What brand aftermarket gaskets are any good?

Hello, I have a 1981 KZ440LTD that I feel needs to be re-ringed. It keeps fouling out the left cylinder spark plug, has only about 60 psi of compression. I can oil the cylinder, get the compression back up to about 120-125 and then it goes back down after running it. I filled the cylinder with compressed air, and the air leaks from the crankcase, not the intake or exhaust. Sooo, what aftermarket gaskets do you guys use? Looks like everyone does not like the Athena sets. Also any good ring recommendation? The bike sat for many years as shown by the bike only having 5K miles, I will also need some valve seals. It would be silly not to replace them while the head is off. Thanks for any information. Ride safe.

Dont know the availability for your 440 but Cometic are top of the line gaskets for the 1000s

Dave

OEM Kawasaki gaskets and seals are the best in most cases. One possible exception is that there are some nice viton valve stem seals on the market.

Street Fighter LTD wrote: Dont know the availability for your 440 but Cometic are top of the line gaskets for the 1000s

Dave

Agreed, Cometic MLS head gaskets are the best by far, make sure the heads surface is glass flat.....

Excellent, I will look into Cometic gaskets. Does anyone have a good source for them?