Silicone Gaskets, valve cover, etc
 

RealGaskets.com has a good selection of motorcycle gaskets available and they can cost less than OEM even if you only use it once. Even better, they come with a lifetime warranty and are meant to be re-used over and over again. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif They even have flight legal gaskets for airplanes.

If they don't have the one you need you can even ship out your valve cover to have one made (or motor for that matter, they make a few of the big ticket gaskets for older BMWs). I've heard this takes about a month.

Why? Well, if you're riding an inline 4 or dare I say it, an inline six CBX, around the world you'll know why. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif Having to chip off 20 feet of gasket material with a razor blade every second oil change to adjust your valves is pretty bad but you'll need to have a 3 foot long gasket mailed in too. Not good if you don't know where you will be two days in advance.

For re-use all you do is dip the thing in mineral spirits or soapy water for a second. You do have to mind the torque setting of the bolts though, if you don't the gasket will fail after a week.

So, stop feeling guilty about not taking care of your bike.

Cheers, Steve

I'm sure that most bikes now run re-usable rubber gaskets rather than fibre gaskets. I know that Suzuki has used them since the early 80's at least, since the 1100EFE. I know that Kawasaki stayed with fibre gaskets longer than most.

I've used some of the aftermarket cyl.head cover gaskets that come with gasket sets for GSX-R's etc & they sometimes appear to be slightly longer, although only by a mm or two. Can be awkward fitting them. No oil leaks though?

Steve

I didn't know that Suzuki had switched over. I guess I'm 20 years behind because my 81 GS1100EX and 82 GS400EZ have fibre gaskets. Luckily my 400s fibre gasket is so oil soaked that it doesn't stick. I've reused it over a dozen times despite having a spare. I just switched the 1100 over to the real gasket product but am willing to recommend it because a bunch of people on another site I am a regular on have not complained about it.

Steve