Top end rebuild - O-Rings or No-Rings?

[Argee]

Dear all,

Once again, I seek your advice...

You may or (more probably) may not know that I'm putting my GS1100GL's engine back together. After looking at Nessism's experiences with Athena gaskets, I've decided to use the NE gasket kit as it looks a much better product and doesn't have a thick green spongy crankcase gasket. (I realise now that I'm taking a chance by not using an OEM kit - so my fingers are firmly crossed...)

My question is about the O-Rings that come with the kit:

WP_20170817_002 (1).jpg


The only O-rings that were fitted to my engine are the ones on the bottom right (the distorted oval ones.)

I think that I once stumbled across a diagram showing the rectangular one fitted inside the head gasket and the red round ones around the cylinder sleeves as they go into the crank case.

The OEM sites diagrams don't seem to show these O-rings.

Do I fit them or leave them out ? (I wonder if this is the reason that I had an oil leak...)
Where do the small black o-rings go?

Many thanks in advance

[TeamDar]

A GS1100GL cylinder does not have the groove cut in it for the square o-ring so do not use it. Depending on the design of your head gasket, the small black o-ring could go on the four outer studs with head gasket. Dar

[Nessism]

Rectangular O-ring goes around cam chain tunnel (1 piece). Red O-ring on cylinder sleeve (4 pieces). Oval O-rings on oil feed ports on crankcase, under the cylinder (2 pieces). The round seal inside the red O-ring goes around the cylinder studs (4 pieces). You need all of these pieces other than maybe the red O-rings. Those are the least critical.

[TeamDar]

Rectangular O-ring goes around cam chain tunnel (1 piece).

This is incorrect for a GS1100 shaft drive model. The cylinder does not have the groove cut into it around the cam chain tunnel like a GS1000. The original 1100 OEM head gasket has a smaller opening around the tunnel than the 1000 head gasket.