My first KZ1000p valve adjustment

I'm doing my first KZ1000p valve adjustment. All is going well. The new shims and gasket are on order. But I do have questions. When I took the cover off, the gasket was glued down and the bolts that go through the rubber end plugs were coated in red silicone (RTV). This is a used bike and it came with both a clymer and Kawasaki service manuals. Neither of these mentioned gluing the gasket down or coating the plug bolts with silicone on reassembly. Are either of these steps needed? If I need to glue down the gasket, what glue should I use.?

Not needed. Get rid of all you can. Stuff rags down the valleys to prevevt any getting into the crankcase.

koolaid_kid wrote: Not needed. Get rid of all you can. Stuff rags down the valleys to prevevt any getting into the crankcase.

+1 Put the new gasket on dry. Ed

Do not use silicone on a motorcycle motor, it will plug up oil passages.
If you feel inclined to secure the gasket to prevent leakage use three-bond.
(1194)

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jakedude wrote: I'm doing my first KZ1000p valve adjustment. All is going well. The new shims and gasket are on order. But I do have questions. When I took the cover off, the gasket was glued down and the bolts that go through the rubber end plugs were coated in red silicone (RTV). This is a used bike and it came with both a clymer and Kawasaki service manuals. Neither of these mentioned gluing the gasket down or coating the plug bolts with silicone on reassembly. Are either of these steps needed? If I need to glue down the gasket, what glue should I use.?

Per a Kawasaki Police bike service tech (in California): Use a small amount of ThreeBond 1211 on the cam end-plug (curved area), and a very thin film on top, slightly overlapping the adjacent aluminum surfaces that the gasket lays on...barely enough to see, in order to minimize squeeze-out in the motor. Allow to cure 24 hours before start-up.
I've had great success with this technique.
Also, I have had the best success using the OEM Kawasaki cam-cover gasket 11061-1121 which has funny little rubbery-sealer strips on the gasket surface between bolt holes. The best!
See (zoom-in):

I understand and agree with the sealant on the curved surfaces for the cam end plugs, but I would definitely not use it on the gasket. Other Kawasaki Service Manuals (I have several) call for no sealant on gaskets with a few specific exceptions, and the cylinder head cover gasket is not one they recommend sealant for. Personally I do not understand why anyone would put sealant on that gasket, especially when it is not required. I have put my cylinder head cover gaskets on dry on 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 times since the bike was new. Not bad for 37 years.

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 about 1 inch of sealant on a 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. Ed

To elaborate, I believe the KZ1000P (now retired) tech's suggestion about applying a thin film on the rubber and adjacent metal was to assist the seal between the three materials at that specific area. He may have had trouble with leaks developing, otherwise he wouldn't have been so-specific with his suggestion when I was picking his brain about his experience. I can't imagine the volume of valve adjustments this guy must have done through the many years as a S. Ca. police bike mechanic.

daveo wrote: To elaborate, I believe the KZ1000P (now retired) tech's suggestion about applying a thin film on the rubber and adjacent metal was to assist the seal between the three materials at that specific area. He may have had trouble with leaks developing, otherwise he wouldn't have been so-specific with his suggestion when I was picking his brain about his experience. I can't imagine the volume of valve adjustments this guy must have done through the many years as a S. Ca. police bike mechanic.

That's probably true. I doubt he would put the sealant all the way around the whole mating surface of the cylinder head cover gasket or he would cause an awful lot of work for himself every time he had to pull the cover. Ed

One thing about the OEM graphite impregnated cover gaskets...they leave behind bits of gasket and graphite to tediously scrape off, all the way around! But I prefer them any day...

Then there's the matter of torquing the 6mm bolts...7-8 foot-pounds max! Gentle now... :whistle:

daveo wrote: One thing about the OEM graphite impregnated cover gaskets...they leave behind bits of gasket and graphite to tediously scrape off, all the way around! But I prefer them any day...

Then there's the matter of torquing the 6mm bolts...7-8 foot-pounds max! Gentle now... :whistle:

Actually, those should have been measured in inch pounds and torqued with a 1/4" torque wrench.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +1

koolaid_kid wrote:

daveo wrote: One thing about the OEM graphite impregnated cover gaskets...they leave behind bits of gasket and graphite to tediously scrape off, all the way around! But I prefer them any day...

Then there's the matter of torquing the 6mm bolts...7-8 foot-pounds max! Gentle now... :whistle:

Actually, those should have been measured in inch pounds and torqued with a 1/4" torque wrench.

+1, and as Daveo said go gentle! I recommend you consult your Kawasaki Service Manual for the torque spec., but I would set the torque on the low side. The KZ750 manual calls for 69 INCH lbs.; the KZ650-B1 manual calls for 61-78 INCH lbs.; the 1981 KZ650 manual calls for 69 INCH lbs.; some other manuals call for other settings - some being higher than the ones I quoted. I set mine at 65 INCH lbs. and have had no leaks and no stripped threads. Ed