Carb float bowl gaskets

Some info You might find unique but quit hitting that same wall of purchasing Keyster/KL etc, crappy paper gaskets, at some point one will realize none of those either glorified or Chinese replacements WON'T resolve your weeping or flooding between the sealing surfaces between casting and bowl. I often see person's "think" it's the surface flatness of the bowl, super rare if ever the case. It's the Fact that after years your carb castings have submitted to constant pressure from the 4 points where the screws hitch down the corners. Now...think about this for a minute.... When constant pressure is applied to the corners of a pot aluminum beam, what's that going to do to the center of that beam?? It's naturally going to arch under the outward pinch points and leave the centerline of venturi exposed to paper shrinkage, resulting slosh of fuel weeping at best, running out at worst. Also does it on the outsides but not as relevant because the span is not as much. Fella's, think-outside the box regarding this concept!! It works, have been doing it for over 15yrs and still stable. And as far as does the transplant oring migrate out of position, Ed. Last picture is of a hook needlenose plier with a big set of Vicegrips attached to the needle, probaly a good 2LBS. Even with tis weight bearing on one little sector, nothing moves, comparable weight paper would of ripped in half even the Keyster. Just saying, FSM has to be a templet but not the means all to what if efficacy. Have a Great day fellas. 

Or you could just use the viton Gaskets readily available, already cut to size, thick enough to fill any distortion, compressable to fill any scratches and reusable multiple times. 

www.airevalleyclassics.co.uk/kawasaki-z6...x4-petrol-proof.html

Warren3200gt wrote:

Or you could just use the viton Gaskets readily available, already cut to size, thick enough to fill any distortion, compressable to fill any scratches and reusable multiple times. 

www.airevalleyclassics.co.uk/kawasaki-z6...x4-petrol-proof.html


I have bought those viton gaskets they will arrive in a few days .What i like about them is that they dont have that big hole on the rear side.My carbs had some seaping and they had that type with the hole in rear.I think that is the reason they seaped ,but it can also be because all the bowl-screws was very loose .Kawasaki dealer did rebuildt them in 2019 maybe they forgot to thighten the bowl screws.
 

Yes, I was sent a couple sets of those viton gaskets a couple years ago by a friend. They were soo ill fitting i just chucked them in the trash can though. Even tried cutting the corners off around the 4 screws to relieve some of the compressed material surface area in this area to transfer compression to the center where it's needed. Still dumped fuel. These were sent by a Friend that Does carbs for others. Perhaps nobody realizes this issue because when wet testing i've yet to notice anyone mentioning a "tilt-test" when bowls are full of fuel still off bike? On these VM carbs when fuel level is correct it's still below the sealing joint of course. But..still full of fuel tilt the bank foreword maybe 20deg, then back approx the same. Let them stay in both for/aft positions maybe 20minutes each way. Then swipe your finger around the casting joints and smell your finger. There's a joke in there too but i won't expand on that, ha. Anyway, you shouldn't smell any petrol or detect any wetness. This more of a dynamic (real world) test, fuel sloshes ya know. The beauty of the oring thingy is it provides a "pinch-point" rather then relying on the old-world design of flat-on-flat-on-flat. And also completely reusable. 

asphalt900 wrote:

Yes, I was sent a couple sets of those viton gaskets a couple years ago by a friend. They were soo ill fitting i just chucked them in the trash can though. 

Not sure where your friend got his but the ones from Nigel at airevalley are a perfect fit straight out the bag. 
Like you, I also tested them as though in a real world scenario and they don't leak at all. I've left the bike with full bowls on the side stand for a few days without any leaks. This was on a 650 and if you know how far they lean on the side stand it can't get any more real world than that. 

Warren3200gt wrote:

asphalt900 wrote:

Yes, I was sent a couple sets of those viton gaskets a couple years ago by a friend. They were soo ill fitting i just chucked them in the trash can though. 

