Topic: I found the source of the mysterious ticking, and retrieved the nut

[Floshenbarnical]

I bought one of the last billet aluminum cap wrenches that 754 made, It does a good job but you need to keep it pushed tightly down when starting the loosening.
 Congratulations on finding it, that's a crazy place for it to land and whoodathunkit? No one guessed that.
 Also, thanks for the win report, I like to hear the wins and the losses because we all learn from them.

Thanks, it was the last place on my list and I was beginning to succumb to defeatism. I can't believe it was still there - it was sitting on its side balanced against the edge of the case, held in place by oil friction.

I have replacement OEM valve caps ordered from my local Honda store. Annoyingly I can't get them through the Honda dealership I work at, as we only do cars and not bikes.

Should I adjust all my valves again seeing as how I've been rooting around up there for several days?

[newday777]

Thank you friends. I drank too many beers to celebrate. I’ll sew her back up tonight

Ruth roh.....

[HondaMan]

Should I adjust all my valves again seeing as how I've been rooting around up there for several days?

Unless you loosened those rocker tip adjuster nuts while searching around, those clearances should still be fine, or at least at what you last set them. You'll just have 1 to adjust!

[Floshenbarnical]

Should I adjust all my valves again seeing as how I've been rooting around up there for several days?

Unless you loosened those rocker tip adjuster nuts while searching around, those clearances should still be fine, or at least at what you last set them. You'll just have 1 to adjust!

Thank goodness, thanks. More riding time.

[denward17]

Wouldn't hurt to make sure they are all snug though, right?

[Floshenbarnical]

So having put the bike back together finally and ridden it the few miles to work, my valve cover is leaking like nobody's business. I put a new gasket on it. Was I supposed to use some sort of liquid gasket stuff in addition, or did I just not tighten it down enough? I guess I'm terrified of stripping those bolt holes. The gasket mating surface was flat and clean, the old gasket came off in one piece. I tightened it all criss-cross. Might be worth adding that I don't have a torque wrench. It appears to be leaking from the front around cylinder two.

[PeWe]

No sealer needed.
Sealer will make problems next time.
Tightening force what can be done with a screwdriver.

I have allen head screws. 7.5Nm when gasket is new.  5Nm next time if cover is lifted.

Honda stock gasket has better fitment.
Cheaper aftermarket has often bad fitting on front side plug 2-3.
Holes are not correct, forcing in the screw can damage the gasket tearing it apart.

[bryanj]

Did you put the gasket the right way round? Looks same both ways but isnt

[Floshenbarnical]

I didn't put it on back-to-front, if that's what you mean. It was pretty clear which orientation it needed to be. Do you mean upside-down? Does that make a difference?

[Floshenbarnical]

No sealer needed.
Sealer will make problems next time.
Tightening force what can be done with a screwdriver.

I have allen head screws. 7.5Nm when gasket is new.  5Nm next time if cover is lifted.

Honda stock gasket has better fitment.
Cheaper aftermarket has often bad fitting on front side plug 2-3.
Holes are not correct, forcing in the screw can damage the gasket tearing it apart.

That's where the leak is coming from. It was an aftermarket gasket from a kit from either 4into1 or cb750supply. I can't recall which. I just ordered a Honda gasket from my local Honda dealer.

I'm going to retorque here while im at work. They all have torque wrenches in the shop. It's weeping rather than pissing oil. How urgent is it that I get this resolved? Can I ride for a couple days until gasket arrives? They have rapid delivery.

[PeWe]

Check that gasket is ok.
If teared apart due to misalignment it must be replaced.

The cheaper gaskets always need some adjustments with a sharp model knife and a scissor if colliding with cam holder at that area, front 2-3.

[bryanj]

Difficult to explane but out of 4 possible ways to fit the gasket only one is correct, the other nearly correct way leaves the gasket inside the cover ar one place so leaks

[newday777]

I didn't put it on back-to-front, if that's what you mean. It was pretty clear which orientation it needed to be. Do you mean upside-down? Does that make a difference?

You can flip the gasket end to end is probably what bryanj meant

[Floshenbarnical]

Ok, I’ll pull it tonight. Already have OEM one ordered.

