Please walk me thru fixing my freaking bike....

[TheGoodGuy]

Today it was decided to be "work on your bike day"

So i decided to do the usual stuff.. do an oil change and change the plugs.

The oil change went very smoothly, no issues, took in 3qt of Castrol GTX 10W40. THe sparkplugs were the NGK ones..  I didnt gap them, visually it looked fine and sure enough bike started and ran fine.

Then mr. ingenious decided to change the gasket that its under the valve cover. You know the cover that is over the valve checking thinge.. its a gasket that goes all around.

Well I got the cover off after taking off the tank, the breather filter, the screws and finally wiggling it out. I stripped the old gasket off.. and attempted to put the new one one..

put some oil to seal it and sure enough it looked liek it was on, but when i went to put it back on the engine it came off..

The cylmer manual says to push it in or use liquid gasket. However i wonder if i am to use a gasket seelant? If so what kind?

Since i am in the neighbourhood I plan to do an valve adjustment tommorow (since its already dark now and i just covered teh head with the valve cover and didnt tighten it down - hope nothing crawls in). I got the tool to lift the valve up and above. I assume the instructions in the manual are good enough.

Or should i leave the valves for sometime later?

I also got 2 brand new BT45's (110/70 & 140/70). But the local place here will not install them on the bike. So I got to take them off and take them there. Any ideas on what i should do. I plan to replace both front and rear at the same time. Which means the bike will be on the center stand, but what do i do to keep the front end up? Any suggestions and things to look out for..

Ultimately i want to get the bike rejetted. But I think i might ask someone from GStwin if they are willing to help dig into the carbs so i can rejet it over.


tgg

I want to ride, though i know i cant fully do my riding, i just recovered from a bad flu but i still think i can learn to take turns slowly once again.

[yamahonkawazuki]

when i removed my tires, up on center stand, either leasve on, or remove exhaust, have someone help oyu lift up front, and put either a block, or (my fav)., a car ramp there and set the bike down on it

[Adam R]

I use "Seal-All" to seal the valve cover gasket and it works well.  Either Bob B or Kevin recommended it and its worked so far.


Adam

[The Buddha]

I use rubber cement... first the gasket should be dry and clean... new is non issue... its clean and good... Old... well wash it in gas and dry it. Valve cover... wash in gas also and dry it but only the gasket surface... not the whole thing. Cotton balls have worked good for that, as has sitting it in a shallow tray of gas. Then rubber cement (gascacinch is the same thing actually and has the brush in can feature so use that, its less messy) both, let them sit 5 mins and put them together. If you dont hitnk you'll get it right... do it immediately after putting the rubber cement... that will let you move it around. Then bolt back...
Cool.
Srinath.

[pantablo]

I use rubber cement...
Srinath.

Why am I not surprised?

[TheGoodGuy]

guess putting oil on the gasket = bad idea.

I will dry it out tommorow (with gas) and then clean it and use some sealant.

As for the tires.. i will try put the front fork on some sort of a lift to keep it off the ground.

Thanks...

[Kerry]

guess putting oil on the gasket = bad idea.

I think a thin film of oil between the "ribbed" bottom of the gasket and the flat metal mating surface isn't a bad idea.  Probably improves the "seal"?  But yeah, oil on the TOP of the gasket just begs it to fall off while you're wrestling with the valve cover (which it's already predisposed to do in its upside-down position).  I guess you found all of that out for yourself.  :x

As for the tires.. i will try put the front fork on some sort of a lift to keep it off the ground.

If you choose to support the forks themselves, use something soft-ish like wood or cardboard or something.  I think the folks who mentioned using bricks and lifts placed them under the frame, towards the front near the oil filter cover.

[gsJack]

I also got 2 brand new BT45's (110/70 & 140/70). But the local place here will not install them on the bike. So I got to take them off and take them there. Any ideas on what i should do. I plan to replace both front and rear at the same time. Which means the bike will be on the center stand, but what do i do to keep the front end up? Any suggestions and things to look out for..

Put bike on centerstand and pull rear wheel first.  Then lift front end with hand under top of front wheel and slide blocks under the front of the exhaust pipes with other hand to support front end.  Then pull front wheel.

Pulling rear first before lifting front will give you more room to get the rear out.  I have some 4x4, 2x4, and 1x2 wood blocks I use under pipes.  Used to use them under the side of small cars while working on them.

When putting back on reverse.  Put front on, remove blocks and put  rear on.

[JohNLA]

Whenever I needed the front of the bike supported. I just used a normal car jack and just put it under the oil pan.

[Rema1000]

[EDIT: duplicate post removed]

[Rema1000]

put some oil to seal it and sure enough it looked liek it was on, but when i went to put it back on the engine it came off..

I cleaned the cover and the gasket by rubbing with dry paper towels for maybe 40 minutes (just killing time).  I went over every groove with a fingernail in the towel, and everything was nice and shiny/clean.

Srinath says to attach the new gasket to the lid with a little rubber cement.  I just pushed the clean, dry seal into the lid groove, then moved the lid into position gently; the gasket stayed in place (almost).  If I were to do it again, I'd hold the gasket to the lid using rubber cement or a thin gasket sealant, in maybe 4 tiny spots.

i wonder if i am to use a gasket seelant? If so what kind?

I used a Permatex high-tack gasket sealant on the faces of the half-moon cutouts on the engine, and that's all (nothing on the lid on top, and nothing on the flat mating surfaces on the bottom).  I just put a small bit on my finger, and smeared it across each half-moon, trying to leave a thin film (but without getting any over the inside edge into the engine).  I wouldn't recommend the high-tack sealant I used; something thinner would be easier to spread thinly.  Something the tackiness of silicone caulk should spread thinly.

I get a quarter inch of water in my garage when it rains, so I support the engine with a 2x4, to keep both wheels off the floor.  Above the top edge of the oil filter cover, there is a protrusion of metal from the engine; it looks pretty solid.  So I put the top edge of the 2x4 up under that protrusion (so the 2x4 is running up along the face of the oil filter cover), and rest the bottom of the 2x4 on the ground.

When I have had a wheel completely off, I have also taken the precaution of running a tie-down strap from the bike up to the garage rafters.  I put a pipe on-top of the rafters, and run the tie-down around the pipe.  The pipe distributes the weight onto several different rafters, and you can roll the pipe around and slide the tie-down until things are positioned right.  You could brace the engine block, and also support both ends of the bike with tie-downs just to be sure.

[The Buddha]

I use rubber cement...
Srinath.

Why am I not surprised?

Gascacinch is rubber cement... and that's what I use. You shouldn't be surprised cos it is the right tool for the job and I use the right tools... Further it also is belt dressing and I use that on my 440's belt. You put a bunch of it on the belt and spin the rear tire furiously and it slowly weaves a nice big web... then as it dries... the web disappears into the belt. So cool to see.
Cool.
Srinath.

[chimivee]

Which means the bike will be on the center stand, but what do i do to keep the front end up? Any suggestions and things to look out for..

I support by the frame.  Only thing is, you need one on each side cause the header pipe is in the way.  I used a jackstand on one side and a floor jack on the other.  There really isn't a whole lot of weight on the front, so it doesn't have to be something heavy duty, just something sturdy.



(the jackstand under front axle is just there cause I was moving the frame supports and didn't want the thing to fall)

I inserted "placeholders" in the brake calipers... just in case.  Wooden paint sticks work perfectly (look carefully for Home Depot logo :lol: ).

[chimivee]

THe sparkplugs were the NGK ones..  I didnt gap them, visually it looked fine

The_good_guy:  human gap guage.