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Noticed yesterday I had some oil on the motor and today started to look for the problem. Looks like it's coming from the long upper crankcase breather cover between the cylinders. The crankcase vent mod has been done but does NOT seem to be coming from filter or connecting hose. In the service manual I cannot tell if there is a gasket or not. I see they are supposed to be tightened to only 7.2 ft lbs. Anyone know if there is a gasket before I mess with it. ALSO. For some reason my oil sight glass is BLACK, can't see through it at all. Just last week it was clear. Oil has not got many miles on it. Is there any way to check oil level on these things without using the sight glass? I looked in some older posts and some said to put Seafoam in crankcase to clean glass. How much do you add and how long do you run motor? I ASSUME it has to be drained fairly soon so it doesn't thin the oil to much. Of course the bike has been running and doing great BUT since I have somewhere to ride this Saturday it just has to act up.

OK, just curious here, I changed the coolant a few weeks ago and have had a slight drip out of the plug under what I am assuming is the water pump (what I used to drain the coolant). I went into the local shop and ordered the gasket for it (part 13 on the attached diagram). This is a metal part with a lip on one side. Is that the right part and if so, which was does the lip go. I was expecting a rubber gasket or something to hold the fluid in! http://images.powersportsnetwork.com/fiche/images/YAMAHA/1989/Motorcycles/327_waterpump.gif

For those of you using or contemplating using the Mr. Gasket #42S fuel pump, be advised that the design has been "improved". Formerly, the input and output nipples were threaded into the pump. That allowed us to insert right- and 45 degree-pieces between the pump and the nipple, allowing the Mr Gasket pump to work for us. The new design has a fixed output nipple, and a long one at that. Consequently, I do not believe that the Mr. Gasket fuel pump will be an acceptable replacement. I went to a different store, and they had one old style pump in front of three new pumps. I snarfed that up, just in case I ever need another.

83 VR front head off due to low compression cyl#2 head gasket in 3 pieces (3 layers of thin steel), is this correct-are these 3 layers supposed to be pressed together into 1 thick gasket, or has a previous owner stacked multiple gaskets for some reason. do have blowby signs on the gaskets, if 3 layers stacked, reason may have been to take up valve slack lost during head mill?? any way to measure correct mill height to verify if done if in fact head milled, then what...may be looking for new head:doh: any thoughts appreaciated brian

I'm looking for an answer to a problem I'm having, and decided to go to the experts. I just completed a stator replacement. All went well, the second time. I don't want to explain. I am having an issue with the middle cover. After removing the allen screws, and removing the cover and gasket, something looked odd. On the back side, I expected a cylinder like backing on the bottom screw hole. To match up to the case with the gasket. (I have the copper washer) The top half of the cylinder is not there, and looks like it never was??? To put it simply, the dam thing won't stop dripping oil. It won't seal. I have never seen the back of this plate befoe, is there a piece missing or broken off. Any thoughts??? joe

I blew a valve cover gasket on my 89 VR yesterday. This is my second season riding it after it sat idle for about 13 or 14 years. Do you guys think I should just go ahead and replace all of them? I don't want to be stranded somewhere. Lucky for me yesterday I was in town, if I hadn't been on call there's no telling where I would have been. Thanks for your input, Jackie

My Venture sprung a leak. I have done a search but none of the situations seem to give me any help. The left head cover gasket is leaking. Not bad but it leaks and I don't like it. It is the gasket near the top of the engine (right under the chrome covers). It has just started. My Venture is 9 years old and has 47,000 + miles on it. I have a few questions; 1) Will it hurt to keep riding it until I have a chance to fix it? B) Is it something I can do or should I take it to a dealer? 3) If I do take it to a dealer is it very expensive to fix? D) Should I change both now or just the one that is leaking?

My husband, Alan, is trying to re-build a 1982 Honda CB900 (Bol'D'Or) and the price of a head gasket is up at $AU200 Can anyone give us a web site, or contact where we might get it cheaper. He's about ready to with the way this re-build is going. Sometimes doing old bikes stops being fun:crying:

Need your help! Did a preventative stator change on my 89 VR getting ready for a 3000+ mile trip since the original stator had almost 60k miles on it and I run a lot of extra lights. Installed the new stator (high output) in under two hours and was feeling really good about it until I got back from a 30 minute ride and had oil dripping from the kickstand. The leak has definitively been isolated to the bottom most seam of the side cover (between the rearmost two bottom bolts) and is making a real mess. Have changed the gasket now 3 times... once without sealant and twice more with two different types of sealant (yamalube, RTV gasket sealer) applied with no luck. There are no cracks, scratches or dings, and both the side cover and case look square with a straight edge applied. This bike was tight and dry until the cases were split... and as an old aircraft mechanic leaks drive me CRAZY! Thinking about double gasketing... any other ideas? Thanks in advance for your help!