Am I good to ride it home with this leak or do I need to come back with my tools

[newday777]

Ok, I’ll pull it tonight. Already have OEM one ordered.

Am I good to ride it home with this leak or do I need to come back with my tools

Depends on how much of a leak it is and where it's going.

[bryanj]

Dont do enough to remember which way just know i have done it wrong years ago(and checked every time since)

[Floshenbarnical]

Evidently there's supposed to be an alignment notch on the corner for #1 intake, hopefully my aftermarket has that on it to keep me roadworthy until my OEM arrives Monday.

And here I was thinking I was done digging around in this thing for a little while! Should have just kept the original gasket in place. It seemed fine if a little stiff.

[Floshenbarnical]

I think some oil may have crept into my spark plug holes. Bike won’t start, ran like a top this morning

[Don R]

 I believe the cam chain tunnel is offset, that's the gasket area to watch for, right in the front. The rest of it appears correct so it's easy to miss until you've done it wrong once.
 I like the CycleX gaskets with the metal core, they pretty much stay in place.

[Floshenbarnical]

I have an OEM one coming. The bike has been parked since I got it started yesterday, the battery was flat. Stupid thing to miss. I'll quadruple check the alignment when I install it.

[Tracksnblades1]

I think some oil may have crept into my spark plug holes. Bike won’t start, ran like a top this morning

Have you checked your charging system. Seems like you’re having a lot of starting issues..
These bikes readily start when in tune and time…

[Floshenbarnical]

Yes, charging system is next thing to look at. Solved both starting issues that I had. The first was fuel starvation. The second was a flat battery. But the bike had been stored for a year, and has only been ridden a couple of hundred miles since I got it so it may just be an old or low battery. All my trips are quite short, <10 miles.

One of the reason I'm having so many problems is because I'm so new to this. This is my first bike in 15 years, and my last bike was a Honda Rebel 125cc that was fairly new and was worked on by my friend's dad who was a bike mechanic professionally. I'm learning as I go, and I have a lot to learn.

[Tracksnblades1]

Yes, charging system is next thing to look at. Solved both starting issues that I had. The first was fuel starvation. The second was a flat battery. But the bike had been stored for a year, and has only been ridden a couple of hundred miles since I got it so it may just be an old or low battery. All my trips are quite short, <10 miles.

One of the reason I'm having so many problems is because I'm so new to this. This is my first bike in 15 years, and my last bike was a Honda Rebel 125cc that was fairly new and was worked on by my friend's dad who was a bike mechanic professionally. I'm learning as I go, and I have a lot to learn.

Yes, charging system is next thing to look at. Solved both starting issues that I had. The first was fuel starvation. The second was a flat battery. But the bike had been stored for a year, and has only been ridden a couple of hundred miles since I got it so it may just be an old or low battery. All my trips are quite short, <10 miles.

One of the reason I'm having so many problems is because I'm so new to this. This is my first bike in 15 years, and my last bike was a Honda Rebel 125cc that was fairly new and was worked on by my friend's dad who was a bike mechanic professionally. I'm learning as I go, and I have a lot to learn.

Do you have a Casey’s that sells real gasoline.

It’s a little pricey but it doesn’t contain any ethanol. So it’s shelf live is considerably better when in dormant storage over the winter  than ethanol mix. I use gray bottle 2stroke oil mixed 50/1 in all my small 4 strokes engines stored over the winter or used only intermittently. The gray bottle from stihl, husqvania, echo, etc have fuel stable already mix with the oil. I usually run them long  enough to smell the oil before storing them. Keeps gas tanks shiny inside too..

Additionally, 10% ethanol has a lower BTU content per gallon and a lower stoichiometric ratio than gasoline. Which can further exaggerate an already lean mixture fixed by stock jetting or old fuel varnish build up in and on the 40 year old jets/nozzles/needles that further lean the mixture.

I think, no proof, real gasoline and normal engine vibrations are better at bringing the floats’  needle and seats back to drip free operation than the ethanol mix..

[Floshenbarnical]

Replaced the cheap valve gasket with the OEM one that was already on there. Had to dig it out of the trash and flatten it out. Used the alignment notch to guarantee fitment, we have been leak free for 50 miles. Thanks for the help as always