First off, much props to Jorge for the bike pickup from my office and for taking me by Werkstatt, where he charmed a bolt from Jen for the rearset linkage. So now we’re at Jorge’s and we’re ready to get the alternator cover off and change the gasket. First step is to drop the oil. I won’t go through that since Alex already went over it on his oil change video.

One thing to note on the removal of the alternator case, is that it’s also magnetized. So removing it is a bit tricky. Rather than use a flathead to pry it off the bike and possibly create a seal problem with the new gasket, we recommend using a rubber mallet and tap it little by little until it gives you an edge to pull it off. Once it’s off we recommend taking a digital picture so you can put everything exactly where it should be, with particular attention to the wiring. Also, you should be very careful to keep the stator clean from any debris. We simply tied a plastic bag around it. Next use a razor to remove the old gasket and clean off any pieces of it that might be on the bike or the casing. Be sure that when you’re scraping that you don’t make any slices into the metal!

Now the gasket: First, make sure you find a clean flat surface and use a large piece of paper to place under the gasket. Next, you want to make sure that you put the gasket sealant on the correct side of the gasket. You will be putting the gasket onto the casing, not directly on the bike. Be sure to give the gasket a good amount of sealant and evenly coat it as best you can.

Line up the gasket and put it on the case carefully. Now here’s the tricky part. First make sure that you put the stator and all of the wiring in the original placement. Use the picture you took as a template, if you can’t remember.

At the bottom of the cover is a small dowel that you have to line up with the bike. As you start to put it on, the cover will get pulled on rather quickly as the magnet grabs the cover. If you don’t get it lined up right, it may get bent in certain areas, so check all around the cover to make sure it’s straight. If it’s not, you’ll have to get out your rubber mallet again, remove it and start again. Once you’re confident with the placement, just put the bolts back in and tighten them in a star pattern to make sure it’s tightened evenly. And that’s how you replace a gasket.

BUT, it turned out that wasn’t the problem. Yeah… FUCK! The bike was still leaking. Initial thoughts were that somehow the gasket was bent. We needed to open it up one more time to check. But in case the gasket couldn’t be reused, I decided to buy another one. Luckily Munroe Motors had one more in stock.

Alright, looks like there will be a part four to the seemingly endless saga.

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Last 5 posts by JustOne

• Stock Rearsets, First De-modification - September 13th, 2008
• Now that the Bike's Running - September 8th, 2008
• The Final Chapter - Mysterious Oil Leak - September 3rd, 2008
• Part Two - Mysterious Oil Leak - August 24th, 2008
• Mysterious Oil Leak - August 17th, 2008