Quick easy gasket question

2002 KZP

Just got finished pulling my clutch plates and checking them for, thickness, flatness and clearances. I have a Genuine Kawasaki Clutch Cover gasket to replace the old one with. I've cleaned both surfaces ( I'm not new to wrenching on motorcycles...but all the rest of mine aren't Kawasaki and are all vintage)

Here's my question.......I noticed a silver paint/coating left by the old cover gasket and it was a bear to clean off but I finally got that done. I have a new gasket and I see that it has some of the same coating on it. I'm going to guess that this is the first time this cover has been off and if it was the factory only used a bit of some type of dressing and the way it was put on I'm thinking it was more to hold the gasket in place than to do any sealing. My older bikes use paper gaskets and when they are on a part that I know I'll need to get back in there sooner or later I'll just use a light coating of grease on the gasket. What do you fellows use on these gaskets that have the silver coating ....or what do you use on the OEM clutch cover gasket.

I learned a long time ago that people were not born knowing this stuff and it's better to ask than to just...."well, that's the way I've always done it" THEN find out you were wrong.

Thanks for the help....sorry it's such a lame question but I tried and couldn't find the answer using the search funtion.

Take care......I told you this was only the beginning......Gordon in NC

Put it on dry just make sure the surfaces a clean.

Dry, but take a look in the Kawasaki Service Manual for your specific model.

On the KZ650 there is a small portion of the clutch cover gasket that gets sealant. It is on the engine side of the gasket where the gasket covers a seam in the engine cases. The image below from the manual shows the area, but your bike's engine is different than that of the KZ650 so it would be prudent to consult the manual. Ed

The silver stuff is Kawabond #4 (It's also sold as Yamabond and Hondabond by the respective dealers) It is a drying type sealant. Personally I prefer Kawabond #5. It is a Black liquid non-drying sealant. It forms a thin rubber like coat that peels right off with the rub your finger. I like it because it seals well and the gaskets don't stick if you ever have to remove them. A tube of Kawabond #5 actually came as part of the Z11R tool kit.

MDZ....I've been riding and wrenching on motorcycles since I purchased my first one in 1968. I've learned (the hard way) my lesson about manuals and I usually won't even put gas in one until I have the factory manual in my hands. The online versions weren't around when I got started.....so you needed a manual and a parts book.

That said, I still might have missed it but I couldn't find any mention of the clutch cover gasket install in my manual except for mention to remove the "cover and gasket" (Kawasaki manual part number 99924-1026-03) But I'll tell ya...I'm still having a hard time figuring out which darn manual I'm supposed to have. Most of what I've read states you use the KZ1000 manual with a P supplement. I haven't been able to find a manual that is just for the 2002 or a supplement. But since the model didn't change much over the years (or so I've read) I figure I'm okay with what I have at least for now. OH.....my manual does mention doing something like your attachment to the Alternator Cover.

650ed.......I don't know brother I hate to be argumentative but......I have used a TON of "#4 bond" (fill in Honda, Yamaha. Kawasaki, 3M...best I can tell they are all the same) and I don't think that's what's on the gasket. I seem to remember head gaskets that came with that stuff and the best I could tell it was a silver paint....of some type???

I don't know...but it took me a while to get it all off and I got pretty personal with it. It just might be Kawa Bond #4. I learn something new every day and love it. But it isn't like what I'm used to and I use that stuff around here almost weekly. (got two tubes of it on the bench as I type)

Thanks for the replies fellows... take care Gordon in NC

The stuff on OEM Kawi gaskets is a sealant coating (and it can be difficult cleaning off aluminum). My method is to get as most off as you can with a razor blade, then the rest of the way down to the aluminum with scotch brite, and finish off by wiping the surface down with brake clean. It's work, but leaves a clean smooth finish for the gasket.

Apply the gasket dry, but use silicone sealant at the two seams where the case halves mate. If it was actually paint on the gasket surface then the engine was most likely done over previously. And it has to comes off, a gasket on paint is against the law! The OEM gaskets are higher quality than aftermarket, installed correctly they don't leak.

VTC....I got the surfaces clean.....pretty much the same way you described. I'm pretty sure this is the first time the cover has been off. I know I said "paint" but I was talking about head gaskets covered with a silver coating. Kinda like the "copper coat" I use today. Sorry.....I figure it's not paint like you would use on your house or your frame and understand it has to be some kind of sealant.