Guys I put my stock mufflers back on the RSV.No this isnt about who does or does not like loud pipes,I just got tired of the noise on LONG trips. The Lesson Learned.....CHECK YOU PART NUMBERS ON ANY PART YAMAHA SELLS YOU. I worked 5 hours trying to make my Exhaust gaskets fit on the Bike. I look at the part number....The last 5 numbers that is..Humm it says 14714,Why isnt it working,do I need to beat the gasket flatter to get it to fit proper? It fit in the muffler end..Whats the problem. I call Ponch , He says its real easy. I call Roadhand,"No problem Tom Just put it on and slide the muffler on"..OK another 45 minutes I am now about to stroke out so I go look at the part # on the Internet parts catalog The full Part # is 3XW-14714-00-00..well I said Thats what I have...Puzzled so I look at the package the guy gave me...Part # 4NNK-14714-00-00..(wrong Number) What a dumb a$$..I put the mufflers on in 20 minutes after getting the correct part. The part #4NNK-14714-00-00 is the gasket for the header pipe. Lesson is what all our wives have told Us,READ THE DIRECTIONS, in this case READ THE PART number. Im writing this to give a heads up as it was frustrating to say the least. Be safe Tom

WARNING - this is LONG, so unless you are actually going to adjust your valves, or just like to read mechanical cookbooks, you probably should just stop here! There is a LOT involved in this job. It needs to be done, but it is probably worth whatever you local shop is charging. I'd certainly pay $200 for it if I trusted the shop, and I'm very comfortable doing the job myself (but you are probably not going to get it done that cheap). If you don't trust your shop, or don't have the money, then read on! We periodically have questions and discussions here on valve adjustments, like how often? (26,600 miles), is it really needed? (yes), how to? (read on), etc. And the tech manual, along with several other members, indicate it is a BIG job. So Ponch and I decided to organize a training session to see first-hand what was involved and find out about any surprises before we attempted to help any other members on this. And I want to really emphasize how thankful we are to BuddyRich for his wonderful loan of a shim kit and special tool, along with his selfless help of an entire day of hot sweaty work! Without him, what follows would probably never have happened: Background info: My 2005 RSV had the first valve check/adjustment done on schedule around 27,000 miles through the initial maintenance contract I purchased with the bike. Since the shop did it, I have no idea if any shim changes were actually needed, but since I saw evidence the valve cover gaskets were changed, I will assume that at the end of that service, all 16 valves were within spec. My bike now has 70,000 miles on it, putting it about 15,000 miles overdue for the second valve check. I found about half the valves either right at minimum tolerance or too tight (and three of them were significantly too tight). You get to decide how often you want to do your own bike, but I'll be doing this one by 30,000 miles each time now. Planning: 1. Order your gaskets and find tools and shims first. The valve cover gasket is 4NK-11193-00-00, and the best price I found was at www.carolinacycle.com for about $18 ea. I wouldn't want to do this job without a valve shim kit unless I was willing to leave the bike torn down for several days to go find the right shims after measuring all the clearances. In addition, there are different ways to hold down the valve buckets to change the shims, but the only "right" way (and certainly the easiest) is to have the special tool; therefore, find or buy one before you start. We have several members who have the tool and a shim kit (just a selection of various sizes) who may be willing to loan them. BuddyRich and Mother are two you might ask (if anyone else wants their name listed or removed here, please contact me so I can edit this post!). If you find someone to loan a shim kit, PLEASE ask them ahead of time to look at the current collection of shims, particularly the 265 and 270 sizes, to see if any common sizes are in short supply. The shims don't cost much, and in return for the loan, you really should buy at least two new shims in needed sizes before you start the job. Not only will this make it more likely you have the ones you need for your own bike, but it will make the kit better for the next use. It is hard to say ahead of time what sizes might be most needed, since every bike will change the mix. When we did four bikes on the same day, it was very interesting to see that. After the first two bikes, we had a ton of 270 shims, but not many 265 or 275. But after the next bike, there were only a couple 270s left but a big stack of 275. 2. This is a perfect time to change your coolant, so if you need it, have that on hand too. Even if you don't need to change it, you WILL need to drain about a quart, so have an appropriate clean tray and funnel that will allow you to do this and then add it back later. 3. This is also the perfect time to change your plugs, so have them on hand too. 4. Get a can of spray carb and choke cleaner. You are gonna want to pull those carbs (perfect time to set the floats too), and the #1 and #2 carbs are gonna be NASTY with oil residue and dirt. Legend has it that you can do this job without pulling the carbs, but no way I would want to try it. And besides, once you have all the other stuff off, pulling the carbs just isn't that hard. 5. You will really want to have your bike straight up for this job, so a center stand or maintenance jack is good to have on hand. This isn't required, but will be a lot easier and cleaner! On the side stand, you get some oil dumping off the left corner of the heads when you crack the valve cover loose, and more that comes out the covers in the left crank case. The oil mess is much worse if you have Leveling Links and you try this on the side stand! 