tappet cover gasket and o-ring and RTV

turk

XS650 Enthusiast
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1979 XS650
I did a search,no luck.
New to me XS650; has tappet cover gaskets and o-rings and some RTV to boot.
Any reason for this,other than a lame attempt at fixing a leak ?
I can't find an explanation as to why this should be done.
Anyone else have to do this or is this normal and I'm just a dope?
There is only the o-ring on the microfiche that I looked at,no gasket.
Any advice on what to do when putting the covers back on?
Thank-you....Alan
 
>Any reason for this,other than a lame attempt at fixing a leak ?
Yes!
If the O-Ring is in good shape, it should do just fine.
Early xs650s used a gasket and some use an early gasket when the O-Ring fails.
 
Lame attempt by an incompetent mechanic. Blobs of silicone sealer are a dead give-away to that. If the o-ring is in good shape along with both the cover and engine surfaces, just the o-ring is all that's needed. Inspect the o-ring surface. If it looks a bit ratty, pop it out and flip it over, facing the fresh side out. On the 3 hole covers, you can install them in one of three positions. Sometimes they seal better in one position as opposed to the others so if it leaks, rotate it 120° and try again.

Early models didn't have the o-ring groove in the covers and used the gaskets. The gaskets are still readily available and included in the full gasket kits in case you have an earlier model and need them. This seems to confuse some and I guess they think since it's in the gasket set, better use it, along with half a tube of silicone per gasket, lol.
 
I've used a tappet cover gasket as a lame attempt at a fix for a leak :D - fixed my leak, removed gasket and left just o-ring and things are good.
 
Inspect the o-ring surface. If it looks a bit ratty, pop it out and flip it over, facing the fresh side out. On the 3 hole covers, you can install them in one of three positions. Sometimes they seal better in one position as opposed to the others so if it leaks, rotate it 120° and try again.

Thanks,I edited this nugget out because this is a GREAT tip!!!!!.......Alan
 
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