[Tony Radford]

Interesting tips. I purchased a set of copper gaskets, milled out the exhaust port openings (heads are ports were opened quite a bit) and installed them with the sealant provided by the gasket manufacturer-Specialty Component Engineering. They're not "hooked" so I had to remove the headers. It really wasn't much of a problem. They really have to be tight to prevent backfiring between shifts. I've gone through and tightened the header bolts three or four times between rides. I hope it just takes time for them to seat. If not, I'll replace them with something else. I hate backfiring.