Good day!
I was wondering if people here would be interested or have any experience making gaskets themselves.
Was trying to design carb gaskets myself, which was working, however these have been designed in adobe illustrator and then saved as an autocad .dxf file for the cutting machine.

Here it goes wrong, as the measurements are not accurate anymore when converting it to autocad files.

Gasket paper can be bought from aliexpress pretty cheap! so it would be nice to have templates for carb , clutch, alternator etc.
Does anyone here have experience with autocad? I will look into it myself.
Think it could save people a lot of money, and if it has been done before it would be nice to have existing templates ;-)

Hello hans_klokkie,
do have had a look at ebay before?
There you can get those joints very cheep.

regards Anja

Hey Anja! Thank you! And yes I checked. For two gaskets that would make 10 euro. For that price I could make all gaskets carbs, clutch alternator, maybe more.

Hi Hans,

well I do have CAD-experience, yet not with the dark side, aka. AutoCad (I use free alternatives). As Anja said, these gaskets can be had very, very cheap. 5 Euros is more the top of the line of the price range, if you shop around you can get them from other vendors closer to the 2 Euro mark. Also bear in mind that if you have to have them cut on a cutting plotter or the like, this will not be free (unless you have one at work etc.).

If you have to make your own gaskets (I sometimes work on unique or one-off motorcycles), apply some paint to the part, press it against the gasket paper and go to town with a pair of scissors just like it's Kindergarten all over again...

In principle your idea is very good though, I just doubt that it will make a lot of (financial) sense.

Cheers,
Gre

hahaha I dont really know the difference between cad and autocad.. but i assume you need to be more of a PRO without the auto ;-)

Anyway thanks a lot!! those are indeed pretty cheap, same for the carter seals? |Cheapest one I could find for both seals was 16 eur

I do have a plotter, thats why i was thinking about it... the cutting is no problem, neither is the material. Was also planning to make some for my other bike.

The paint trick is actually pretty brilliant.. we used to pound the paper with a hammer for the shape ;-)

BTW .. amazing informative website you have there!! bookmarking it!thanks

Oh and since you guys know all the best places to buy stuff,, whats the best place to buy bearings steering, wheels? and whats the german name for it so i can find it myself  ^_^

Hi all,

Hans, I like your "cost sensitive thinking". But in general, I agree to Greg: DIY gaskets may be more work and hassle than simply purchasing the prefabricated ones. At least if they are available.

But in some cases, this might be a challenge. Shortly ago, I wanted to install a new gasket for the starter clutch mechanism cover of my TR1. Unfortunately, Yamaha has modified the shape of that cover: The later cover gaskets (for the XV 1100 models) are symmetrical (and available), whereas the early models (for the TR1 only) are asymmetrical (and not available any more).

As I still had some sheets of gasket paper on stock in my man cave, I soon found myself scissoring a DIY gasket (and experiencing that kindergarden flashback, of course).

Therefore I have to admit: In some cases, it might indeed be helpful to have those universal gasket paper sheets at hand - at least as a fallback option. (And the lots of cutout remains don't need to be a downside: Later, we can put some glitter paint on those strange silhouettes and use them as a nice christmas tree decoration...)

Triwinger

Triwinger ... haha had to laugh out loud there ;-)
For me its only about figuring out how to get the digital design right, when i have a template the cutting with the plotter only takes a minute. So with some glittery gasket paper on hand i can "print" them every time I like. ANd yessss there will be a day that the gaskets will be either impossible to buy or prices will skyrocket ... and you'll be begging me for my glittery gaskets hahaha

my biggest frustration is waiting for things to come in... I'm now waiting 10 days for clutch plates.. so too much time to post on here ;-)

btw i use the plotter primarily for making stickers. decals, and spraypaint stencils... so if you need something.. let me know!

Hi Hans,

for the steering head bearings (Lenkkopflager/Steuerkopflager or balhoofd lagers/stuurkop lagers): Aftermarket sets are available for about 40...60 €. Most of them include the upper and lower bearings only. The third and forth component, two dust caps made of sheet metal with a thin rubber seal on it, are missing in most of the sets. The lower dust cap is sitting under the lower inner bearing. Unfortunately, the removal of the old bearing from the lower fork holder often leads to a scenario that has to do with "big and brutal instruments" (hammers, levers, chisels ...). As a result, the old dust cover will "look a little bit different" after the removal work has been done.

Another issue is that, in some cases, the upper inner bearing has some radial play on the steering head column. This means that, even with a new bearing set (and the correct adjustment) you will feel some play in it - and get some knacking noises when braking hard.

The "Emil Schwarz" bearing sets offer a workaround for those issue: They are designed in a different way, so that the play can be eliminated. The Emil Schwarz bearings are quite pricy. But most of the customers seem to be very happy with them, because the Emil Schwarz bearings lead to a precise control feeling of the bike, and the mounting and adjusting work is a bit easier.

Triwinger

Thats very useful information!! Yesterday I was working on my honda cb650 custom and got the dust seal off without a scratch ( first time ever btw } Heat gun did the trick.

Habe das Problem der Datei-Erzeugung mit hans_klokkie gelöst. Wenn einer also eine Dichtung haben möchte, die man sonst nicht bekommen kann ...