O-ringed Valve Cover for KZ1000??

79MKII wrote:

Here's the cheaper gaskets applied with a little oil on the gasket - major blow out.

Why use oil on the gasket?? Just curious as the point of them is to keep the oil in and oiling them is just going to lube them up and let them move around... When there's pressure behind them, I'm not surprised that they'll blow out.

I use High Tack Spray-a-Gasket. Not thick, turns tacky (sticky) almost immediately, I spray on both sides of the gasket and have never had a problem. Not the best solution if you're looking to reuse the gasket though!

Applying a little oil actually helps the gasket seal - it will absorb oil anyway - and usually makes it easier to remove in one piece. But as you might guess, lubing it up will cause it to have a greater tendency to blow out. Never had a problem before my last rebuild, but this motor makes some big time crankcase pressure.

The second gasket I blew out had hi-tac on one side. Thought that would work for sure. Anyway, like you said, the point is being able to remove and reassemble quickly. An o-ringed valve cover would be perfect.

79MKII wrote:

Applying a little oil actually helps the gasket seal - it will absorb oil anyway - and usually makes it easier to remove in one piece. But as you might guess, lubing it up will cause it to have a greater tendency to blow out. Never had a problem before my last rebuild, but this motor makes some big time crankcase pressure.

The second gasket I blew out had hi-tac on one side. Thought that would work for sure. Anyway, like you said, the point is being able to remove and reassemble quickly. An o-ringed valve cover would be perfect.

i think u should adress the crank case presure issue before any more gaskets spit out.
have u tryed to adress this?
i think we talked about this awhile back? did i tell u how i resolved this 1?

Yea, we talked about this in another thread. Can't remember if you told me how you fixed yours though??

I added a second breather at the oil fill and all is good. I haven't had a leaker and don't know if the pressure is still high or not. Being that the motor was brand new, I thought I should let the rings break in before I got too crazy with it. I think I had / have some blow by. I also sanded my newly chromed valve cover on the gasket surface to help it grip the gasket. It was totally polished smooth.

At the most recent valve adjustment, I tried the gasket with sealer on the valve cover side only and it sealed everywhere except over the aluminum end plugs. I removed the gasket and added some RTV in those areas and it is sealed perfectly now. As was mentioned earlier in this post, sealing the head side only might be the way to go. That way the gasket would probably stay on the head and the cover could be removed.

I just want a way to pull the cover off and on without having to scrape the head and cover every time - loved the idea of the o-ringed covers but don't know if they'll work on stock heads or just the Vortex units. I also really like the rubber gasket idea. But, all that being said, if the crankcase pressure thing is under control, hi-tac might work if only used on the head side where it could help seal around the end plugs. I've had a lot of variables in this situation - loose valve cover bolts, high cc pressure, several types of gaskets and sealers, etc... it's getting hard to keep straight! :S

luc wrote:

PLUMMEN wrote:

alright just looked at z1 enterprises,$10.14 for a 900-1000 valve cover gasket.
im as cheap as anybody(almost)but thats about what i spend in the pop machine at work everyday,so if i have to go without my mountain dew fix for a day to avoid an oil leak versus spending a day getting mad trying to cut a gasket out ill do without the pop! :woohoo:

The issue for me was not about spending the money on new gasket but rather the fact that regardless of the brand of gasket used, being Kawasaki or other, i always had oil seeping, either between the the gasket and the cover/head flange (kawasaki) or through the material itself ( all after-market).
Using Viton material soved the problem for me

copper coat is da bomb baby! :woohoo:

glad to hear u have everything under control now.

Yea, under control for now.

I think Plummen likes the copper stuff! :laugh:

I'd like to get a Vortex head one of these days but I've never seen a used one for sale. You'd think they'd come up on eBay once in a while but I browse on there a lot and don't remember ever seeing one.

Mark - how did you solve your cc pressure issue?

79MKII wrote:

Yea, under control for now.

I think Plummen likes the copper stuff! :laugh:

I'd like to get a Vortex head one of these days but I've never seen a used one for sale. You'd think they'd come up on eBay once in a while but I browse on there a lot and don't remember ever seeing one.

Mark - how did you solve your cc pressure issue?

you need to win the lottery for the rest of the bike to make it work! :woohoo:

79MKII wrote:

Yea, under control for now.

I think Plummen likes the copper stuff! :laugh:

I'd like to get a Vortex head one of these days but I've never seen a used one for sale. You'd think they'd come up on eBay once in a while but I browse on there a lot and don't remember ever seeing one.

Mark - how did you solve your cc pressure issue?

i just increased the cups breathing capacity.
look at my project .on pg 6
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...it=20&limitstart=100


it is common to just add a 2nd line to the oil cap or the cam cover.

Cool - thanks for the link. Wow does your bike look awesome! I haven't seen close up pictures of it in a long time - forgot how super nice it is. I wish I had gone more road race style instead of drag bike. Maybe the next time...

Thanks very much. i have been enjoying my bike to the fullest by riding it at track days. i now have to get another pipe rebent to gain more side clearance.i just bought a nice Carron(similar to a Wolf) pipe from Jack.

I feel the same way about your bike. you have put more detail into it than most, and it has paid off . it is a real inspiration. Your bike makes me go :woohoo:

An old racer trick we used to use on small block chevys was to seal the gasket to the valve cover and then use cherry chap stick on the surface going towards the head. The wax content would create a good seal but allow the gasket to come off easily for valve clearance checks. Dont know if it will work on a air cooled motor? Any kz drag racers out there that can verify? Hope it helps Grant.