84 Aspencade Head Gasket Overhaul

[j.maclean]

Hey everyone. My wing is going in next week hopefully for a head gasket job and a number of other things. I am going to order the parts I need tomorrow. Should I buy a complete gasket kit to do the top end or is the head gaskets all I need? I am going through sabrecycle. Here is a link for the kit.

http://www.saber-cycle.com/store/product320.html

Any input would be great! Thanks

[HALBUDD]

Waiting for it!!!!! Hal

[WingAdmin]

You don't have to wait long!!

You can buy whichever you like...just make sure that you LOVE doing the head gasket job, because if you use Saber Cycle gaskets, you'll be doing it again a lot sooner than you like!

Have a read through these links, then decide if you still want to do business with those crooks.

http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/forum4/9876-1.html

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/ ... id=1318625

[HALBUDD]

WingAdmin I knew it was coming just, knew it would only be a matter of time. haha lol Hal

[j.maclean]

Well thanks for the warning guys. Looks like I won't be doing any business with them after all. My question now, is there any respectable online store for goldwing parts that any of you recommend??

[WingAdmin]

I have used PartsnMore for a couple years now, including gaskets, and they have not only lots of hard-to-find parts for our bikes, but pretty decent prices, too.

[j.maclean]

Great, thanks again for the heads up. My total on the bill for sabre cycle was going to be almost 800 bucks, would not want to give my money to crooks. When doing a head gasket job, will I need a complete top end gasket kit or will that not be necessary and just buy the head gaskets?

[dean_3326]

Well thanks for the warning guys. Looks like I won't be doing any business with them after all. My question now, is there any respectable online store for goldwing parts that any of you recommend??

I get my parts from Service Honda.
http://www.servicehonda.com/hard%20parts/hard_parts.htm

I have also used Bike Bandit.


Dean

[davidlord44]

I noticed no one really answered your question as I have the same question ultimately. I know OEM is superior but I don't have that kind of money. Surely there is a reputable aftermarket top end kit out there but I don't know which. Randakks doesn't seem to carry that stuff.
Can anyone answer this?

[SilverDave]

Firstly , a head gasket is pretty major , and is going to cost , no matter where you get your parts.

Secondly, I went through all this , personally when I re did my heads about 3 years ago ..
Heres the short tale : Labor to do it once is high .. to have to do it twice is beyond sad
A ) OEM, from Honda is the very best .. at the very least , you can get the o-ring set almost anywhere , but several people recommended to me to get Honda OEM gaskets.

B ) Athena head gaskets are " Pretty good " if you want to take a slight chance. Their o-rings are fine .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Athena-Top-End- ... SwfDhZgk2Z

C) Don't buy anything you really care about from S ###r C@@@e, or as Wing admin says " You will be doing it again " .

I had mine done by a qualified Shade Tree Mechanic . He insisted on Honda OEM , but also gave a warranty of sorts , if he had to do it again . That was 15, 000 and 3.5 years ago ... I am happy with his work .

SilverDave

[Saintjude33]

I did mine in the spring and it was surprisingly easy. I found that once I got the majority of the old gasket off, I grabbed a Dremel tool- yup, I dremell'ed off the old gasket- and it went so fast it was amazing. It was a bit pricy, I used these pads from Home Repo and probably burned through 6-7 packs of them. Just make sure you have the eyes protected.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-EZ-Lo ... /100484371

You would be absolutely surprised at the shine I had left on the heads and covers. Not a single scratch, scrape, not even a swirlie mark on them. Didn't have to use perma-tech, and did the 3-stage torque tightening sequence. Learned that on the Virago after I did a gasket job and dripped for a month.

[madmtnmotors]

If you can't afford to do it right the first time, can you afford to do it again? Some things can be sourced aftermarket with acceptable results. Something that must withstand the rigors of internal combustion, and be expected to contain the pressures/temperatures of that combustion process, is something that you should probably consider splurging on for OEM parts. The head gaskets for a 1984 Aspencade are only $40 each:

http://www.hondapartsnation.com/oempart ... inder-head

Now the valve cover gaskets might be something I would source aftermarket. Even if they fail they are easily replaced.

[DenverWinger]

As to O-rings, replacing those on my 1100 I was able to find ones from the local ACE Hardware that fit very well on the 1100 coolant tubes. Think 1200 tubes use same O-rings. Be sure to bring a tube with you when you go....