head gasket 1983 GL 1100 A

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yes it is doable.... just take your time and be careful. the current thinking is that OEM head gaskets are far better than knock-offs.

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thanks for the info.

Rich

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very doable, i did mine last winter. the thought of it scared the crap outa me. but not really that difficult. just be careful with the timing.

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while you are there, if you haven't already.... change the timing belts

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btw, I tried to use some additives to postpone the repair, not a good move. I had some temporary relief but took forever to get that crap cleaned out of the system. and i mean crap, gummed up everything.



*advice from experience*

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Easily a DIY.. use the OEM manual.

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i am doing it as we speak on my 83. honda manual is miss leading as of timing marks. clymer more clear.

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I have already thought about the timing belt change while there.

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thank you...... I didn't put any additive in.....

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thank you for the heads up on the timing issue.

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naturalone11 wrote:

i am doing it as we speak on my 83. honda manual is miss leading as of timing marks. clymer more clear.

Click to expand...

Clymer might be more clear.. but sometimes it is "clearly wrong" (I have both).. I wouldn't trust it without checking the Honda Manual.. although can't speak specifically about heads, HERE is an example of errors in carbs....



(and welcome to the forum..)

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I did both head gaskets on mine about 5k miles ago. Bought a set of gaskets from georgefix on eBay. Not OEM gaskets but...5 thousand miles so far and not a single issue. I've purchased a few other gaskets from him as well with the same good results.

So while I'm not of the "only use OEM" camp, I am of the " don't just do one" camp. It isn't that much more work to go ahead and do both sides while you're at it. Of course when i did mine I had the mother out of the bike and sitting up on a work bench.

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I should add that if I can do it anyone can do it.

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Are we 100% sure it's a headgasket? Have you done a leakdown test? I admit, at the surface it sounds like a headgasket, but before you start tearing things apart...