| Author | Message | ||
     Kenb |
how common are these on 96 S1s and on Buells in general ? | ||
| Sparky |
No problems yet with head gaskets in my stable, although my 96 had a cylinder liner separation problem that plagued a number of Buell engines of this era. An early symptom was oil leaking at the head gasket area although the gasket itself was intact. So a thorough inspection of both cylinders should be in order if you'll be taking the head off. Sparky 96S1, 98S3, 03XB | ||
| Kenb |
Thanks for the info. Quick background on it; The bike never had any of the recall work done so I brought it to a local dealer to have the work done, they called me the next day and told me about the head gasket. Personally I rode the bike and listened to it pretty close before I took it to them and thought meybe a HEADER gasket was leaking. I have a general distrust of all dealerships and do most of my own wrenching but I can't do the recall work so off it went. I just wanted to get a general consensus if whether or not this is a common problem. By the number of responses I've gottenso far I'd say no. Thanks again Ken | ||
| Josh |
Happened to my 99 S3 at 10,500miles but I don't think it is a common problem. | ||
| Rick_A |
9000 fairly hard miles on my '96 S1 and no prob yet. | ||
| Budo |
I did a top end rebuild at 19,324 miles (1998 S1W), holed a piston due to a intake seal leake. Oh, sorry that is another topic. Just recently had a rear head gasket leak. Right over the exhaust port. At 30,000 miles. It is very important to warm up these bikes before riding away. The cylendar, liner, and head are all different materal and heats up/expands at different rates. | ||
| Spiderman |
>>>>>>>Right over the exhaust port Do you mean below the exhaust port? Cause if it is above it would be the rockerbox gasket. | ||
| Kenb |
I pulled the top end down(such a refreshing task on a twin compared to a four) and low and behold blown head gasket on the rear cylinder. The fact that one of the head bolts was loose probably is the reason why this happened(duh ?). My big question is, there are so many choices for gaskets with HD engines should I stay OEM or go with James or Cometic ? Motor looks stock pistons are marked standard but it has been apart. The rocker box gaskets were James and the head gasket was a blue teflon coated affair that I don't think is stock(just a guess maybe it was). So what's the verdict on gasket manufacturers ? | ||
| Aaron |
Cometic EST's rock! | ||
| Newfie_Buell |
Where do you get those? | ||
| Aaron |
Umm, Nallin Racing would be a safe bet  They're in the catalog, near the back. Available in complete kits, top end kits, rocker kits, head gaskets in either .030 or .040, and base gaskets in either .010 or .020. The price list is online now too. | ||
| Wman |
First set of Cometics lasted 2000mi. Checked everything possible, maybee just a dud. Probably will try them again. | ||
| Aaron |
Were they EST's? It's a distinct product line from their regular stuff. Makes all the difference in the world. They're the best gaskets I've ever used. | ||
| Wman |
They were the 0.30 EST's. Everything was checked for flatness, all torques were per service manaul. The bikes is properly warmed-up before riding. While cleaning I noticed a black carbon trail on the top fin, after cleaning it off and riding for 10mi. it started to reappear. I was wandering if it had anything to do with being the rear cylinder runing hotter than front.(Oppisite side of pushrods if it matters) |
