which gasket to use on OE rebuild

[Steve Bakken]

So I am freshening up the top end with new parts and I ordered OE pisons and gaskets. The problem is, the kit came with seven different base gaskets, all identical in shape, but differing in thickness. They each have a set of holes punched into them, ranging from three holes, up to nine, three being the thinnest, and nine, the thickest. ANYONE have any experience with this before? I just want to retain the stock compression. It's a '99 MXZ 600

[Macgyver55]

Use the one that has the same amount of holes as the original, unless you have modified the head or port height. If its all stock, the 5 hole is most common. I believe that each gasket has a difference of 0.1 mm

If you put a thinner one on, you will increase compression slightly, but reduce port timing. If you put a thicker one on, you increase port timing but decrease compression.