I moved into a new apartment close to downtown in the past week. And now that my GS is my only means of transportation, I have no garage.
One night when some SUV took up the motorcycle parking spot, I had to park in one of the car spots.
I came out the next morning and my bike has definitely been knocked over. There was mud caked on to the throttle grip. And where the bike was parked if it was knocked over it would not have reached the mud. So someone must have tried to move it, then droped it and picked it back up. And then apparently knocked it over on the OTHER SIDE, because my clutch lever was also bent. Holy crap. I can laugh about it now, because otherwise, I'd have to cry.

Also, I noticed the valve cover is leaking a noticeble amount of oil. Which doesn't please me at all. Maybe something got knocked out of alignement when the bike dropped. I'm thinking, before I have time to order a replacement gasket set, I need to loosen the valve cover, realign the gasket and double check the tourque on all the bolts. This is really not the sort of work I want to do in an apartment parkinglot. So if anyone's got a garage (in Houston around Montrose/Richmond area) they want to donate on Saturday morning, I'd be very appreciative. Or if anyone just wants to swing by and help out, that would be cool too.

I've never had the valve cover off, so I'm not sure what difficulties I could run into. The only thing is I'm not sure I trust my torque wrench. It an old needle type wrench and I don't know how reliable it is. I"ve used it mostly for tightening the axel nut and when the nut seems way too tight the torque reading is still way bellow specs. Is the wrench off, or is it that the bike is just loose?

If I still lived out that way I'd definitely come help.  I'm about 1.5 hrs east of you now though.  It can be a real PITA to keep the valve cover gasket in place when you're putting the cover back on.  A little RTV silicone or grease will help it stick in place while you maneuver the cover back into position.  You probably won't even need the torque wrench; the cover just has to be tightened down snugly so the rubber gasket can seal it up.  FYI the beam-type tq. wrenches stay calibrated as long as the pointer indicates zero at rest.

-M

That sucks dude.  People are so inconsiderate.  On MANY levels.  The SUV driver who doesn't know what a parking space looks like.  And the jackass who dropped your bike.

In general, people are stupid

dunno if security is a big priority, but when i had an apt, i took a big ass eyebole, with about 6 inches of thread on the bottom, an screwed it into the ground, then attacjhed a chain around my front wheel.  it won't keep eveyone from messing with your bike, but my defer a few.  that coupled with a moton sensor disc lock.  now that i got a garage, i sllep a lot better at night

+1 on the motion sensor alarmed disc lock.

hey stray !! whats happing man ! sorry to hear about the bike . the gasket is a pice of cake. take the tank off then there should be 4 or 5 bolts
(theres gonna be a vent cap on top of your valve cover be sure to take that off first cuz other wise you wont get that cover out of there )  take it off and if the gasket stays stuck to the cover then just make sure all the gasket is pushed on there you really dont have to take it all the way off . just pull it up and make sure its all seated right .. put it back on tighten it down . start it let it run and look for oil ... if you see non put  the gas tank back on and go about you way if i was close man i would be down there in a heart beat to help out but i just moved back to Waco,TX ( for you non texas people it not waco  as in crazy it say like this way-co)just got me a new apt. to going back to college so bla........... but its easy you can hadle it its no harder then fixing your light and gages 

 Thanks to Pantablo's help I oredered one of these.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=7152&department=657&division=6

  A 130 dba alarm = Sweet 

Ok, I'm about to start the procedure. I don't know if I'll be able to post again today, since the apartment doesn't have the internets, yet.

But come to think of it, should there be any considerable amount of oil under the valve cover anyway? Could that be an indication of a bigger problem?
Also, seems like a good time to check my valve clearences.

Oh yeah, Yankee, I had one of those bike covers, it got stolen. Who the hell steals a bike cover?

Quote from: Straymonolith on August 05, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
Ok, I'm about to start the procedure. I don't know if I'll be able to post again today, since the apartment doesn't have the internets, yet.

But come to think of it, should there be any considerable amount of oil under the valve cover anyway? Could that be an indication of a bigger problem?
Also, seems like a good time to check my valve clearences.

Oh yeah, Yankee, I had one of those bike covers, it got stolen. Who the hell steals a bike cover?

Was the alarm on, or was no one around to hear it, because I still might have time to cancel my order if those don't really work!

Quote from: Straymonolith on August 05, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
But come to think of it, should there be any considerable amount of oil under the valve cover anyway?

Not a considerable amount, but sometimes there's enough.

Quote from: Straymonolith on August 05, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
Could that be an indication of a bigger problem?

No.

Quote from: Straymonolith on August 05, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
Also, seems like a good time to check my valve clearences.

Yes (and every 4k miles).

Quote from: Straymonolith on August 05, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
Oh yeah, Yankee, I had one of those bike covers, it got stolen. Who the hell steals a bike cover?

Homeless.

Locking bike cover, 112db siren. And a sticker on the cover that says the same as mine:

This vehicle protected by Smith and Wesson. Even if it's not when the alarm goes off they'll f%$king shaZam! themselves.

BTW get friendly with a neighbor, I'm sure one of the humans you live near is somewhat sociable. Then ask if you can park in front of their car.

BTW Assigned parking is f%$king great, talk to your complex manager, trust me, they're usually jerks, but they're powerless against a good lawyer or bluff.

I always park in the absolute middle of a space towards the back, that way they see the back of the bike before they swing in like a maniac.

Wow.. remind me if I get another bike to get that alarm in combo with an alarmed disk lock.  That'd make me sleep safer at night.

you can get a small, thin cable lock to secure the cover to the bike. thats all you'll need for the casual thief.
when I parked my 600rr in the back carport, in addition to the bikebrace on the rear wheel, I had a thick cable securing the front wheel and the cover to an eyebolt I set into the concrete. If they want the cover (other motorcyclists), they'll get it either way.

Well, if a homeless guy stole my bike cover, then good for him. He needs it more than I do.

So, I got the valve cover off, got the gasket off and applied silicon RTV gasket adhesive stuff into the groove on the valve cover, where the gasket fits. And I tightened the cover bolts about as far as they'd go, which still wasn't nearly 13-15 Newton meters that the manual specifies.
But it's still leaking, same as before, from the 2 front corners, next to the exhaust valves.
I really don't know why that is. Maybe it's because the front 2 bolts on the cover are harder to get to, and I didn't tighten them as well. Or could the valve cover or head be warped?
Also, do you have to smear oil on the gasket, like you do with the oil filter gaket?

PS.
Hey FearedGS500 good to hear from you, next time you're in the Houston area, call me up.

Did you use a star pattern when you tightened the bolts? If not the bolts on the side you tightened could be preventing the other side of the cover from sealing. You might want to tighten the bolts little by little and move from bolt to bolt.

If you want I could stop by and take a look.

Good luck