O-ringed Valve Cover for KZ1000??

I've read that the custom KZ heads like Vortex come with a nice o-ringed valve cover. That would be so cool for valve adjustments. I am SICK of scraping and buying new gaskets every time I need to check my valves (which I do a lot).

Has anyone ever heard of having an o-ringed valve cover on a stock head? Would both mating surfaces need to be machined to accept the o-ring or would a special valve cover seal on the flat surface of the head?

I'd pay to have my head machined if I could. Anyone know of a better set up for the valve cover?

Not sure how they would work in the four places where the rubber cam plugs go. maybe fitted aluminum plugs that are flush ground and then had a groove milled in for the rubber ring gasket.

What if the valve cover gasket were just made of molded rubber like the newer bikes. On my zx-10r the gasket is re-usable as long as you don't tear it when you remove the cam cover. It is a molded rubber piece that has a lip that overlaps the cam cover and the head. In such a design, the cam plugs could be made integral to the gasket. No special valve cover or fancy machine work necessary.

The gaskets on these covers sure are a pain. mine has been holding up well since i started using Permatex eng silicone(black) on it as well as every other gasket.
i put a thin coat on booth sides , install it, and screw down the cover lightly. then i let it sit overnight to dry, then i tighten the cover bolts.
if u tighten it right away, most of the sealant will squeeze out.
i find that most times i can reuse any gasket over a few times. the silicone will come right off of the motor and gasket.
i only check my valve clearance every 5000 miles, it seems to be enough.

"Permatex eng silicone(black)"... Same here...

There's a couple high heat areas that slightly stick but nothing more then a couple of minutes clean up...

I originally had been using the copper spray and this worked well for leaks but gaskets still slightly stuck where replacements were necessary...

Larry turned me onto the light coating the Permatex black concept... works well....

OMR

Old Man Rock wrote:

"Permatex eng silicone(black)"... Same here...

There's a couple high heat areas that slightly stick but nothing more then a couple of minutes clean up...

I originally had been using the copper spray and this worked well for leaks but gaskets still slightly stuck where replacements were necessary...

Larry turned me onto the light coating the Permatex black concept... works well....

OMR

boo,hiss! :laugh:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well if it makes you feel any better Plum... I still use new gaskets every time.... Hell for $10, worth no leaky....

Just makes it a tad easier scraping off the material....

Same time, that copper spray is the bomb regarding NO LEAKS.... :kiss: For others, obviously Plumm turned me onto Copper spray.... :laugh:

OMR

There's really no need for orings as the gasket won't leak and it never needs changed unless it gets broken or the cam end plugs need replaced.
Here's how I do it. If replacing cam end plugs seal them with Yamabond #4 or Permatex equiv, place your gasket on after putting a little Yamabond on top of the cam end plugs and a little ways beyond out on to the aluminum mating area. Seal all 4 cam end caps on top this way whether replaced or not but never remove the end plugs unless they are to be replaced. That's all the seal you need and bolt on the cover leaving the top of the gasket dry. It will *never* leak. I say never meaning if you have clean surfaces and a valve cover that's not all chewed up.
Next time the cover is removed be careful the gasket all stays on the engine and remove the cover. It comes right off and no need to replace the gasket. It will *never* leak assuming the above is still true. Actually even if I'm careless and do break the gasket I just glue it back together with Yamabond #4 and never have a leak. Too lazy and cheap to replace a gasket. :laugh:

Have always installed valve cover gasket dry onto perfectly clean mating surfaces and had no leak issue, ever. And torque in a cross pattern from inside toward outside.

No adhesive or sealant should be needed. And might be remembering wrong, but don't recall anything in the FSM about installing other than dry.

Would concur with OMR about re-assembling with a brand new gasket.

If ever tempted, might give "Chapstick" a try, as sometimes suggested by Plummen.

Good Fortune!

79MKII wrote:

I've read that the custom KZ heads like Vortex come with a nice o-ringed valve cover. That would be so cool for valve adjustments. I am SICK of scraping and buying new gaskets every time I need to check my valves (which I do a lot).

Has anyone ever heard of having an o-ringed valve cover on a stock head? Would both mating surfaces need to be machined to accept the o-ring or would a special valve cover seal on the flat surface of the head?

I'd pay to have my head machined if I could. Anyone know of a better set up for the valve cover?

I had the same issue with my Z1 and thought about doing an o-ring but price of machining and some other technical issue made me go to plan "B" that has worked great from a few years and cover removal.
I bought a sheet of 1/32 thick Viton rubber www.mcmaster.com/#viton-fluoroelastomer-rubber/=8avtiw
and layed it flat on a piece of glass, I then put a good amount a black high-temp RTV on the valve cover and put the cover on top of the Viton sheet.
I then put a 5 gls bucket of water on top of the valve cover to compress the RTV and get an even thickness.
I let it dry for 24 hours and then using a Exacto knive I trimed the Viton and excess RTV to get a perfect gasket.
The last step was to use a drill bit, the same size than the bolts, to drill out all the holes.
This new gasket is completly oil tight,and will last about forever and no more issue with scraping gasket or oil leak

Great idea luc.
the link doesnt work though.

www.mcmaster.com/#viton-fluoroelastomer-rubber/=8avxkg

try this one
if not go to mcmaster.com
on the left choose raw material
then rubber
on the left choose Viton and then under shape, sheets bar and stips