Not sure where your friend got his but the ones from Nigel at airevalley are a perfect fit straight out the bag. 
Like you, I also tested them as though in a real world scenario and they don't leak at all. I've left the bike with full bowls on the side stand for a few days without any leaks. This was on a 650 and if you know how far they lean on the side stand it can't get any more real world than that. 

There's a few places around that have been making rubber bowl gaskets for these VM's etc .
I know of some from China, USA and Canada.
The Canadian ones by Hildebrand have been around for many years but were still prone to leakage when faced with the warped bodies.
I'm pretty sure Nigel had some of those with mixed results which led him to producing his improved Viton versions that are up to the job..

Absolutely Zed, used castings vary in condition, sure You've seen Your share and more. And You mention Hildebrand, interesting. Think, if that is the same co, bought some paper gaskets for some BS34's from them about 8-9 years ago on ebay. About the thickness of notebook paper, worthless, no way they would seal/compress against the raised cast rib on the carb body. And perhaps this is the same co that the ones my Friend sent me, sounds familiar! I'm sure someone has experimented with different duro compounds to make a flat gasket possible but i'm in the states, just don't see that kind of innovation unfortunately. And as if money were to play into this, can do each carb for about 15cents, ha. Warren i was referring to a test of fore/aft not side tilt as the bank would sit on the sidestand.      

asphalt900 wrote:

Side to side, fore to aft, the fuel level is way above the gasket level so don't see any difference. On the side stand one whole side seal and around half the front and back seals would be below the fuel level.
If they were going to leak they would on the side stand. 

That fore/aft thing was relegated to testing before installation Warren, not directly related to Your application. 

Not a fan of  HILDEBRANDT GASKET COMPANY gaskets.  Way too thin.

Regarding using rubber, a high durometer viton gasket should be okay, but I'm not a fan of the idea of using an O-ring.  O-rings should be trapped in a space, a groove, and when tightened down, there is metal to metal contact between the sealing surfaces.  If rubber is spacing the metal parts apart, there will be rubber creep over time, and torque falloff of the fasteners.  I prefer a nice thick "gasket material" gasket.  They will crush down enough to seal, but not enough to allow the screws to loosen.  

asphalt900 wrote:

Some info You might find unique but quit hitting that same wall of purchasing Keyster/KL etc, crappy paper gaskets, at some point one will realize none of those either glorified or Chinese replacements WON'T resolve your weeping or flooding between the sealing surfaces between casting and bowl. I often see person's "think" it's the surface flatness of the bowl, super rare if ever the case. It's the Fact that after years your carb castings have submitted to constant pressure from the 4 points where the screws hitch down the corners. Now...think about this for a minute.... When constant pressure is applied to the corners of a pot aluminum beam, what's that going to do to the center of that beam?? It's naturally going to arch under the outward pinch points and leave the centerline of venturi exposed to paper shrinkage, resulting slosh of fuel weeping at best, running out at worst. Also does it on the outsides but not as relevant because the span is not as much. Fella's, think-outside the box regarding this concept!! It works, have been doing it for over 15yrs and still stable. And as far as does the transplant oring migrate out of position, Ed. Last picture is of a hook needlenose plier with a big set of Vicegrips attached to the needle, probaly a good 2LBS. Even with tis weight bearing on one little sector, nothing moves, comparable weight paper would of ripped in half even the Keyster. Just saying, FSM has to be a templet but not the means all to what if efficacy. Have a Great day fellas.
 

Clarification please.  Are the pictured VM28SS O-rings available commercially?  If so, from where?

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

You can buy o-ring material and cut to size which is what he has done I believe. I have heard of people doing this with their bowls but haven't tried it yet. I just made a set of gaskets from a rubberized gasket material for the VM28 carbs because I couldn't bring myself to ordering a set. I had one as a guide. They turned out pretty good but we will see once they are on the bike. 

If you look at his photo there is a splice