Real Gaskets Incorporated - Silicone gaskets for valve cover

[Guest]

One of the tasks that endear GS owners to their bikes is the job of valve adjustment. The hours of scraping old gasket material that has hardened and stuck to the sealing surfaces, along with a healthy chunk of PermaTex or YamaBond has resulted in many close relationships between owner and machine that transcends…yadda, yadda, yadda!

Okay, whom am I trying to fool here! I elected to try Real Gasket’s product for several reasons. First, I have one of the early 20 bolt valve covers on my GS1100E that are notorious for leaking oil around the front of the valve cover gasket, especially near the cam chain. This constant weeping was embarrassing, especially when I was in a crowd making disparaging remarks about Harleys. Second, I found that when I adjusted my valves, I spent about 30 minutes actually adjusting the valves, but two hours cleaning the gasket material off the two mating surfaces. Third, I was tired of paying between $12 and $35 for replacement gaskets every 4000 miles. The cost of the gasket from Real Gasket was $24.95, several dollars cheaper than the local dealer’s $44.77 price (hey, gotta make that boat payment). An additional bonus from the Real Gasket product is that it is reusable and carries a guarantee for the lifetime of the engine (more about this later).

I received the gasket only 3 days after I ordered it off the Real Gasket Website. When you receive the silicone gasket your first thought is, “What the heck…?”. It arrives in a small shipping envelope, which is a big change from the 18” by 25” flat shipping box that you would normally receive when you ordered stock paper gaskets. You open the envelope and find a zip-lock bag containing what appears to be a jumble of orange spaghetti. When you are use to fragile paper gaskets, this can be a big shock to the senses.

Installation of the gasket is straightforward. After complete removal of the old gasket material, the new gasket is placed on the head, followed by the valve cover. Care must be given to align the gasket to the mating surfaces due to the flexible nature of the silicone rubber gasket. A nice addition would have been small tabs so that you could grab hold and adjust the alignment of the gasket, but with a little time and patience you can get the job done. Once everything is in place, the cover is torqued down to 15-20 inch-pounds, NOT to factory specifications.

Does the gasket work as described? Yes it does! The oil leak has stopped, the time it takes for me to adjust valves now depends more on the number of beers consumed than the amount of gasket residue stuck to the head, and I am no longer supporting my local dealer’s boating habit.

What about product and customer support? Well, here is where it gets a little embarrassing. I fancy myself a knowledgeable kind of guy when it comes to mechanical stuff, especially when it involves my bike. When I received the gasket, I cleaned both mating surfaces to the point that you could eat off of them (a really small meal), put the gasket on and aligned it, then torqued the bolts on the valve cover. What I neglected to do was read the instructions (hey, real men don’t need instructions!) that came with the gasket! Instead of torquing to Real Gasket’s recommendations, I torqued to factory specifications, which are 78 to 84 inch-pounds. It sealed all right! Not a leak until I put about 900 miles of Texas Hill Country under the tires. Then I started to notice weeping around the chrome end caps. At first I thought it was the half-moon cylinder head plugs. When I got a chance, I pulled the valve cover off only to find the silicone gasket damaged on both sides of the motor on the corners near the chrome end caps.

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This inspection occurred on a Sunday afternoon. I sent e-mail to Real Gasket at 3:36 PM describing my experience with their gasket and requesting warranty service. Harold, at Real Gasket, returned my e-mail at 10:59 PM, less than 8 hours later. Remember, this is on a Sunday when my local dealer is returning home from his boating trip on Toledo Bend Reservoir! Here is his response:

Hello Marion:

Sorry you have experienced a problem with my gasket. The reason you are having this problem is because of torque. You torqued to factory spec's NOT REAL GASKETS spec's. Please refer to the paperwork which was supplied with the gasket. It clearly states to torque to 15-20 inch pounds.

The reason you have high torque with the factory gaskets is because they are fabricated from cork based material and require a great deal of pressure to squish them. This is the reason they will leak after a time.

There is no extreme crankcase pressure in the valve cover area, therefore the reason the silicone works so well. I have sold hundreds of these gaskets throughout the motorcycle, automobile and aviation industry and they do not leak if you install them as instructed. If you are worried that the bolts will back out, then use some locktite on the threads. Lesson over.

