Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed

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Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85885

By windmill john - Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:40 am

- Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:40 am #85885

Doing mine soon. New to Bullets, besides head gasket and rocker gaskets, are there any other little bits to buy?

Is The Bullet any different to other makes, i.e. re-tighten of head around a 100 miles.

Thanks

John

Si, my 1979 Honda CX500
Tweety Pie, my BMW F650GS
Ridden for years
www.kittos.co.uk

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85916

By stinkwheel - Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:34 pm

- Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:34 pm #85916

I re-torque mine at 5, 50 and 500 miles.

They can be a total sod to get the head off. It's not uncommon for the washers under the head nuts to deform and bind against the studs making them extremely difficult to remove. It's not unheard of for people to loosen the nuts then start the bike to get it moving!

As such, a set of hardened steel washers for when you rebuild it is a worthwhile investment. I also fitted a set of aftermarket studs with a square end on that can be removed with the head in-situ to make future stripping easier.

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85919

By windmill john - Mon Oct 07, 2019 5:12 pm

- Mon Oct 07, 2019 5:12 pm #85919

Thanks stinkwheel. I hadn’t heard anything so ordered the bits today. The helpful chap I spoke to mentioned these deforming washers, so I ordered an improved set.

Si, my 1979 Honda CX500
Tweety Pie, my BMW F650GS
Ridden for years
www.kittos.co.uk

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85928

By PeteF - Tue Oct 08, 2019 7:52 am

- Tue Oct 08, 2019 7:52 am #85928

I replaced the head gasket on my 350 a couple of times. Composite gasket, a smear of Wellseal and NOT re-toqued. Never had a problem. It's worth rubbing the head mating surface down to get rid of ANY damage, scratches etc.

Classic C5 Euro 4 at the moment.
Also CBf250.

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85929

By Beezabryan - Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:41 am

- Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:41 am #85929

I do as Peter. Just a smear of Wellseal round the push-rod tunnels. Could not be bothered with the hassle of taking bits off so never re-torqued. No problems.

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#85932

By stinkwheel - Tue Oct 08, 2019 12:25 pm

- Tue Oct 08, 2019 12:25 pm #85932

I will say every time I re-torque the head, it takes at LEAST another half turn.

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#86035

By Allanfox - Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:23 pm

- Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:23 pm #86035

What are you torquing to, 24ft/lbs?

2006 Electra X and 2008 350T Bullet Watsonian Trails conversion

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#86036

By PeteF - Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:26 pm

- Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:26 pm #86036

That's a bit much. I used 21 ft/lbs.

Classic C5 Euro 4 at the moment.
Also CBf250.

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#86037

By Allanfox - Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:52 pm

- Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:52 pm #86037

Thankyou, makes good sense as I was advised 24 but sheared a stud in the process (near the top as well!), new EN8 studs/washers on order, will try 21 next time!!

I take it the 24 in the book is for copper gaskets?

2006 Electra X and 2008 350T Bullet Watsonian Trails conversion

Re: Replacing head gasket 350 kickstart, 4 speed#86039

By stinkwheel - Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:00 pm

- Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:00 pm #86039

The gasket material won't alter the tensile strength of the studs. It was obviously a bad stud. Or it had oily threads. Their other favourite trick is to wind the short stud all the way up and out of the barrel, taking the alloy with it.

Our hosts recommend a 2-stage tighten of 15 then 22ft/lb.