Tight Valve Clearance

[hotglue]

Yesterday I tore FB's Spyder down far enough to check the clearance on her valves. The intake were good, but the exh valves were TIGHT. the rear cyl exh were reading .21, and .18 mm. Minimum spec is .22mm.
I was hoping they would be in spec, because I really am not comfortable tearing into the cams, drive gears/chain, balance drive and all the work involved to put it back. It's kinda convoluted the way the shop manual is set up to do this work. I'm one of those " if I can see it done... I can do it" kinda guys...LOL

The shops here in town said 3 to 4 week for sevice, and we are leaving on an extended trip, with places we need to be, in 10 days.
Called Cowtown, and Len said he would work us in. So, with a small detour in our plans, looks like it will all come together
Got the bike all back together, with new plugs and wires, changed the oil, drained and replaced the coolant. The old plugs had good color, but the gap was burned to .040in. The bike runs better with the new plugs at the right gap!!!

 

[Bob Denman]

I have a question: Do these valves tned to wear loose, or wear tight?

 

[hotglue]

They wear tight, as the valve seats deeper into the head. I want to have them shimmed to the loose side of in spec.... FB will never miss the very small loss of power from the smaller valve opening, and it should give a longer run time before the next needed adjustment.

edit: they will wear loose if the wear is on the bucket or the cam....

 

[Jeriatric]

Cowtown to the rescue.

Won't be long before they are a 24 hour seven day a week operation. Believing in, and actively participating in what you sell sends a very strong message.

Sure hope other dealers start to learn from a leader.

Way to go Cowtown!! :thumbup:

HG & FB - enjoy your trip.

 

[Campverdefela]

Curious, how many miles on FB's Spyder.

 

[hotglue]

FB has a little over 40K miles

 

[MikeinGA]

Yesterday I tore FB's Spyder down far enough to check the clearance on her valves. The intake were good, but the exh valves were TIGHT. the rear cyl exh were reading .21, and .18 mm. Minimum spec is .22mm.
I was hoping they would be in spec, because I really am not comfortable tearing into the cams, drive gears/chain, balance drive and all the work involved to put it back. It's kinda convoluted the way the shop manual is set up to do this work. I'm one of those " if I can see it done... I can do it" kinda guys...LOL

The shops here in town said 3 to 4 week for sevice, and we are leaving on an extended trip, with places we need to be, in 10 days.
Called Cowtown, and Len said he would work us in. So, with a small detour in our plans, looks like it will all come together
Got the bike all back together, with new plugs and wires, changed the oil, drained and replaced the coolant. The old plugs had good color, but the gap was burned to .040in. The bike runs better with the new plugs at the right gap!!!

It's good to hear that you can get it fixed. A tight valve clearance can get thghter if the engine over heats and cause engine failure.

Mike

 

[Freddy]

Why go to the trouble of checking the valve cleanance if you're not prepared to adjust them? Seems an odd way to approach the task.

 

[Bob Denman]

Sometimes you check, and hope for the best... :shocked: :thumbup:

 

[hotglue]

Why go to the trouble of checking the valve cleanance if you're not prepared to adjust them? Seems an odd way to approach the task.

I had the bike apart to change plugs and wires. I checked the valves to see if they were in spec. Glad I did check the valves!

. There is a BIG difference in the work of checking the valves, and adjusting the valves . And until ya have everything completely tore down and mic the parts+the gap you need-the gap you had.... ya do not know what shims you will need to do the adjustments. Then you have to find a dealer that has the specific shims you need. I called 2 different dealers here in Houston, and they did not have shims to do valve adjustments.....
LOL... I check my oil too..:thumbup:

 

[Warlock]

I had the bike apart to change plugs and wires. Glad I did check the valves!

Now on my Valkyries, I can pull the covers and check and adjust the valves , and have it back together in less than an hour...in another 30 min I can have the cams out, and put back in......that's 6 cyl....

A bit more involved on the Spyder...nojoke.

Was looking in the repair manual last night. Seems to me they should have made the shim chance out in one section. Kinda crazy they way the book is. Love the Valkyrie valve adjustment. Of course in 80000 miles I've adjusted 2 valves and they were still within specs. Felt guilty having the covers off and not doing something. On my V Strom you have to take the cams out to add shims. It's a lot easier than the Spyder. I'm a mechanic by trade and when hers come due to add shims I may or may not do it. Also to answer above it's a lot cheaper to check them yourself and not need shims than pay. But for those who are not comfortable checking their own the money is well spent to ease their minds.
David

 

[hotglue]

Was looking in the repair manual last night. Seems to me they should have made the shim chance out in one section. Kinda crazy they way the book is. Love the Valkyrie valve adjustment. Of course in 80000 miles I've adjusted 2 valves and they were still within specs. Felt guilty having the covers off and not doing something. On my V Strom you have to take the cams out to add shims. It's a lot easier than the Spyder. I'm a mechanic by trade and when hers come due to add shims I may or may not do it. Also to answer above it's a lot cheaper to check them yourself and not need shims than pay. But for those who are not comfortable checking their own the money is well spent to ease their minds.
David

I agree on the manual.. Ya have to go to several locations to follow the steps, and they are not specific to valve adjustments.... I'm sure there are shortcuts and easier ways to do the adjustments.

BTW... after I posted, I edited the Valk part out.... I don't think the Spyder Ryders wanna know how easy it is on the Valk..LOL

 

[Warlock]

I agree on the manual.. Ya have to go to several locations to follow the steps, and they are not specific to valve adjustments.... I'm sure there are shortcuts and easier ways to do the adjustments.

BTW... after I posted, I edited the Valk part out.... I don't think the Spyder Ryders wanna know how easy it is on the Valk..LOL

:thumbup: I wished the Spyder was as easy as the V Strom