I would appreciate you sending me the pictures and I will send you another gasket. Be sure to give me your current address.

Best Regards
Harold


Okay, I screwed up! Such being the case, it would have been entirely reasonable for Harold to tell me that I could purchase another gasket and try again. Instead, he sent another gasket, free of charge, to replace the one I destroyed with my own incompetence.

How would I rate this product? On a rating of zero to five stars:

Product quality: 5 Stars *****
Ease of installation: 4 Stars ****
Product and Customer Support: 6 Stars ******




Real Gaskets can be found on the web at the following site:

http://www.realgaskets.com/files/motorcycle.htm

[Anonymous]

an aducation to one who has screwed up a couple of those original gaskets((ME)) Thanks for a great tip

[Anonymous]

I'd like to see these guys extend their range. The GS1000 gasket only covers the very early cam cover with 16 holes. There are 18 and 19 hole gaskets in later heads which are much more common.

I've emailed them to ask if they intend to make the 19 hole gasket for my motor. I'd buy one right off.

Kim

[Anonymous]

Thanks Hap next Valve check My bike will be getting a present

[humhead]

Thanks for the review Hap. I e-mailed the company expressing my disappointment in not finding a 2 valve 750 gasket. Harold responded with an offer to make one , provided I sent him a valve cover! He quoted me a price of ~ $30.00. I mentioned that the 850 gasket was similar & asked him to consider making it a stock item.

Terry

[wrench]

This seams like a real winner no pun intended brilliant we can review products that GSR members have tried, does'nt get much better
Wrench.

[Anonymous]

I got a reply about my request for a 19 hole gasket. Same response as Humhead, $30 and send in the cam cover. That's a bit difficult from Australia so I suggested sending a photocopy of it next time I had the cover off. This shouldn't be too far out considering that the shape of the things is similar between models, just the hole placement varies.

I'll let you know when I get a reply.

Kim

[Billy Ricks]

I contacted Harold about making one for my bike and got the $30 quote as well. I told him the same gasket will fit several year models and possibly the 1150. He asked for help identifying which models use the same part number. I offered to research which models my application will fit. I know which 700/750 models for sure. And I believe the 1150 does use the same valve cover. This is something we can all help Harold with. It would be to everyone's advantage to contact him with known info.

[administrator]

Hap, this sounds like a heck of good product. The hours of scraping and of course, the $25 it costs for the Suzuki cardboard is a bit much. I plan on ordering a gasket for my 1100 also once I get moved to Atlanta. Thanks for the great review!

--- Frank ---

[Anonymous]

I purchased one about 1500 miles ago. It won't even "hint" at leaking. I think we have a winner in this product. Kelly.

[administrator]

I just got it and put it on the bike and it works like a charm!!! I will say that the bolt torque of 15 inch pounds isn't anything. Heck that's just about finger tight. I don't evev have a torque wrench that even goes that low. I'll have to see whether the bolts will back out by themselves but the gasket itself works great. Thanks Hap for the review!

--- Frank ---

[dpep]

I would like to get one of these gaskets for a GS1100GK (82). Their website only lists product for the 16 valve 1100's of that year. There is a 20 hole and a 24 hole. Would either of these work with the 8 valve machines?

There is another listing for a 1978-80 GS1000. Can I assume that would also fit an 850?

I know there are minor differences in the valve covers of different years and models, but I don't know what those differences are.

[Hap Call]

I would like to get one of these gaskets for a GS1100GK (82). Their website only lists product for the 16 valve 1100's of that year. There is a 20 hole and a 24 hole. Would either of these work with the 8 valve machines?

There is another listing for a 1978-80 GS1000. Can I assume that would also fit an 850?

I know there are minor differences in the valve covers of different years and models, but I don't know what those differences are.

While I'm not sure about the GS1000, I know that the 16 valve gaskets will not work on the 8 valve heads.

Hap

[dpep]

Hap,

Thanks for the feedback. I have been in touch with the gentleman at Real Gaskets. Yes, they are very responsive.

Unfortunately they do not have a gasket for either one of my GS's as yet. Looks like at least one more round of scraping.

[moto_dan]

Hap,
Thanks for the Real Gasket info. I installed one about 3 weeks ago on my 1100 and so far it hasn't leaked a drop from the valve cover.