. If you just can't stand it and have to put something on them, use a super super light coat of whatever you use. Its not necessary though.

[mhardig]

Thanks

Silicone is unquestionably a problem, improperly applied.

I was actually thinking about something more like Hylomar, which is what I use on car engines, etc. It's used in some pretty tight tolerance spots in aircraft engines including jets, so its a great sealant. At this point, though, I think I may just put the suckers on dry. Now that I have socket head screws, the dry option makes a lot more sense, as i can accurately torque all the bolts down now.

[rustybronco]

IMHO the reason you put gaskets on dry without an adhesive is because the surfaces are designed to seal with just a gasket, also when someone ABUSES the use of gasket adhesive/sealer, it makes removal of the covers difficult you can't get covers off without prying, beating and banging them off and it requires scraping aluminum and therefore damaging the aluminum sealing surfaces. i've used it and silicone sealant spairingly and it works fine, just remember you (or someone) may have to remove the covers or clean the over zealous use of silicone from the screen and or clogged oil passages. just use your head.