6. Misc. tools: A good set of feeler gauges are obvious, but you will also need a torque wrench that goes down to 7.2 ft lbs (10 Nm or 86 in lbs), and a magnetic retrieving tool, tweezers or hemostats, and a good quality very small screwdriver (like a mid-size jeweler's driver, but stronger) will be necessary to remove the shims. I also recommend a tube of high temperature RTV 'gasket goo' to use on certain points of the new gaskets. On those feeler gauges, most sets have both inch and mm numbers, but the primary (or even increments) that it uses will be either inch or metric. You will have a much easier time of measuring and selecting shims if you have a metric set. And make certain you have a very bright flashlight - I prefer one of the new small LED ones because of the birghtness and color of the light. 7. Instructions - the shop manual is generally pretty good here, so I suggest you print out pages 3-9 through 3-13. The Job: Start by removing the basic stuff: seat, tank, lower cowlings, air filters. Since you WILL need to drain some coolant, just go ahead and pull those lower cowlings now and make taking off the air filters easier. Remove the "dog bones" connecting the front cylinder heads to the frame. Remove the air intake tract, including the rubber tubes where the air filters attach, the top air plenums, and the rubber T between the air filters (it is held on by one 10mm bolt on the right side of the frame). To get the air plenums off, you will need to first remove the metal straps on top (four screws each), and the two screws holding the crank case vent hose in the middle, then pull the hoses and wire bundles off to the side. After the clamps on top of each carb and the front clamp are loose, each plenum will just pull straight up. When taking off the metal straps, note that the inside front screw on each is longer than the other three, and be CAREFUL when putting all of those screws back at the end of this job - they will strip very easily! When you pull the crankcase breather connection loose from between the two air plenums, be careful of the little foam rings, most of them are stretched and falling apart - unfortunately they don't seem to be available in the parts breakdown. When you lift off each air plenum, there is a vent hose connected on the rear that will just pop off (watch out for the little wire spring clip - they aren't really necessary, but you don't want to have one pop off and get stuck in a carb or something). Pull all four plugs (necessary to turn the engine over while checking the valves). Drain the coolant - if not changing it, you will still need to drain a quart or so to allow the removal of the water hose from the rear head. CAUTION! The 12mm drain plug on the bottom left of the radiator is just plastic (as is the radiator), so when putting the plug back in, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN!!!! The correct tightness is about what you can put on a clean, dry 3/8" socket extension with your bare hand. Pull the carb assembly. Start by disconnecting the fuel line behind the right rear carb and open the two clips on top of the carbs to release the fuel line that goes to the tank. Then disconnect the two overflow hoses that connect on top between the carbs and run forward to the front of the air filters. Go ahead and remove those overflow hoses completely, just pay attention to how they are routed and watch for the little plastic clip that holds them together between the carbs. At this point, all you need to do is loosen the hose clamp beneath each carb (but see the caution below) and disconnect the two electric plugs for the wires connected near the left front carb. You will find both of these plugs right up next to the frame under the large main wire bundle. The white two-wire plug is for the carb heaters, and the black triangular three-wire plug is the throttle position sensor. With the hose clamps below all four carbs loose, you can pull straight up on the assembly on each side to "pop" them loose from the intake manifolds (and this usually takes a lot of force!). With the carb assembly loose it slides straight out the left side. I generally wait until this point when the carbs are part way out to disconnect the throttle cables - access is much easier. Just loosen the long nut on each cable to allow it to slip off the bracket - as long as you don't move the small nut, the cables adjustment will not change. CAUTION! The screws on the hose clamps on the bottom of each carb are VERY soft metal. In addition, those clamps each have a metal collar to prevent you from over tightening them on the rubber boot. On most of the bikes I have worked on, at least one of those screws has been frozen so hard that the head stripped out, requiring me to drill it off to remove the clamp. If you have this same problem, stuff a rag under the clamp before you drill it off so you don't loose that little collar. The screw can then be replaced with any standard 4mm screw from the hardware store. With the carbs out, you probably should stuff a paper towel in each intake manifold to prevent anything from accidentally disappearing down there while you are working on the bike. Remove the chrome covers on the cylinder heads. Remove the plastic wire tray under the frame in front of the battery cover. This is held on by one 10mm bolt on the left side of the frame and a screw under all those hoses in front of the battery. Once that tray is off, pull the disconnected vent hoses out the back to get some needed working room above the rear valve cover. Finally, the last thing to take off before you can actually remove the valve covers is the rubber hose for the water line to the rear cylinder head (no need to take the front one off). You will need to remove the two plugs/covers in the center of the left crankcase cover to turn the engine, so now is a good time to do that. The two #3 philips-head screws are generally REAL tight, so make sure you use the correct size screwdriver to not bugger them. With the screws out, just use a very small screwdriver to work the cover back and forth on the O-ring to get it to pop off. There is a thin metal plate that will fall out as soon as the cover comes loose - it just goes back in with the ridge facing the crank, and you usually will not need to replace the O-rings on the covers. And now for the valve covers! Four flat allen-head bolts on