Original Head Gasket?
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:16 am
My project bike - Project Karma - had to have the engine come apart to replace the Starter Idler Gears. Since I was already that far, I did a full tear-down. The odometer showed 44k miles, and the engine serial number matches the frame serial number - it's probably the original engine.
To my surprise, I discovered not much carbon build-up on the pistons and combustion chamber. Surprise for two reasons - one, it has a decent amount of miles; two, the bike was pretty darn neglected in all other aspects prior to my buying it.
The cylinder walls look absolutely perfect and the rings don't leak even after 90 minutes of soaking under WD40. (I stopped for lunch and a quick ride on another bike to come home and find WD40 still pooling happily on top of the pistons.) Furthermore, the valves all seem to seal perfectly (as similarly tested with solvent while the head was sitting flat in its normal orientation).
The engine had what appears to be a three-layer metal head gasket.
Is this the stock head gasket?
To my surprise, I discovered not much carbon build-up on the pistons and combustion chamber. Surprise for two reasons - one, it has a decent amount of miles; two, the bike was pretty darn neglected in all other aspects prior to my buying it.
The cylinder walls look absolutely perfect and the rings don't leak even after 90 minutes of soaking under WD40. (I stopped for lunch and a quick ride on another bike to come home and find WD40 still pooling happily on top of the pistons.) Furthermore, the valves all seem to seal perfectly (as similarly tested with solvent while the head was sitting flat in its normal orientation).
The engine had what appears to be a three-layer metal head gasket.
Is this the stock head gasket?