Who makes better gaskets James , Cometic , or ? Or do they all offer good , better , best choices ?

 

Those are both quality gaskets; however, you can get the same quality from CYCO (US Seal) for a lower cost. They do not sell retail but I have seen their kits on Ebay. Or, make up a bogus name for your "shop", like "Stopit Cycles", open an account and place the order. Actually, Stopit Cycles is kinda catchy.

 

Is that the same place that makes replacement cam chain tensioner shoes ?
I ended up ordering a James , I was noticing that James at least has more than one style of primary cover gasket and Cometic seemed higher priced till I found a higher priced James gasket.

Ya I like that name , might just have to make a sign for the garage , ha Ha Ha .

 

Gaskets are one thing Harley gets right IMHO. I've tried both the others.

 

We use James and Cometic at the shop. Both companies make quality gaskets and seals I wouldn't hesitate to use either...

 

This has been my experience.
Prolly goes back to the " harleys don't leak oil, they mark their territory ".
I've never had a leaky twin cam...
My evo never dropped any oil either unless it was from the breather.

 

 

Agree, Cometic head gaskets (and base gaskets for the EVO), everything else Harley

 

Same company and quality is equal to James, Cometic and yes, HD. Your money, spend it however you want. I have used CYCO gaskets for about 10 years and never had an issue. They don't currently offer gaskets for 98"107" bore IIRC though.

 

I'm not sure that I would say James and Cometic are the same.. It more like saying Chevy and Ford are the same.. I think that over all Cometic gaskets are slightly better but both can have issues..

1. James makes a composite silicone covered head gasket that's a POS.. They will last about 15,000 to 20,000 miles but eventually split and ooze out between the cylinders. I had 2 sets fail on 2 different evos.

2. The James beaded fibers gaskets work fine for side cover gaskets but I'd not use them on rocker bases, Have had the split and move out.. I understand they have a silicone beaded sheet metal version that works well but have not tried them.

3. HD had started using and Cometic making a sheet metal foam rubber covered gasket. These work well for covers but leak on early TC primary inspection covers. James seems to work better here.. No fault of gasket, the surface for the gasket sucks.

4. I have not had good luck with James fork seals, inner primary seals, fork cap rubber rings or shift shaft seals.

5. Cometic mls gaskets work well but the gasket surfaces need to be free of scratches. The base gaskets will leak at the case joint if there is slightest step between case halves. (dab if 3 bond case sealer needed) At 50000 miles, the will likely weep a little. Heard HD is the best for this but have not tried them..

6. TC top end sets from cometic and James use Buna O rings for the cylinder base (used to use them on cylinder return dowels but sure about now).. They will harden and weep after 30000 to 40000 miles. I started using Viton as they have a higher temp rating.

7. Lower / middle pushrod tubes were Buna on James, HD, Cometic... HD just started using Viton in those locations on the M8s.

8. The blue James silicon manifold rubbers are crap.. They ooze out between the flanges and into the manifold if there is any gap.

S&S was making blue Kevlar gaskets that seemed to seal up well but they seem to fail after 10 to 20K. They looked kinda toasted when they come off. They may be James? Used them has base gaskets on a 116 ci TC and as rocker base on an evo..