DragBikeMike is the man to talk to about copper gaskets. He has been messing with them on his hotrod.

My copper head gasket didn't work the first time I installed it. Turns out my 87 Savage had a warped head. One trip to the engine shop and $50 later and its fixed.

I recently installed a copper Base gasket but neglected to apply the copper adhesive. Got some slight weeping. Re-torqued the head bolts but it didn't help. Ugh! I'm starting to feel like Charlie Brown here. Well, I know how I am spending my weekend.  

I could feel puffs of air coming out from the engine, just below the exhaust port. I thought at first there was a hole in the header pipe. I also had low compression, 90 psi.

I found a youtube video showing how to measure a warped head. You have to have the top of the engine removed. I laid a carpenters square across the top of the cylinder and measured the gap between the top of the cylinder and the bottom of the carpenters square. Measure it with a gaping tool in several places and with different sizes. I don't remember the exact size, but it was a significant gap.

I bought the tools cheap at Harbor Freight. Carpenters square, gaping tool, small plastic caliper tool for $1.50? I also bought a set of T-shaped tools for measuring the inside of the cylinder. That was my other issue.

I measured the inside of the cylinder in several places. It wasn't 100% precise as my tools weren't the expensive kind, but they were accurate enough to identify the problem.  

The cylinder was "out-of-round". On one axis it measured approximately 94.5mm. On the other axis it measured 95.2mm. These were approximate measurements, but they were good enough for government work. According to Clymers the cylinder was way out of specs.

So, with the warped head, and the wonky cylinder the bike wouldn't run. It's better now, though. Thanks to this site, and an assortment of helpful youtube videos I am about to get back out there.

I have also installed a 96mm piston.