Hey guys, I finally broke down and sent off my carbs to be rebuilt. The bike was running rich I believe. While the carbs were out I pulled the CCT, and it seems to be operational (tension is good with no noticeable wear marks). But I'm still hearing top end noise every now and then. I'm thinking I may need a valve adjustment and may end up doing that while I have the bike apart.

My question is, is the valve cover gasket reusable? I work as an auto mechanic and know that sometimes the gaskets can be reused. But at the same time I don't want to take it apart and possibly need to order a new one. Is there anywhere online that I can find a new v/c gasket or will I be headed down to the local dealership to see if they have one.

 

Since you work as a mechanic, then you know what will happen if that really old (maybe 20+ years) gasket doesn't seal back up. You get to take everything back apart to do it again and clean up the mess. Is the hassle worth the cost of a gasket? Your bike, your time, your call...

 

Yeah that's the thing, the gasket doesn't look too old, but I would rather not take the chance if I don't need to.

Are there any vendors that stock the v/c gasket?

 

I haven't had the valve cover off on my cbr (yet), but I did the valves on my old kwacker. I just used RTV, which is what the manual called for. The thickness of the gasket isn't important for the valve cover, am I right? Can RTV be used on the cbr?

 

If it was completely flat all around, yes you could probably get away with just rtv. However, the design on these bikes, there are four half moon openings (2 on each side of the motor) at the ends of the cams. So you really need a new gasket with the half moons to properly seal up the valve cover.

 

Ah. After thinking about it, the kwacker had a thick rubber seal that went around (rtv on both sides). It had the half moons as well.

Is this similar on the cbr? I plan on doing the valves in the future, so if I have to order one, better sooner than later.

 

I reused mine and was successful with it not leaking afterwards, but there is a definite risk with an old gasket like that leaking. Also note that the spark plug tube seals are part of the valve cover gasket so those could possibly leak as well if not replaced.

www.servicehonda.com seems to have the best pricing on OEM parts that I have found.

 

Thanks for that link tahoerider, I ended up ordering the seals for the cyl head cover bolts through there (dealer wanted $5.75/each for them). However they didn't have the cover gasket, listed as "discontinued".

Did a little bit of scouring last night and found this site, Honda CBR600 Parts & Accessories - Parts N More - Japanese Vintage Motorcycle Parts, with a gasket for $30, dealer wanted $47.50. So parts are ordered, going to tackle the valve adjustment this weekend and next week put her back together when the carbs come back in.

On a side note, I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't justify spending $10-15 on an oil filter when I do an oil service on the bike. So I cross refrenced the stock oil filter and looked at the characteristics of the different filters and everything checks out. So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to your oil filter, you don't have to shell out the money or head to the dealer to get one. You can get an STP or Fram 6607, and it seals up just the same, while only being ~$4.

 

Main consideration in my book...
Do I really want to do this again, if it does leak?
It's worth the bucks, if it involves more than an hour to re-do.
I hold a high value on my leisure time, so should you.

Ern

 

Do not buy a gasket from PartsNMore... they will send you one for a different engine.. ask me how i know... then you get to spend a good month trying to get a refund through paypal