81 750e valve cover gasket

I searched around here to find the answer before asking a possibly dumb question. I read that the valve cover gasket requires a dry gasket with no gasket sealant, but on my bike gasket sealant has been used. I have a cam end plug leaking a bit so I am going to take care of that and ordered a new valve cover gasket and wondered if I should put it on dry or use gasket sealant too like it has on it already :blink:

Put it on dry - no sealant. I have done my KZ650-C1 that way for 36 years and never had a leak plus I have been able to re-use the gasket for decades. I think I have only replaced it 2 or 3 times since the bike was new. As recommended in the manual, you should a LITTLE sealant on the rounded portion of the cam end plugs.

Here’s my view on using sealant; others may disagree. If the idea of putting sealant on a gasket is to prevent a leak, please consider the following. Let’s say you have two metal surfaces, i.e. a cylinder head and a valve cover, and there’s a gasket that goes between the two. The purpose of the gasket is to prevent oil from leaking between the two metal components. So let’s say you put the gasket in there dry (no sealant at all) and bolt the cover to the head squeezing the gasket between the two. Now consider if you could see that cover/gasket/head joint from inside the engine. You would see metal (the head), the inner edge of the gasket, and metal (the valve cover). Now you splash plenty of oil inside that area so the joint is soaked in it. Now looking from inside the engine you see oily metal (head), the oily inner edge of the gasket, and oily metal (the valve cover). If the oil is going to seep between the metal and the gasket will the oil care if it seeps between the head and the gasket or the valve cover and the gasket? No; if it is going to leak it can leak on the head side OR the valve cover side of the gasket. So, IF the only way to prevent a leak was to put sealant on the gasket you would need to put it on both sides. Fortunately, the dry gasket will not leak on either side, so no sealant is needed. This assumes no one has gouged the metal mating surfaces when trying to remove a gasket that some previous owner has glued on because they didn’t know sealant was not needed. In that case sealant may be needed but only on the gouged area.

This brings up another point; in the Kawasaki service manual there are a FEW areas where sealant is called for. The best example I can give is a spot on the KZ650 clutch cover gasket. The manual calls for sealant on the (about 1 inch) spot on the engine side of the clutch cover gasket where the gasket covers a joint between the lower and upper engine castings. This is required because mating surface has a seam at this engine casing joint which the gasket alone may not seal. This may not be obvious to someone doing this job the first time. So my best advice is to always consult the service manual to see if and where sealant is required rather than just gluing the gaskets on and later having to scrape them off. Also, you’ll save money by not needing to replace gaskets as often because the ones put on dry can be more easily reused. The CD recording of this speech is available at the door. :laugh: Ed

I'm thinking most of us have been putting it on dry but maybe let a few more chime in before you button it up.....maybe put a light coating of grease on the valve cover so that it will stick to the head and come free easily when you take off the valve cover. Been working for me.

Ahhh,
My search for this information is now complete and I can put the cover on tonight.
Thank you to members of this forum for posting.
I really enjoy riding my 82 CSR 1000 but have gotten a little tired of oiling my shins with every ride and am starting the process of sealing some of the leaks.

On my rebuild of my A1, I used sealant around the cam half moons where they met the gasket. It's actually more like the vermouth in a martini, though; less is more.

Unfortunately last night I discovered the true cause of the oil leak around the cam plug covers. As I began torquing them down (87inch pounds) the primary offender of the leak turned out to be stripped of all threads. :pinch:
Time to take it all apart again and book a date with Mr. Helicoil.

I don't know what led you to believe that 87 inch pounds was the correct torque spec for the valve cover bolts, but that is way too high. The Kawasaki Service Manual that covers the KZ750-E2 calls for 69 inch pounds of torque on the valve covers, not 87 inch pounds. You were lucky if only one bolt stripped out the threads. I would highly recommend you reduce the torque wrench setting down to the torque called for in the Kawasaki Service Manual or you may be investing heavily in Helicoils. If you don't own a Kawasaki Service Manual you should consider buying one. It will save you a lot of time, money, and headaches. Ed

I'm not saying you are wrong but here is the service manual I have along with a pic of the page.
Am I missing something?

Vicman wrote: I'm not saying you are wrong but here is the service manual I have along with a pic of the page.
Am I missing something?

Maybe I'm the one that's missing something. What motorcycle are you working on?? Your title says '81 750e (that would be a KZ750-E2). If you are trying to use a KZ1000/KZ1100 service manual to work on a KZ750-E2 you are going to run into all kinds of problems because KZ1000/KZ1100 engines are not the same as the engine on any KZ750 (notice example below). If you are in fact working on a KZ750-E2 I would HIGHLY recommend you use the correct manual so you may be successful. If you are working on a KZ1000/KZ1100 you may want to correct the title. Ed

Yeah, I'm working on an 82 Kz1000M.
I am not the author of this thread I was just happy to see the comment about glue on the gasket, hence my posting.
Sorry for the confusion.

That explains it. Please add your bike's year and model to your signature line to help those of us who are easily confused (me). :laugh: Ed

FWIW, it has been reported that some KZ1000 factory service manuals have the wrong torque specs, either for the cam cap bolts or the valve cover bolts - I don't recall which, but the torque is erroneously listed as 10/12-ft/lbs when it should be around 65-85-INCH/lbs or something like that.