gold plate in sprocket cover????

[fazersharp]

After owning my bike since June I've just had the sprocket cover off on my 2001 600 Fazer to check what the condition was like behind and I also had to dig out the crud that had built up over the years. Got it all clean, checked the sprocket nut which is 9mm deep which was all secure and then tackled the gasket issue.

Wasn't keen on buying and waiting for a new gasket each time I remove the cover as I see it as a routine operation to keep things in good order. I've applied a thin layer of black silicone to the outer cover edges and smoothed this out to make what I hope will be a permanently attached reusable seal. I let it dry overnight and then applied a smear of grease to the opposite face on the bike and refitted.

My theory is that the grease will prevent the silicone attaching itself to the bike and enable it to detach without problem during my future checks. I've heard of folk using grease between paper gaskets to enable them to be reused so hopefully the plan will work!

My silicone bead is thicker than the original gasket so I was concerned that it may affect the clutch pushrod operation but a after a test run this afternoon all seems fine.

Actually you don't even need a gasket there, and from my extensive DIY around Sharp Hall with silicone I think that you will find that it will still peel off in pieces especially as it has been squeezed so thin that the thickness has not altered the clutch operation