Let's see...

[RhynoCZ]

Just for the fun of it...
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[mentalboy]

Where's the 'grease' option?
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Make mine a Corona.

[Sister Sledge]

Top or bottom?
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CCM 404 DS

[Polarbear]

Grease in most cases although some form of gasket sealer in some situations.

Never dry.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Islander]

A light smear of grease.

[Nobby the Bastard]

I always go in dry.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[ThatDippyTwat]

I put a smear of 10W40 on most paper gaskets I make. Maybe some Hylomar around the stator bung, they're usually chewed up on older bikes. Only leaks I've had using it are blonde moments on my part, not gasket failure.

A couple of local kids were blown away me making my own with gasket paper and a rounded screwdriver handle, and a very light tap or two with a small ballpeen. They work on their own pitbikes etc, so they're not strangers to a spanner, but gasket paper just wasn't a thing to them. You buy one and wait for it to show up in the post.

edit - Typos, phone, big hands, you know the drill.
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'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)

[Riejufixing]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Polarbear]

[Riejufixing]

[WD Forte]

I made many with a ball pein hammer as an apprentice
but that was on steel.
On bikes which are mostly alloy I use rawlplugs or tapered screwdriver blade to lock the gasket material in position
then a xacto/scalpel type thing in a sawing motion around the profile
I've also scanned a few sub A4 sized assemblies and used the machine to cut them
A light greasing on assembly
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bikers smell of wee

[Nobby the Bastard]

[ThatDippyTwat]

As said, in engineering it's absolutely standard. Old-school, yeah, but it's worked for, what, centuries? Possibly.

Ballpein is only used for smaller diameter holes (dowels, bolts etc), and only enough to outline so I can cut the gasket with a scalpel. A round plastic screwdriver handle I have works a treat for anything else.
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'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)

[ThunderGuts]

[Polarbear]

[RhynoCZ]

Like so, ... https://youtu.be/lAS8mpXVLOg?t=160

The lad in the video above is too harsh and uses the wrong kind of hammer.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Riejufixing]

[ThatDippyTwat]

You can hammer through the paper, which is fine with steel castings, or thick Alu ones. I do it in work all the time.

I find bike stuff is a bit dainty, so as you rightly surmised, I get an impression and cut it with a scalpel.
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'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)