'84 r65 with Head Warpage

[majowyatt]

Happy to see this forum online. I'm a new rider with minimal mechanical experience looking to buy an '84 r65. Much of the bike has been rebuilt by a friend who is a trusted mechanic, but he has referenced valve cover oil leak as a result of head warpage. His proposed solution is to keep an eye on the oil and to stay up on application of the right kind of gasket sealant. So, my questions are as follow:
1) Is anyone here familiar with head warpage on the r65's (input welcome);
2) Does "the right kind of sealant" sound like an adequate maintenance plan, and if so, what type sealant do you recommend?; 3) As a novice mechanic (I want to get my mechanical chops up, but am starting with very few), would it be a mistake to go with this make/model/year? I've ridden an r65 and much prefer it to similarly priced Hondas, Kawas, etc.  
Sorry if these questions are redundant with other posts, and I will gladly be directed to another post if this has been addressed previously. Thanks for the input.  

[Bob_Roller]

I had my heads completely rebuilt about 12 years ago, the shop called me up and said they checked the valve cover surface of the head for being 'true', hey said it was warped and recommended having it machined .

I didn't have any leakage issues .

One fix I've heard about, is to use two valve cover gaskets on each valve cover .

Other owners have gone to a rubber valve cover gasket and had good results with that as well .

I would be inclined not to use any sealant, as you need to check the valve clearances on a regular basis with these older airhead engines .

Oh, by the way welcome to the forum/asylum .

Ask as many questions as you need to, we live for this !!!!

[majowyatt]

Thanks so much for the reply and for the forum welcoming, Bob. I appreciate it.

So would it require a top end rebuild to solve the leaking gasket issue? If so, I'm thinking that the band aid style valve cover gasket plan sounds like the winner (and certainly the cheaper route to take).

Thanks again for the input.  

[Bob_Roller]

You pretty much need to have a shop do the work so yes the heads need to be removed to do this, depending on how many miles/kilometers the bike has, how good the compression is, condition of valve faces due to valve recession, you pretty much need to look the heads over, if they aren't in need of any other work, you may just get by with the gasket fixes .

[Lucky_Lou]

I would go with Bob on this, trying two gaskets wont cost much and may do the trick, do yourself a favour stay away from the sealants.Just grease them a bit and dont overtighten.
Lou

[Mike V]

Agree here with Bob and Lou for the first try.  Another suggestion besides either double standard gaskets or the silicone gaskets (±$35) is; remove the valve covers and valve cover studs after marking their depth by the double-nut technique. Take a sheet of flat glass or other flat surface covered with 400-600 grit paper and hand mill the gasket surface of the covers using a slight figure-8 pattern.  You should be able to determine quickly by the wear marks if your covers are warped. If not too bad, continue to mill to get even wear patterns. Seems like a lot of work but less than a top end job unless it's in need as Bob has outlines. Use red or blue locktite to reinsert the cover studs to their original depth when done. I would think - and hope the worst part of your problem would be in your valve covers and not heads...hopefully.

[Bob_Roller]

It's not the valve covers that warp, it's the head itself .

[nhmaf]

I would also try the thicker, re-usable, but pricier silicone gaskets first if the bike is otherwise running fine and no valve issues.   If it needs to have the valves replaced and/or new valve seats - I 'd get it machined at the same time.

[Ed Miller]

'84 is a nice year for all airhead BMWs, including R65s.