each and they will pop off without too much effort. The gaskets are thick rubber, and they overlap a hollow cavity at the corner of each head. Just use your finger to pull of that rubber corner and then you can put a small screwdriver under there and catch the edge of the valve cover to pry it up. The rear cover will be difficult to get off, even after everything you have already removed! But just raise it as high as you can against the fuel line or other wire bundles still hanging below the frame and kinda rotate it forward to clear the cam chain. The front cover has lots of top clearance, but you need to take it out the right side to clear the water hose you left in place. FINALLY - ready to actually start checking valve clearance! MEASURING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: You can approach the measurement of the valve clearance two ways - some folks prefer to just turn the engine until they see the cam lobe pointing up for whatever valve they are checking, but I prefer to follow the more common practice of setting a piston at TDC on the compression stroke, then checking all valves for that cylinder (this is also the method from the service manual). But here is a little clue - don't get too hung up on believing everything in the service manual! There is a note in several places that tells you "TDC on the compression stroke can be found when the camshaft lobes are turned away from each other." NOT SO!!! While true for the front two cylinders, the cam lobes on the rear two cylinders will NEVER point away from each other! Seems weird to me, as I really expected the valve timing to show the identical relationship between the cams on all the cylinders for the same engine, but the facts show different. And before anyone asks, I did check my valve timing according to the manual and the index marks on the cams, and all four cams were correct. Anyway, back to the measurement. Start by turning the engine counterclockwise until you see the valves on #1 cylinder (left rear) all closed, then watch for the timing mark on the generator rotor through the observation hole to align with the mark on the crankcase cover. It is not necessary for it to be exactly perfect to measure the valves. Now you can check the clearance on both intake and both exhaust valves for #1. Since you are dealing with four valves at a time, it is helpful to write down the clearance you measure so you don't have to re-check them over and over again! If any valves need to be adjusted, I explain this in the next section. After completing the measurement and/or adjustment for #1, if you turn the crank 180 degrees, cylinder #3 (right rear) will be at TDC and ready to check (just put the socket on the crankshaft with the handle pointing to the rear and turn it counterclockwise until the handle points forward - can't get much easier than that!). When you are done with #3, turn the crank 180 degrees again, then start watching for a second timing mark to line up on the generator rotor 70 degrees later (a little less than 1/4 of a turn), now #2 is at TDC and ready to check. Finally, after checking/adjusting #2, just turn the crank 180 degrees one more time and #4 will be at TDC and ready to check. When you are done with #4, turning the crank just 110 degrees (slightly more than 1/4 turn) puts #1 back at TDC to start over. After you have made adjustments to any valve, I strongly recommend you turn the engine through several turns to ensure the valve shims are fully seated and measure them again to see if the final clearance is what you want. I found I needed to change the shims several times on some valves to get it right. By going through the 1, 3, 2, 4 sequence several times you get the chance to double-check all your measurements, as well as re-check the ones you changed. CHANGING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: Note: You will find a second person to help turn the engine VERY helpful here, especially when working on #3 and #4! To adjust the clearance you need to remove the existing shim and replace it with one of a more appropriate thickness. The majority of changes will be to a thinner shim, but you won't have any idea what the needed size will be until you get the existing shim out. Getting the tappet adjusting tool inserted the first time can be a little tricky. It can be inserted from either side of the cam, depending on which side you want to pull the shim from. The first thing you do is turn the crank in either direction so that the cam lobe is pointing AWAY from the side where you plan to insert the tool. Next, before you insert the tool, use your fingertip to turn both shim buckets until one of the open notches is where you can reach it with your small screwdriver - this is where you will need to pry up the old shim to break the suction of the oil film (and that can be tough to do). To insert the tool, try to rotate the short end under the cam to depress the buckets. You won't get it very far just with your fingers, so slowly turn the crank in the proper direction to let the cam finish turning the tool into place (while keeping some pressure on the long arm of the tool to make it move). You will want to make sure the tool is turned all the way until the long arm touches the side of the head or you won't have enough clearance to pull out the old shim. Now that the tool is in place, reach in with that little screwdriver and pry up on the bottom edge of the shim - the suction of the oil film will be STRONG, so don't be surprised if you have a tough time getting each shim to pop up. Once it does pop up, you can either grab it with tweezers or a magnet to pull it out. Turn it over and note the number on the bottom (they should always be installed with the number down). Replacement shims are only available in .05mm increments (such as 260, 265, and 270), but the ones you pull out might be be anything (such as 269 or 272). That is why you will find some odd numbers in the shim kit - they came out of someone else's bike. To decide what shim to put back in, you need to know what the clearance was before you removed it (remember, I said to write it down)! The shop manual has a really neat