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Can I really not use this Tennessee gasket?
- Thread starter NCGS
- Start date
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
This is the gasket I have. It fits multiple GS bikes. I’m sure some of these didn’t have a tach drive in the valve cover. it should work for those bikes.
https://realgaskets.com/product/valve-cover-gasket-gs-750-and-gs-1100-2/
I will hang on to the gasket for a while. If anyone wants to try it they are welcome to it.
I looked at that ad, and of all the bikes they show this gasket works on, they all have the tach dr. in the cover except...the "83" Katana...now see the picture of that gasket and it doesn't have enough holes (24) for the "83" Katana cover... I've heard of "Real Gasket" silicone reusable gaskets for yrs., but this is the first time heard of not working with tach dr.??????
The silicone gaskets are squirmy miserable things. SOme cheap sets put them in for a water pump application instead of a more expensive metal reinforced type.
Point of failure.
Never understood the need to not use paper. Are the OEM resin impregnated? Its seems the case gaskets are.
Point of failure.
Never understood the need to not use paper. Are the OEM resin impregnated? Its seems the case gaskets are.
I think they're good when designed in at the start like the 83/84 750 for example. Take any GS oil filter cover as a case in point. Works great. As a replacement for a stock flat gasket, I didn't like it personally. 
Wild to see these being re-discovered... it's been a long while since I've used these... probably 12 years or more.
Anyway, we learned several things about these way back when and mostly stopped using them:
1) The sealing surfaces on the 16V cylinder heads/covers are just too skinny to work well with Realgaskets. They always seem to squirt out and make a gawdawful mess.
2) They CAN work OK-ish on the 8V engines. You have to make sure there's NO oil at all on the gasket or sealing surfaces, and be very careful torquing the bolts (you need a frightfully low amount of torque) so you don't damage the gasket. If there's any oil, the gasket can squirt out to one side.
2a) Don't use brake cleaner to clean the gaskets, or any solvents at all for that matter. They absorb solvents and swell up horrifically (they will usually return to normal size, but not always). Warm water and a good dish detergent will do the job.
3) Usually the bolts don't back out. Usually. Experiences varied in this regard...
4) ... so in the end, we all sort of gave up on these.
5) The best option we've found by far is to get an OEM gasket, and give it a light coating of grease. The grease keeps it from sticking, and it can be re-used through several valve checks. Aftermarket gaskets are no good at all, at all.
6) The company's primary business is gaskets for assorted airplane engines. They'll be OK without us.
Hm, this looks interesting:
https://realgaskets.com/product-category/motorcycle/suzuki/fuel-cap/
Anyway, we learned several things about these way back when and mostly stopped using them:
1) The sealing surfaces on the 16V cylinder heads/covers are just too skinny to work well with Realgaskets. They always seem to squirt out and make a gawdawful mess.
2) They CAN work OK-ish on the 8V engines. You have to make sure there's NO oil at all on the gasket or sealing surfaces, and be very careful torquing the bolts (you need a frightfully low amount of torque) so you don't damage the gasket. If there's any oil, the gasket can squirt out to one side.
2a) Don't use brake cleaner to clean the gaskets, or any solvents at all for that matter. They absorb solvents and swell up horrifically (they will usually return to normal size, but not always). Warm water and a good dish detergent will do the job.
3) Usually the bolts don't back out. Usually. Experiences varied in this regard...
4) ... so in the end, we all sort of gave up on these.
5) The best option we've found by far is to get an OEM gasket, and give it a light coating of grease. The grease keeps it from sticking, and it can be re-used through several valve checks. Aftermarket gaskets are no good at all, at all.
6) The company's primary business is gaskets for assorted airplane engines. They'll be OK without us.
Hm, this looks interesting:
https://realgaskets.com/product-category/motorcycle/suzuki/fuel-cap/
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
Well, I got a paper gasket in the mail the other day. I started to do the valve adjustment tonight and discovered some other minor issues that I posted about in another thread this evening. You never know what you’re gonna find on old motorcycles. Looks like I’ll be needing a new throttle cable too. Good grief.
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
Today was the first day that the unexpected good weather here in NC coincided with a day I wasn’t working or traveling so I finally got to take the GS750 for a ride after adjusting the valves and replacing the throttle cable. All that trouble to get a paper gasket and the damn thing leaks! The leak is at the “nose” as I call it. The protrusion just below where the tach cable goes. The gasket surfaces were so clean you could eat off them, I used grease on both sides of the gasket for reassembly, and tightened everything in a criss-cross pattern Well I guess it needs gasket sealant. Now I gotta take this thing apart again, get another gasket, AND new half moon pieces. Why did Suzuki make this so complicated? Grumble, grumble. :neglected:
Are you sure it wasn't the tacho drive leaking?
The principles are the same, even though yours is mounted to the valve cover:
https://www.bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html
Also, is that an OEM gasket? The OEM gasket is fairly thick, and the correct thickness is very important on bikes with tacho drives in the valve cover, so that the tacho drive gears mesh correctly. You used the word "paper", so I wonder if yours is one of the thinner cut out gaskets sold on fleaBay and such. If this is the case, the gear may be keeping the valve cover from seating.
In other words, there's some other problem. Sealant won't fix this.
