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Silicone Valve Cover Gasket

frizzit

frizzit

Just got it firing!
Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
SE Wisconsin
Does anyone have any experience with these:

http://www.realgaskets.com/files/motorcycle.htm

I know the paper ones are "reusable" but considering the 6000 mile valve adjustments these might be a good idea. You can buy 16 gaskets for the price of this set which would get you about 48000 miles. These are stated to last the life of the engine.

TIA
 
Others have found them good - I did not. 1100 green rocker cover gaskets I use, these are now on their 4th re-use - just sayin'
 
Thanks for the input. I just purchased my 06 Breva up last June barely broken in with 3000 miles. I've been trying to learn as much as I can in regards to best practices and tasteful modifications. The silicone gaskets kind of makes sense, but if the $1.35 gaskets perform well I will leave well enough alone. I am going to have Rose Farm Classics do the first 6000 mile maintenance to ensure everything is working properly. I am thinking about taking over the maintenance, knowledge of the bike will help if I decide to take a long trip. I've been nose deep into my Seca II for over 12 years changing this, replacing that, and otherwise taking care of it. This fuel injected twin is a whole different animal.
 
Oz1200Guzzi said:
Others have found them good - I did not. 1100 green rocker cover gaskets I use, these are now on their 4th re-use - just sayin'
Click to expand...

I purchased a pair of spec gaskets from AF1 and received the blacks. I installed them with the proper torque and had a "dribble" failure after 1500 miles.

I purchased the silicone's but the bolt hole pattern is not quite the same as the blacks so now I'm not even sure about using them.

I was able to salvage a "Greenie" from my valve adjustment but I didn't want to reuse the gasket. It's a Boy Scout thing.

Which year 1100 are the "Greenies" from please? so I can order up a set of better gaskets - again the Boy Scout.
 
As commented on above, I tried them... once. Back to OEM paper gaskets ever since.
 
all the 1100 engines had the same rocker cover gaskets I believe
 
Have them on my bike now. Like them so far, no leaks. I have had my Cal Vin 3 years and do a 2 week ride every year. On the ride 2 years ago, both sides were seeping midway on the ride. These were installed by my dealer. Last year the right side totally failed and I was lucky I didn't go down, oil all over my leg and back tire. I had installed these, could have screwed up myself. Towed to Dealer who installed stock set with no problems. Before this trip installed the silicone gaskets and after a 3000 mi. trip no problems and peace of mind.
 
problem is the silicone gaskets need to be squeaky clean as do the mating surfaces which is downright near to impossible unless you pull your heads off and disassemble - if not slips on substance and moves out of the pressure zone and leaks - good idea in principal though
 
I wonder if there is enough meat to mill a groove in the rocker cover to take say a 2 to 3 mm section O ring ?
If anyone has a cover off how wide is the gasket face ?
Roughly the groove would have to be about 0.5 mm wider and 0.5 mm shallower then the O ring selected so what is left maybe getting to thin once the groove is milled.
 
Fiat500 said:
I wonder if there is enough meat to mill a groove in the rocker cover to take say a 2 to 3 mm section O ring ?
If anyone has a cover off how wide is the gasket face ?
Roughly the groove would have to be about 0.5 mm wider and 0.5 mm shallower then the O ring selected so what is left maybe getting to thin once the groove is milled.
Click to expand...


Forget the o-ring. They are real pain. Using a gasket is much simpler.
 
Wipe the real gasket and mating surfaces with thinners and put a drop of loctite on each screw as they are only torqued a few pound and can come loose with vibration. I have found they work great in about 50,000 klms of riding.
 
So the reviews are varied, thank you all for the input. I'll stick to the standard ones for now. I guess the other question is how necessary are the 6000 mile adjustments? I know the first 6000 miles is absolutely necessary, though they probably should have been adjusted after I purchased it last year. The previous owner purchased the 06 in 2010 and put 3k on in 4 years. I know he did his oil changes, but he didn't do much else to it. I'm just concerned pushing it out 500-1000 miles to get it to the end of the year is like 8-17% of the total duration, where pushing out my 15.8k adjustment 500-1000 is 3-6% of the total duration.

On a side note I took my '92 Seca II out for a ride today after riding the Breva for 70ish miles. I don't know why I kept it for 13 years.
 
The valves clearance should be checked every 6K miles. Some or none may need adjustment. It is just good practice to go over them at each oil and filter change. Changes in clearance will give you an indication of valve train condition. Small changes, not an issue, large change is something to be investigated. The main thing is you don't want to run too tight a clearance.
 
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