chart that lets you just look along one axis to find the number on your current shim, then just look down the side to find the clearance you measured - where the two lines intersect, that is the new shim number you need. It works pretty good, but make sure you look at the right chart (they are different for intake and exhaust)! If you try and do this job without having a shim kit, those charts are really the best way to decide which shims you need to buy. A less formal but more natural way is to just look at the number of the current shim, think about how much you need to change it (was that valve just a little tight, or a lot tight?), and then choose a slightly thinner or thicker shim that you think might be in the ballpark. For example, if you pull out a 273 shim and the valve was just a tad too tight, you might want to try a 270, but if it seemed quite a bit lower than the minimum spec, better go straight to the 265. No matter how you selected the new shim size, it is very important to turn the engine over several times and then re-check the clearance to see if your guess was correct - even using the charts leaves room for error. Putting it all back Together: Just a few notes here on reassembling the bike - most everything will just be a reverse of the disassembly process, but there are a few pointers to help you. Valve Cover Gaskets: These are very thick rubber with big half-circle "lumps" at the ends of each camshaft. They only go on ONE way. They are flat on the bottom, and the top has a ridge that fits into the groove on the valve cover. But it does not fit tight enough in the groove to hold it in place while you put the cover back. No matter, though, since there is not enough clearance to get the cover back on the rear cylinders with it attached - your only choice is to place the gasket on the head and then maneuver the cover in place. The original gasket seems to have been held to the cover by several spots of rubber cement in the groove, but there was no sign that a gasket sealant was used all the way around. Other than those glue spots on the cover, there was no sign that the original factory gasket had any RTV type gasket sealant used at all during assembly. However, when the shop did my valves the first time, they DID use a bit of RTV, but only on the lumps, and neither gasket ever leaked in 40,000 miles. For comparison, one person who had replaced the gasket without using any sealant did develop a slight leak at one of those lumps over time. For these reasons, I personally recommend applying just a thin coat of high temperature RTV to the depression in the head where those lumps fit before putting the gasket in place. Now look closely at the parts of the gasket where it is next to the spark plugs - on the exhaust side only you will see a slight squiggle or wave in the gasket, and on the cylinder head you will see a matching wave. Make sure you position the gasket with those points matching. Then look at the cover - notice the same wave? Guess where it goes . . . When you lower the cover down on the gasket, the challenge is to get the ridge on the gasket to smoothly fit up into the groove on the cover all the way around. If you even have a hint that the cover is not completely smooth and flush on the head, then the gasket is NOT completely seated in that groove. Take your time and trace the entire edge with a bright flashlight to get it right. Remember how much work it was to get that cover off; you don't want to have to do it again! When putting the front gasket and cover in place, remember they must go in from the right side to fit around that water pipe. The torque on the cover bolts is only 7.2 ft lbs., and that is not much. Make sure you have a wrench that has a setting that low, and use it. These are not the kind of gaskets where you can go back later and tighten them a little more if you get a leak. In fact, over tightening the cover on that thick rubber will just distort it and make the leak worse. Although the manual does not say to tighten the bolts from the inside out in a cross pattern like you would the head bolts, that is still the method I recommend. Air Intake Parts: Make sure you get that front T in place before you put the carbs in, same with the rubber Y that connects the air plenums to the T. The only thing to remember about the T is that it has a locating lug sticking out the front that MUST fit in the rubber grommet in the frame. The hose clamp on that rubber Y is located on the left side of the bike, with the head facing up. Initially it seems impossible to access, but just use a long screwdriver behind the wire bundles next to the frame. Putting the carbs back in: After making sure the hose clamps are still properly positioned on the top of the intake manifolds, slide the carbs in from the left side, but leave them just far enough out to make it easy to attach the throttle cables. Then after making sure all the carbs are centered on the manifolds, you need to push down on them pretty hard to pop them back in place. Try to put the base of your hand on top of the carb throats, not on the plastic diaphragm covers. Re-route all the fuel lines and vent hoses appropriately, and don't forget to re-connect the two plugs. Putting on the air plenums: Some people have had real trouble getting the air plenums to fit properly back on top of the carbs (and stay there when they tighten the clamps). In every single case I have seen, this has been caused by the rubber neck on the plenum being caught on the edge of the carb and buckled under the clamp - usually behind the carb where it is impossible to see. Make sure the clamps are plenty loose and rock the plenum a bit when putting it on. If the rubber is not buckled in there, the plenum will fit fully down on the carbs and not spring back up at all. Unlike the lower hose clamps, those on top of the carbs do not have a metal collar to prevent them from being over tightened, so just make sure they are properly set in the grooves on the plenum and snug them up pretty good instead of trying to play Magilla. I think that is about it. Let me know if you think I have missed something or you have any questions! Goose

