Description of Part Required:- Head gasket
Model Number required for.:- Navigator
Part Number:- 22936
Also used on if known. No other Norton model
Implication of lack of part:- A solid copper gasket is available. Difficult to make a good seal
Routes you have tried to acquire the part and response received:-
NOC, solid copper only, not satisfactory
Do you have a worn or damaged part available as a pattern? No
Based on price for similar parts, what would you expect to pay (give range):- £20
Comments:- The club sells solid copper gaskets. The head joint requires a composite gasket (Copper/Asbetos - modern equivalent). There is no way that the head/cylinder will compress a solid Copper gasket, far too great a surface area. It might also be worth considering using Klinger PSM/AS Graphite gasket material. I made one from this material for my Navigator that seems to be working.
Navigator solid copper head gasket
Is anyone using the Navigator solid head gasket as supplied by Norvil and the NOC spares scheme?
Is it working for you?
Got any tips on how to make it seal? And how many miles have you done with it?
Your comments welcome, as it may be the solution.
Peter Holland
My Yamaha race bikes have…
My Yamaha race bikes have solid copper gaskets and they seal fine, I re anneal them and re use them too. So no reason for a copper gasket not to Work!
Can I ask which Yamaha's…
Can I ask which Yamaha's these are?
You may! .... They are two…
You may! .... They are two strokes with high compression- 1981 YZ 250 and a 1977 IT 400.
Dan
Yamahas
Thanks Dan, I thought those had an aluminium composite gasket originally?
I do not think solid copper for the lightweight head gasket is satisfactory because of the surface area. Compare the area of the gaskets of your Yamaha's or, say, a Velocette single, to the lightweights much greater area. Therefore there is no way a this type of gasket will work properly in a lightweight engine. People who think up these ideas really need to consider the material properties first.
There will be those who say it does work but I would expect those owners will have "lathered" up the joint with their favourite gasket jointing in an attempt to stop leaks. Judging by the number leaky lightweights I have seen over the years its not satisfactory.
Head gaskets these days should be fit and forget parts. I have always found gasket material suppliers very helpful, perhaps they should be consulted? There are plenty of alternatives to the traditional Copper/asbestos type.
John My copper gaskets came…
John
My copper gaskets came from Yamaha, they’ve prob been used half a dozen times after being re annealed. I’m not good enough at applied maths to do any meaningful calculations but the yams have a much higher comp ratio, and only 4 studs. The Norton does have a bigger area but it also has more studs and a much lower comp ratio to retain. Having said that I haven’t tried a copper gasket but I did have problems with a jubilee head leak until I flattened the heads on glass and wet and dry. Ditto the rocker covers and clutch case.
Proof of the pudding I guess! But I agree that they should be fit and forget, at the moment my Jubilee is remarkably oil tight, (composite head gasket) I can’t believe it will last long though!
Dan