Wide variation in head gasket prices...?

[Mr.Mom]

Hi,
I have some oil seepage so I was doing research on gaskets price etc. So this one http://www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDet...item=MAVHG3003 is listed for $27.61 79'-81'. However the oem is $80+ U.S. dollars. I read a couple people suggesting oem and would like to know why?

Thanks

[eil]

The Z1 gasket is aftermarket. I'm not familiar with this particular one, and Z1 generally sells good stuff, but we recommend OEM head and base gaskets around here due to some poor prior experiences with aftermarket. Other gaskets you can often get away with aftermarket because they're not as critical and if they do fail, they're easy to replace. Not so much with head and base gaskets.

By the way, you want to replace the base gasket at the same time as the head gasket if you hadn't already planned to. By removing the head, you're likely disturbing the placement of the cylinders a bit, which might make the base gasket leak when everything is buttoned back up.

[Mr.Mom]

Ok I guess paying an extra $50 is better than having to redo the work. Any suggestions for piston rings?

Thank you

[rapidray]

For all STOCK replacement gaskets & rings use OEM Suzuki ONLY!! That will save you MANY headaches!
Ray.

[GSX1000E]

http://www.shopengineparts.com/parts.aspx?eid=535&cid=167&vtype=Street&make=Suzuki&model=GS+850+2+Valve+-+()&type=model

[dennis]

Has anyone used Veshra gaskets ?

[Brendan W]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?215699-Veshra-gaskets-any-good&highlight=vesrah

Asking myself the same question.

[earlfor]

Has anyone used Veshra gaskets ?

I replaced the head and base gaskets on my 1150E with Vesrah at 15k miles and had no leaks or problems with them when I sold the bike at 55K miles.

[hampshirehog]

I've had similar results with Vesrah with no problems on a number of bikes but I know there's plenty of guys wouldn't touch them with a barge pole after they had problems.

[Guest]

I used a Veshra gasket set from Z1 on my 1000G, never again. Every single gasket leaked EVEN the stator and valve cover ones. Never again.

[520eek]

Other than a valve cover gasket....are there any other gaskets/o-rings to be replaced when doing the head /base cylinder gasket?

[JTGS850GL]

Cam chain tensioner gasket, breather cover gasket if it breaks up when removing. Depending on the head gasket you get you may need to pick up the 4 copper washers, the center tunnel O-ring, the O-rings that go around the cylinder sleeves and the two that go around the oil paths up the cylinder studs.

If you haven't done them recently then the intake O-rings should be replaced as well. You might want to consider replacing the seals at the tachometer drive output as well.

[Grimly]

Has anyone used Veshra gaskets ?

Never had a problem with them, but quality may have changed since I last used them.
Athena base gaskets have a bad rep on here.

[49er]

Vesrah gaskets were pirated a few years back, and lots of folk, including myself got caught out by their poor quality materials and tooling inaccuracies. The price was quite a bit cheaper than other brands, so I guess we got what we paid for. If it's too cheap, give it a miss.

OEM quality is still up there.

[Grimly]

Vesrah gaskets were pirated a few years back, and lots of folk, including myself got caught out by their poor quality materials and tooling inaccuracies. The price was quite a bit cheaper than other brands, so I guess we got what we paid for. If it's too cheap, give it a miss.

According to Vesrah's site, they were (and are) the OEM supplier to many manufacturers. This probably explains my trust in them, back when.

OEM quality is still up there.

See above. I'm collecting OEM essential gaskets like cylinder base and head; the ones that when they let go, are really time-consuming to change again. I'd happily buy Vesrah if I could be sure they weren't knock-offs.