Pulled the 83's rocker boxes, repaired a few scuffs in the 'aluminium' and then painted them satin black to match the 81. Also spent some "quality" time trying to see the freakin' OT mark on the flywheel; what with all the cables and parallax issue... setting the valves at .004 and .008 was the easiest part.
As I returned the cover gasket to service, I noticed more old silicone as on the box covers. I thought, "Uh Oh". The old gasket had
shrunk and drawn up enough to uncover half the sealing surfaces on the top and bottom of the head-to-box machined surfaces. Fingers crossed she don't leak.
Yes, she did! After start up and shut down, oil leaked from the right-side cover. I don't usually use silicone adhesive but was forced to do so if I expected to ride the bike at all.
Long story kinda short... Checked gasket prices at Bob's BMW -$5.79 each, Chicago BMW -discounted to $4.50, Motobins -$4.74, Flugelnus -$3.75 (
my previous supplier but they were out of stock) and finally cruised by UEBMW, an indie parts dealer outta Alexandria VA. $3.95, no tax and free shipping. Bought two pair. All the other vendors charged for shipping. I could not drive to a FTW or Dallas BMW store, buy the parts, pay tax, vehicle fuel and my time for anywhere close to this deal. Check 'em out. Monte
http://www.eubmw.com/