I need a jet block gasket. Don't know if replacements are available or if I can repair. Let me know how to repair or where to get a replacement. I'm including pics. Thanks.

I went out to carbtune my carbs. I got it tuned and noticed one of my carbs is leaking gas. I took them off and took the float bowl off the one that was leaking. The gasket was pinched into in four places. I know it will take a week or longer to get a new one in. My question is there anything I can put on the gasket to seal it until I get a new one in because of course it is suppose to be warm this week. thanks tim

On my '98 TD...at the rear 4-bolt square flange of the drive shaft tube, where it bolts to the differential housing......Is there a gasket or O-ring for that? I've noticed the bottom of that bolted connection has been black & greasy the last few times I cleaned the bike up. (not a lot, but it's obvious that it's there) I can't really get where I can see around under the bike generally. Had it checked, bolts are tight. Fluid levels are good. Is it possible it's coming from somewhere else. If so, where might that be?

The head gasket on my '99 RSV is leaking anti-freeze from the front left corner where the cylinder block meets the crankcase. I removed the cooling fin to confirm this. This only happens when the engine is cold and it appears to seal up when the engine warms up. Can anyone tell me if you can change the head gasket with out removing the engine? Can the head bolts be re-torqued by removing the cylinder head covers? Any assistance will be appreciated. Fitz

Have not done it yet but want to know how much force needed to seperate existing OEM mufflers from the header pipes. Bike is only a year old. Is there a gasket and should I reuse existing . Using BUB Sleepers Mufflers. Pipes will be here in a couple of days.

