I'm. So. Close.

[SlimKlim]

Got the motor back together, tank painted, everything reassembled. I'll update my build thread with pictures later this weekend.

I got everything taken care of, everything put together, and it runs! It runs with no smoke! Except when I put the exhaust on I didn't line it up right and it leaked, so I rearranged it, and it leaked. Oh woe is me, I just want to ride!

I'm guessing I blew my one time use the first time I crushed down on the gaskets and now it doesn't want to seal up the second time? Are our gaskets a generic size? Will I be able to call around tomorrow morning and find some, or am I going to have to order them from Japan? 

The big question, will riding it hurt anything? I just wanna ride, thats all. If I could I'd ride it to the dealer with heavy gloves and a wrench in my back pocket and replace the damn gaskets.

Any other advice or suggestions?

[tt_four]

I'm sure there's other bikes with the same size exhaust gasket, but they're pretty cheap as it is. Your bike will still run if they're leaking a little, your exhaust will just sound weird.

[The Buddha]

The exaust gaskets are not really crush washer type. They are reuseable. Just dont over crank them bolts.
Cool.
Buddha.

[SlimKlim]

The exaust gaskets are not really crush washer type. They are reuseable. Just dont over crank them bolts.
Cool.
Buddha.

Well I boogered them up a little i think, hence the reluctance to seal. I'm going to ride it to the dealer tomorrow and pick a pair of em, then hang out at a buddies and let it cool down, and try a new set and get a good healthy seat. I didn't realize how carefully you have to line them up when you put them on.

[Homer]

It's not your fault.  It's the Yosh.  They're made with a thinner wall and mating surface to the gaskets than the OEM system. 
You'll also notice the mounting tabs or ears bend slightly as you tighten the header bolts. 
But... it's the price to pay for the best sounding system with the most power.  1980's technology. 

I'd recommend swapping the header bolts for higher quality studs, while you're at it. 
A few bucks there will save a lot of headache and an expensive repair. 
And, they're different lengths, so measure them before you go to the store. 

[SlimKlim]

So the yosh is more difficult to get the exhaust to seal, or you can't get it too?

Does it just take some careful alignment to get it to seal properly?

[Homer]

Yes, just some careful alignment.  
Not having a crossover tube, the pipes like to pull together after being heated/cooled/heated/cooled, etc.  
They stay, once you get it bolted in.  Just takes some initial care to get it at the right position.  

Wouldn't be such a pain, if they had larger mating surfaces to the exhaust ports.  The stock exhaust has big wide flanges there, and thick-walled tubing.  The Yosh's thinner walls mean more gas expansion area, and the thinner flanges give greater exit velocity.  It all leads to greater power, but less structural rigidity.  Like I said - 1980's tech.  

I got lazy once, and tried different kinds of gasket sealant.  None of it really works, it just blows out eventually.  A good mechanical seal to the OEM gaskets is best.  
The technique that I found is to line the headers up against the gaskets (studs help with alignment, also), then stick in the bolt near the muffler (near the heel-guard) just as a retainer.  Then, back at the front, finger-tighten the nuts on one side, and pull the other side outboard a little.  When it's lined up, finger-tighten THOSE nuts and torque them.  Then torque everything else.  
Little bit of a pain, but SOOOOOOO worth it when you hit about 9000 RPM.  
You'll see....

Edit:
Once you get everything back together and on the road - find a fast straight that you know well.  
Doesn't have to be REALLY long, just two blocks or so.
Lay on the throttle in 1st and shift REALLY late.  When it hits about 8~9000 RPM, the exhaust note completely changes.  
It goes from burbly, buttery goodness to SHEER VELOCIRAPTOR-ABOUT-TO-BITE-YOUR-FACE-OFF AWESOME.  
Or something like that.
The first time I heard it, I almost p!ssed my pants. 

[SlimKlim]

I got it to seat up decently to one of the old sets that hadn't been mangled up and rode it around all day today. I found 9k+ a few times too.   

I'm ordering a fresh set (or two) of gaskets, and ill use your technique to get a good seal.

I'm sort of at a crossroads with the exhaust, that Yosh gets hot, like really hot. The old paint on the fender was blistered, and i can see blistering on the brake lines. So my initial thought is exhaust wrap to cool it down, but thats just going to accelerate rust. I'm thinking my one large expenditure for this baby might be to find a newish/very lightly used full system (Yosh or otherwise) that has no rust, then I'll have it professionally powercoated or something that will give it a pretty legit barrier against rust, THEN wrap it, so the moisture that gets caught up in the wrap will just sit against an impenitrable barrier of awesomeness.

I'd do it to this system, but it looks like its pretty thin in a few places, and serious sanding might just get me buying another one anyway.

Any thoughts on that plan? I might start a new thread

[valvesprung]

I don't know if you've jetted back up to where it was before you reduced them (thinking the smoke was a fuel issue), but that may be why it's so hot. A lean engine will run MUCH hotter then one properly balanced.

Glad you got her back on the road mate. Always shiny side up, eh?

[Homer]

Yeah, sounds a little lean. 
When in doubt, make it rich. 
Wish you were close, I'd help.
One trick somebody showed me - keep a log book of jets and settings you've tried.  I'll try to find mine.
I think it was 147.5 mains, 2.5 turns, 2 washers, and can't remember the pilots. 

Ceramic coating's pretty good stuff.  And they can usually put it on pretty thick, to cover pitting.
If I remember correctly, my IR thermometer was showing about 7~800 degrees, about 3~4 inches past the first bend.  Not sure if there's a powdercoating that'll resist the heat; maybe so. 
People like to argue about that kind of thing - whether it holds heat, makes jetting weird, etc, etc.  Seems like you're already aware. 
You're right about the asbestos wrap.  It also LOVES oil (like from a leak, or stuff off the road).

Yeah, it's paper thin almost, isn't it?  Tell me about it.   
Problem is, though, they're not made anymore.  It's sort of a GS500 "collector's item". 
There's a guy around here that painted the aluminum can, and people went batsh!t over it. 
Change it, if you like. 
I'M certainly not gonna yell at you.  I'm just waiting for pictures!   

[SlimKlim]

Yeah, sounds a little lean. 
When in doubt, make it rich. 
Wish you were close, I'd help.
One trick somebody showed me - keep a log book of jets and settings you've tried.  I'll try to find mine.
I think it was 147.5 mains, 2.5 turns, 2 washers, and can't remember the pilots. 

Ceramic coating's pretty good stuff.  And they can usually put it on pretty thick, to cover pitting.
If I remember correctly, my IR thermometer was showing about 7~800 degrees, about 3~4 inches past the first bend.  Not sure if there's a powdercoating that'll resist the heat; maybe so. 
People like to argue about that kind of thing - whether it holds heat, makes jetting weird, etc, etc.  Seems like you're already aware. 
You're right about the asbestos wrap.  It also LOVES oil (like from a leak, or stuff off the road).

Yeah, it's paper thin almost, isn't it?  Tell me about it.   
Problem is, though, they're not made anymore.  It's sort of a GS500 "collector's item". 
There's a guy around here that painted the aluminum can, and people went batsh!t over it. 
Change it, if you like. 
I'M certainly not gonna yell at you.  I'm just waiting for pictures!   

I've got 147.5 in, 3 turns out, and 1 shim, I can play with the turns and the shims and get it right, but I think its pretty close. I was reading about the ceramic stuff and think I might try that, I wonder if the Yosh just lets out more heat than stock, seems logical.

I'll look into ceramic coating, and look into having somebody make me a couple of heat shields for that upright portion, it ought to be pretty simple to fix.

Pics are in that project thread I made. Soak 'em in.