KLX250 Drain Bolt Gasket

I usually keep a supply of OE maintenance parts on hand, including drain bolt gaskets. However, in the case of my 2019 KLX250, the OE gasket (essentially an aluminum washer) is $4.24...each! Yeah, that's a little on the pricey side, so I set out to find some alternatives.

The actual gasket dimensions are 10.5 ID x 16.0 OD x 2.0 Thick. PN # 11061-0222. In inches, that's .414" x .630" x .080". Essentially, it's an M10 aluminum washer.

Surfing around, I found a couple viable options within a reasonable range; there were others.

1. 20 piece pack of copper crush washers with the following dimensions in inches: .450 x .670 x .045. Source: Amazon. Price: $9.80 or $0.49/gasket.

2. 50 piece pack of aluminum crush washers with the following dimensions in mm: 10.0 x 18.0 x 1.8. Source: Amazon. Price $10.70 or $0.21/gasket.

A range of $0.21 to $0.49 strikes me as a much better price tag for a simple M10 washer. So this really comes down to copper vs aluminum. The OE washer is aluminum.

Which material is better...copper or aluminum...is a widely debatable topic, although not really among us 'mericans. It's a debate that largely rages between the Europeans (supporters of copper in their production models) and Japs (supporters of aluminum in their production models).

The Europeans say that both are equally malleable, but copper distort less during installation and use and is easier to remove when it's time to replace. The Japs say that aluminum is softer, which is a better metal for sealing under low torque conditions.

Speaking of low torque conditions, the torque spec on the KLX250 oil drain bolt is a very low 11 foot-pounds. Low torque specs for motorcycle drain bolts is the norm, not because of the bolt or the washer, but because of the fragile cast aluminum engine cases into which the bolt screws. There are lots of horror stories of people cracking their engine cases by over-torquing the oil drain bolt. That is one place that a torque wrench is mandatory.

Anyway, while I am absolutely positive that I'd get by with some copper drain bolt gaskets, the torque argument by the Japs is something that I can't ignore. So, I'll be going with the aluminum gaskets...all 50 of them in this package. I hope I ultimately like the KLX250 enough to keep it that long.

Update:

Before I pulled the trigger on the large gasket bundle I found another 10 Piece Kit of M10.8 by PittPosse for $5.95 or $0.60/ gasket.