Realgaskets

[jknappsax]

I remember a lot of discussion a couple years back about silicone valve-cover gaskets for the GSes. I'm getting ready to dig into a rich mixture problem on a 1979 GS 1000, and the first thing I need to check is valve clearance. I'm curious if the Realgaskets are still in favor, or if they ultimately did not work out. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[t3rmin]

I remember a lot of discussion a couple years back about silicone valve-cover gaskets for the GSes. I'm getting ready to dig into a rich mixture problem on a 1979 GS 1000, and the first thing I need to check is valve clearance. I'm curious if the Realgaskets are still in favor, or if they ultimately did not work out. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I've got one and it's great. It still seals perfectly even after I over-torqued and darn near sliced the thing in half longitudinally. Well worth the money to not have to deal with paper.

[bwringer]

These are still the Bee's Knees -- dang near every bike at the GS rallies has an orange Real Gasket peeking out 'twixt cylinder head and cover.

Don't over torque them and they work as advertised. Great stuff.

Also don't wash them in any sort of solvent. My gasket got kinda...bigger after a quick rinse in mineral spirits, but it went back to normal after a year or so. Dish soap and warm water are all you need to wash them between uses.

Install dry, torque VERY lightly, and enjoy.

[jknappsax]

I'm glad to hear it!

I REALLY hate spending hours scraping the surfaces, not to mention having to pay for a new paper gasket every time I need to check valve clearances. I soon will also be sporting an orange Realgasket on my GS 1000! Thanks for the responses.

[AOD]

I sold my old 550 with one that had two years of service on it and it was still holding perfectly. I plan to replace the paper gasket on my 1100 with a RealGasket this winter, as it's leaking...

~Adam

[duaneage]

I bought 6 paper gaskets for 15 dollars from ebay last year, can't beat that price. I used a permatex hi-tack sealant that works wonders for it. The original gasket ws paper and lasted for years, if your mating surfaces are good it should work.

[49er]

I bought 6 paper gaskets for 15 dollars from ebay last year, can't beat that price. I used a permatex hi-tack sealant that works wonders for it. The original gasket ws paper and lasted for years, if your mating surfaces are good it should work.

Yeah, the paper/cardboard cam cover gaskets are fine as long as you smear the mating surfaces with a sealant to prevent the gasket sticking to the aluminium. Vaseline works well too. I have re-used these gaskets many times without leaks.

[Tom MLC]

I did the real gasket thing after getting much advice from the GS Guru's here. It fit & worked great.

[minutemen]

I bought one of these for my 82 1100 last year.It didnt leak but it seemed like the exta thickness of the rubber gasket caused the tach drive gear and teeth on the cam to be misaligned. Resulting in broken cam gear drive teeth on two separate cams. Also I had to use loctite to secure the cam cover bolts because of the reduced torque required to not crush the gasket or the bolts would back out and the gasket would leak. I went back to the stock gasket

[49er]

I bought one of these for my 82 1100 last year.It didnt leak but it seemed like the exta thickness of the rubber gasket caused the tach drive gear and teeth on the cam to be misaligned. Resulting in broken cam gear drive teeth on two separate cams. Also I had to use loctite to secure the cam cover bolts because of the reduced torque required to not crush the gasket or the bolts would back out and the gasket would leak. I went back to the stock gasket

Good point Minetman.

When your tacho drive is mounted in the cam cover assy, you must retain the standard gasket thickness to keep the drive gears correctly meshed. This applies to the 16 valve motors, as the 8 valve tacho drives are mounted on the head.
Seems like a fault in design, as they wouldn't be immersed in oil like the 8 valve setup. Do these drive gears wear early?

[bwringer]

I've seen at least two or three 16 valve 1100 bikes running around happily with Realgaskets.

Maybe they started making them from a slightly thinner silicone material. You might want to call or email Harold (the Realgaskets owner) and ask. He's a super friendly guy, and very knowledgable.