Exaust gasket question.

I rebuilt the top end of my bike last year, got it running ect ect. While working on it this year i remembered i had an ongoing exaust leak from the num one and 4 exaust ports. So I figured i would just tighten it up a bit more, because i thought that during the running cycles they were loosening due to expansion and contraction. Well i ended up over muscling it and snapped two of the studs.
Im not worried about removing or replacing those. Thats something I tend to do well.
My question is when i reinstall new ones, i read i should torque it to about 7-8 lbs. Should this seal it up well? Also if i still have leaks where should i go from there?

 

If the exhaust is properly lined up and seating correctly, against new gaskets, 7 ~ 8 ft/lb (spec is 7.2 ft/lb) is plenty tight.

 

Okay thanks Fitz for the verification, I'll wait for the parts to come in from Chacal and see if they still leak. Could be that the new seals i put in were cheap or damaged.
I thought i read somewhere in the forums that people sometimes double up on the seals to get a better fit... Is this at all true?

 

When you put the new ones in, do the 7-8 ft/lbs, then after a few heat cycles, make sure they're still 7-8 ft/lbs.

 

People double up on seals because the ones that are in there are so cooked they don't even know they are there....

 

Put a little bit of anti-seize compound on those header threads before you put the bolt back on.

 

Bingo! Read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29356.html