Need to scale picture of top end gaskets ('82 GS850) to laser cut my own

[aedi006]

Does anyone have an extra set of top end gaskets sitting around and a little bit of free time? I have had great sucess making my own gaskets by scanning the gasket (or mating surface) with a regular old scanner, tracing them out in CAD, then laser cutting them out of regular gasket material. So far I have made my own clutch cover gasket and oil pan gasket that don't leak! It's cheaper and faster than the standard bikebandit stuff. If I have a taker here is the process:

I need the two large gaskets that go on the top and bottom of the cylinder block.

1. Find a scanner
2. Find a flat ruler
3. Put the gasket and ruler (need a reference geometry) on the scanning bed and save the image
4. If gasket is larger than scanning bed, make more than one overlapping scan (keep ruler on scanning bed) until whole gasket is scaned.
5. Email me the pictures, don't bother trying to patch together multiple images, I can do that.

Its pretty easy and only takes me about 10-15 min. I would greatly appreciate the help and would be willing to make you extra gaskets for your trouble.

[psyguy]

mmm, an interesting process...
just curious... the head gasket has some steel and copper ring inserts, how do you deal with those?!

[bwringer]

Are you talking about the valve cover gasket and the breather cover gasket?

[aedi006]

Ahhhh.... inserts, thats why it is so expensive. Crud. Looks like I have to pony up the cash. Only one of the two have inserts right? Anyone have the plain one (I belive its the gasket between the block and the crankcase, #476391-001 on bikebandit).

The gaskets I am looking for are the ones on either side of the cylinder block (where the pistons live), not valve cover (I have the realgaskets version). I have made my own breather cover gasket, its nice, small and easy.