Hi, I'm new here. I have been rebuilding a 81 Yamaha XV750H. The issue that I am having is that with the factory cylinder head gasket sitting correctly in it's seat and the head torqued to the factory spec of 46ft-lbs, there is a gap of .030" between the cylinder and head. Has anyone else heard of this issue? Can I get a custom gasket made?

Thanks for the help Greg, I will give it a shot.

Hi Ali, you are correct. I recieved an email reply from Sepp. He does not make or carry a gasket for the XV750 virago. Also, You mentioned in your post that you greased your studs and torqued your nuts, waited some time and repeated until you reached 78mkg? Is that correct? That would be 564 ft lbs and some. The Clymer service manual calls for 46 ft lbs. Did you mean 7.8 mkg?  That would make the finished torque at approximately 56 ft pounds. I am not sure how much I trust the material that the studs thread into on the case side. The studs themselves can handle plenty but not sure if they thread into a plethora of aluminum on the case side or if the engineers actually thought of steel thread inserts. Especially considering the nominal factory torque spec of 46 ft lbs (6.35 mkg).

Thanks again Ali, it seems that God continues to teach me patience. This time through a vintage motorcycle project. I tried cleaning the threads on the studs and nuts, and found that the nuts have a damaged or missing thread on all 4 of them, about 3 threads in. Also,  the NE brand head gasket that came in the "OEM spec" aftermarket complete gasket kit seem just way too thick. I tried molly grease on the threads and 57 ft lbs wich is 78 nm. The gap closed from .030" to .027" and I continue to see light from a flashlight looking down into the timing chain cover. I ordered and am going to wait for new Yamaha head gaskets and see if I can find the cylinder #2 head nuts. I am in the Seattle area. Does anyone know of a good source for these nuts? I think they are stainless. I am guessing that they are super rare and that I may need to go to a fastener specialty place and get something that is the same height as this also affects the engine mount geometry.  What would you guys do? If black steel is the only material nut I can find,  should I use the same amount of torque? Thanks again for your time and help.