Here I go again........but..... I don't use silicone on any surface that has anything to do with oil ways. I'll put it on stuff like points covers when I've run out of gaskets and I'm just trying to get by and there's a few other uses for t in my shop.....but nothing to do with anything that has an oil way.

Right now I have 5-6 running bikes in the shop ( one is going through an engine rebuild) and probably 25 engines. Most of the engines have been stripped of parts and those parts are sorted and on the shelf. During the strip downs I have seen where those silicone "worms" end up and it has taught me a lesson. My sealants of choice today (and could change tomorrow) are Permatex Anaerobic Gasket Maker and the good ole #4 on metal to metal or when I want a gasket to stay in place I'll put it on one side. If I have a GOOD gasket.....a lot of times it just gets a smear of grease. OH.......and I like too purchase OEM gaskets when I can.

BUT.......THANK YOU for the suggestion and I WILL place some sealer on the case halves joints....that is a good tip.

Dontcha just hate a fellow who asks a question but then comes off like he has all the answers????? I know this might seem like my MO but I swear it isn't. A lot of this stuff ( like which oil to use) is personal....just like what kind of bikes we like and don't like......so PLEASE don't take it that I'm going to argue/disagree with EVERYTHING you folks say. I have a lot to learn and I will listen.

Take care and enjoy the spring...summer is just around the corner.....Gordon in NC

We use to use silver paint on old head gaskets. I still do if I have no other choice.
Steve

Not sure what you mean by oil ways? If you mean a galley with oil pressure there should always be a gasket or o-ring.

I work for Honda cars, so I use Hondabond HT which has never failed me.And a lot of folks don't realize the advantage of a dab of sealant at any seam a gasket butts up against. Honda, from the assembly line, applies it every time. As a matter of fact, I had a comeback from a kid that didn't know last week. He did a valve cover gasket and didn't apply sealant at the timing chain cover seam. Leaked big-time.

VTEC.....I've just pulled too many silicone "worms out of heads and such. I'm a BSA unit single fan and most of those engines I have in the shop are BSA unit singles . My "collection" goes back as far as 1963 with the Goose Neck frame but my main focus are the C15C type framed bikes up to the early 70's OIF. When you use silicone on one of those heads....especially if the DPO put it on thick....the stuff that is squeezed out on the inside turns into what I call "worms" and they an end up blocking off oil return holes......oil ways.....pretty much any way oil is circulated throughout the engine. I don't know diddle about modern engines so things with them might be different.

I went back an looked real close at both of the places the case joints are covered by the clutch cover and I'm pretty sure Kawasaki had a sealer across those places.....pretty much two atraight lines between case screws and I will too.

I try not to give advise because results can vary. I'm NOT a mechanic just a hobbyist....a parts changer. I've been lucky all these years....a little common sense, a basic understanding, the ability to read and I seem to be able to keep these things on the road. This KZP is very new to me......I'm learning and I thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.

I got a smile out of good ole Steve's reply.......I have a feeling we have a lot in common....two old farts on two wheels.

Thanks for the input fellows....it'll go on dry except for those two sections at the case joints and worst case (pun intended) is it leaks and I have to do it over again.

Riding not wrenching tomorrow..........need to feel the wind in my hair. Too bad it now on my back and not on my head!!!

Gordon in NC

650ed wrote: Dry, but take a look in the Kawasaki Service Manual for your specific model.

On the KZ650 there is a small portion of the clutch cover gasket that gets sealant. It is on the engine side of the gasket where the gasket covers a seam in the engine cases. The image below from the manual shows the area, but your bike's engine is different than that of the KZ650 so it would be prudent to consult the manual. Ed

My original gasket had sealer here of course and I put Yamaha 4 on it when I recently replaced the clutch, springs and oem gasket..... had the cover off 3 times at least over the years and never had a leak.

What I find weird is the manuals don't say anything about a little sealer on the other side where the case meets too.... I left it dry like they did from the factory and have had no problems there.

KZB2 650 wrote: ......................What I find weird is the manuals don't say anything about a little sealer on the other side where the case meets too.... I left it dry like they did from the factory and have had no problems there.

I also found that to be strange, but like you I left it dry and have never had a leak. Ed