Head Gasket advice

Since I put my bike up for the winter I have been steadily fixing some of the issues it has. Next on the list is to replace the head gasket which is seeping all the way around. I would prefer to do this only once, and would like to know what is the best quality gasket to use? Also, do I need to take the head and have it surfaced? I am used to doing that with my car's heads, I just wasn't sure if you are supposed to do it with motorcycles as well.

Thank you,
Dan

OEM is best, a little more pricey than aftermarket.

Head probably won't need resurfacing but clean it well and polish with a scotchbrite pad.

Use straight edge to check for warp.

if its for a gpz 550 as per your signature (you should state the model of your bike in your question buddy ) then go for the much better stock MLS gasket of the Zephyr 550, another world in terms of sealing

If you break the torque of the head and the base come loose from trying to get head loose/off...you should also replace the base gasket....If the base stays put....should be ok :pinch:

Cometic gaskets are what I use

turboguzzi wrote: if its for a gpz 550 as per your signature (you should state the model of your bike in your question buddy ) then go for the much better stock MLS gasket of the Zephyr 550, another world in terms of sealing

Yes it is for the 82 GPZ 550, sorry I forgot to include that. That's surprising about the zephyr head gasket, even though they are both 550's I figured the zephyr was bound to be at least a little different and have some holes in slightly different positions. I would rather not have to replace the base gasket right now if I can get away with it. I just want to get the bike roadworthy for next spring and summer. The plan is to have a 615 kit to go in it in the fall.

Is there a good (simple) way to prevent the cylinder base seal from breaking when removing the head? What method is used to drain out the engine oil from the cylinder stud passages, before loosening the nuts?

we dont use anything but cometic gaskets on the drag bikes. they hold up much better than petty much every gasket out there. when u do it, use some type of quality gasket sealer. rubberized works best. id tell u what kind we use but the can is so old all the labels have worn off. just make sure the head is nice and flat. and as for draining the oil, drop the plug and let gravity do the work

Watch out that the O-Rings at the Base gasket for the upper end oiling don't give you a leak when just doing the head gasket. These are oval shaped, and go around the locating pin/ oil restrictor.
Try to wedge between the head and barrel assy, and get the head loose before pulling up. Careful not to break a fin, but not at the sealing surface at all, as it can be damaged. A wood or plastic wedge is good, it shouldn't mark up anything.

with you on this, wouldnt disturb the bottom gasket if you can. challenge is going to be to separate the head from the block without shifting the later. i use a leverage to create force between the inlet ports and the bottom block flange.

To my best knowledge cometic only makes a composite gasket for the 61mm wiseco kit for the 550. I used its 750/810 cousin and it was pretty bad quality, got destroyed first time i had to take the head off.

the OEM MLS can be re-used without trouble, and its the accepted std nowadays. people who build HiPo 750 Turbo's use the stock MLS.....

I bet it'd be a lot easyer to do the
base gasket and o-rings now then
to fix the oil leak that showed up later.

there are also downsides to disturbing the bottom gasket.... it's never a risk free thing to pull out the block and re-inserting the pistons (our friend might not want to deal with that to begin with), grit around the studs falling into cases even when you jet wash before disassembly (highly recommend always...) and others

so its almost a personal choice

And no, doing just the top gasket and not the bottom doesn't mean you'll always get leaks there later if you do the job right (and the base gasket wasn't leaking before), at least not in my experience.

just my point of view of course,