I have had an antifreeze leak on my 1999 RSV for some time now. I have narrowed it down to a certain area that it is coming from. I need help on what to do. It is coming from the bottom of the side cover of the head. I am wondering if I take the side cover off is there a gasket or not? If it is not possible to be the side cover then do you think it would be the head gasket or the water jacket joint? I am going to attach some pictures? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I don't know a whole lot about motorcycles. Thanks hairman

On my 1999 RSV oil is leaking around the top head gasket (no. 35 on the picture that I am going to try to post). I have been letting it run in the building for about 30 minutes while it is on the kickstand. I have been doing this every 2weeks. It is leaking on the same side the kickstand is on. I was wondering if I need to replace the gasket or take it off and clean it and put some silicone on it? I have already checked the bolts and they are tightened. I am not sure the picture will be big enough to see. Sorry. Thanks hairman

same problem, different thread, and different location. if ANYONE has a "fuel petcock assembly" for sale,PLEASE p m me a price and an address. mine has started to "weep" around the gasket, and i have tried everything i can think of to "fix" it. nothing works. just jt

This isn't about my scoot but I suppose it could apply. Seems I have a coolant leak at the head gasket just where the head meets the block at the right front of the engine. It's a V8 Dodge 5.2L. There's no coolant getting into the oil and doesn't appear to be any combustion gasses getting into the cooling system (yet). The leak is very slow. I tried a couple inexpensive (less than $15) "stop leak" products but that doesn't appear to work. Been reading about a product called "Thermagasket". I know anything like this is only going to be a "temporary" fix and I'll eventually have to replace the head gasket (which I can do myself) but my garage is full of other stuff including my scoot and I really would prefer to wait until warmer weather before tackling this. Has anyone on here had any experience with "Thermagasket" or other similar such products that you'd care to share? I'm hoping to at least temporarilly fix this leak but I find it a waste of time trying one product and then the next only to find they don't work...would rather try something that at least someone I know has had success with. Thanks

Can't find the topic. Didn't Harley have the same dia. gasket for sealing the head pipes? anyone have the part # .... Thanks Dave

Now, about this valve cover gasket being a snap to change out on my '85, the only thing that snapped was my brain. I was very pleased to see how easy it was to lift the cover, but not so happy in finding out that it would not slide out over the cam chain. About 1/4" more clearance and I would have crossed the finish line. Not to mention that I almost damaged the old gasket in the process. Am I cursed, or what?

I'm just settling in to do a valve adjustment on my 2Gen RSV and was looking through Clymer's (for the part number to the Valve Cover Gasket) when I noticed that the picture shows a pretty tight space to get on the CAM to turn it. The books call for a Yamaha Valve tappet. Now on my cars, I've always just used channellocks. Since I'm ordering the gasket now, I can probably add the tool to the order if necessary. Any opinions as to the necessity of this tool?

Do you put anything on the new gasket when you put the clutch housing cover back on? I am going to put in the new spring kit today, and will need to know. Thanks

A while back I said I would report back on getting my "I" basket done. I finally had enough time planned for non-riding and got the work done recently. I took it to RER Motorcity in Monroe CT. The service manager's name is Pete. He said that while they had not done an "I" basket he knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the whine. He said they would contact Yamaha and coordinate everything for me. He than took me into the back and introduced me to the mechanic that would actually be doing the work. The shop was clean and well organized even though it was very busy. They ordered the part and we scheduled an actual day for the work. Once they got into the replacement they found out that Yammy had not sent a gasket they needed for the job. Pete called me that day and told me what had happened. He called Yamaha and arraigned for them to send the needed gasket. After two days Yamaha had not sent the gasket and Pete called them again, With out any coaxing from me he "discussed" it with them and Yammy sent it to him via overnight (hehehe). Through out the whole process Pete kept me well informed and was definately my advocate with Yamaha. I told him about this forum and told him I would tell everyone about my experience with RER. He apoligized to me for the delays but said that now that they know exactly what to do, and what is required, they are more than ready to help out anyone else that would need the "I" basket change under warrenty. I would highly recommend RER for the "I" basket work. As for the whine, well mine is gone, adios, sayanora, tata, out of here and I love this bike even more than before (which I didn't think possible). Now the only whine associated with this bike is me whining about not getting enough riding time.