You can see the gasket on my bike peeking out behind the tacho drive; it's more of a thick, dense cardboard material.
Over time, we've found pretty consistently that the aftermarket gaskets are usually too thin and don't work well.
And you don't need new half-moons; it's best to just re-use these. New ones sometimes don't squish down enough and can cause issues.
Finding OEM gaskets can be tough; they're NLA from Suzuki at the moment, but they are found on fleaBay if you search for the part number: 11173-49207-H17. There are several sellers with stocks of older leftover parts.
For example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/295298542769
The principles are the same, even though yours is mounted to the valve cover:
https://www.bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html
Also, is that an OEM gasket? The OEM gasket is fairly thick, and the correct thickness is very important on bikes with tacho drives in the valve cover, so that the tacho drive gears mesh correctly. You used the word "paper", so I wonder if yours is one of the thinner cut out gaskets sold on fleaBay and such. If this is the case, the gear may be keeping the valve cover from seating.
In other words, there's some other problem. Sealant won't fix this.
You can see the gasket on my bike peeking out behind the tacho drive; it's more of a thick, dense cardboard material.
Over time, we've found pretty consistently that the aftermarket gaskets are usually too thin and don't work well.
And you don't need new half-moons; it's best to just re-use these. New ones sometimes don't squish down enough and can cause issues.
Finding OEM gaskets can be tough; they're NLA from Suzuki at the moment, but they are found on fleaBay if you search for the part number: 11173-49207-H17. There are several sellers with stocks of older leftover parts.
For example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/295298542769
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
Interesting. The tach cable is definitely not leaking. It’s coming from the gasket. This is the gasket I used. It looked like it was made from the same gray gasket sheeting I’ve bought from Napa in the past to custom make gaskets. It’s definitely a little on the thin side but not super thin. I ordered one of these Cometic gaskets yesterday to have as a backup. If this one looks thicker than the one I installed maybe I’ll just change the gasket. It’ll arrive in the mail in a couple days.
Edit:
Jeez, I just found an old post on this forum saying the Cometic gaskets are too thin as well. I will order that OEM one too and compare it to the Cometic.
Edit:
Jeez, I just found an old post on this forum saying the Cometic gaskets are too thin as well. I will order that OEM one too and compare it to the Cometic.
Last edited:
Yeah OEM is best for gaskets for sure… unfortunately most important in your model, when the tach drive is in the head you can get away with the aftermarket ones
Another issue I've seen is when the teeth in the tach drive and the camshaft don't mesh properly when you put the valve cover on. 99% of the time, the teeth just sort of move out of the way, but there was a case where the tips of the teeth met, and the valve cover ended up cracked from the strain. Since you've been for a ride, this is not likely to be your issue.
There's nothing at all wrong with the concept of cut gaskets, but every one I've seen was way too thin. One guy showed up for a valve check with something the thickness of a grocery bag, and many others I've seen have been little more than card stock, or the thickness of cereal box cardboard.
I'll need to measure the real thickness when I get home. I think it's around 1.5mm, going from memory.
On a related note, these too-thin gaskets can also cause trouble with stator and clutch covers. If the clutch gasket is too thin, the shifter shaft can bind against the spacer peg inside the clutch cover. (Basically, the shifter shaft crosses the engine, and is kept in place by a peg inside the clutch cover, and is supposed to have a generous clearance.)
There's nothing at all wrong with the concept of cut gaskets, but every one I've seen was way too thin. One guy showed up for a valve check with something the thickness of a grocery bag, and many others I've seen have been little more than card stock, or the thickness of cereal box cardboard.
I'll need to measure the real thickness when I get home. I think it's around 1.5mm, going from memory.
On a related note, these too-thin gaskets can also cause trouble with stator and clutch covers. If the clutch gasket is too thin, the shifter shaft can bind against the spacer peg inside the clutch cover. (Basically, the shifter shaft crosses the engine, and is kept in place by a peg inside the clutch cover, and is supposed to have a generous clearance.)
Never heard of that company. They have such a few gaskets, I wonder how they stay in business?
They mainly do Aircraft gaskets
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
Right. When I installed the cover, I carefully turned the tach drive just a hair until the cover settled into place. When I rode the bike the tach worked fine.
Well, the OEM gasket won’t be here until next Friday the 17th which is just fine since I’ll be away on vacation all next week. When I get back I’ll report thickness of the OEM and Cometic gaskets for comparison. I’ll also measure the one I installed but I don’t know if that’s a truly fair comparison since it’s already been compressed.
NCGS
Forum Apprentice
Ok I finally got the OEM gasket in the mail and installed it. I think it’s going to work out fine. I went for a short ride and no leaks so far. I took some videos to show the OEM vs. Cometic vs. thin paper gasket. The Cometic is actually a tad thicker than OEM but it’s clearly not the right gasket as you can see in the videos. It doesn’t have bolt holes in the corners. There are 3 short videos.
https://youtu.be/Y0Mli5fZII8
https://youtu.be/5FekVw_lk6o
https://youtu.be/OlRl9tkSVRg
https://youtu.be/Y0Mli5fZII8
https://youtu.be/5FekVw_lk6o
https://youtu.be/OlRl9tkSVRg
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