replacing head gasket

[400exracer511]

I rebuilt my 2000 ex about 4 years ago. I bored it out to 416 and put in a JE piston and the head gasket now needs replaced.

There is a little oil leaking out the side... Is it likely that the head is warped or do I just have a bad gasket?

I no longer race so I want to spend as little as possible. I am planning on just pulling the head off and putting in a new gasket. If I decide to put new rings on, do I need to have the cylinder honed?

Are you all still using flexsteel gaskets or is there something better on the market now?

Thanks.

[ae13291]

you can use a xr400 gasket for more compression. also honing the cylinder is important so the rings can seat properly and not scatter

[n811]

I will only use Honda gaskets from now on. All of the others I have tried seem to leak eventually.