Valve Adjustment

[johnny80s]

As some of you know I recently dove into a valve adjustment on my bike. I followed the process on that was written up here. and I also have the factory shop manual (the manual is a must). I want to start by saying that this is not a very hard thing to do if you have work on the internals of an engine before and I would encourage people to try it if you are on the fence about it. I made a few mistakes during the process that cost me an extra five or six hours (spread out over two weeks) but I knew I had a friend who is a mechanic by trade and works on cars and bikes to back me up if I got into any trouble. I did have some problems along the way and had to call my friend. I will outline my mistakes for you here in order to make it a more trouble free process for others.

1. Index your cams and the timing chain. Take some white out or a marker and paint a mark from the chain onto the cam gears. Put two marks on each cam. That way if a cam does jump a tooth or you accidentally remove a cam (happened to me) you will know right where it goes.

2. Wire or zip tie your cam gears to the chain. This will keep you from needing the indexing marks in step one. If you have to change the shims next to the cam gears that can be tricky and you might need to pull a cam. If that happens and you have to unwire it then you will have the indexing marks to guide you. this is briefly mentioned in the article on fjrinfo but I did not understand and skipped this step. That was where I went wrong.

3. Reinstalling the valve cover can be tough. When you are reinstalling the valve cover make sure you have a small paint brush like one of the ones from a model building kit and some High Tack Gasket Sealant. Paint it in the groove on the valve cover and then install the gasket and let it dry for 10 minutes. Make sure when you install the gasket that you cut the extra line or rubber that connects the timing chain end of the valve cove with the parts in the middle. You will figure this out on your own if you miss this step but it is much easier if you cut it out first.

4. Make sure and buy a timing cover gasket just in case your comes off in pieces like mine did.

5. Make sure you have an inch pound torque wrench. I had to borrow one of these from my very nice friend that helped me. I have put it on my x-mas list for this year.

6. Remove the spark plugs. It will make the engine easier to turn.

7. When you are done and think everything is perfect and you are god's gift to motorcycle valve adjustments turn the motor over by hand to make sure you do not have any valve to piston contact. If you have contact the motor won't turn or will turn a little then stop. Don't try to muscle through it just turn it back slightly then go to plan B (your buddy or your dealer). If you skip this step and put it all back together then try to start it you could be one sorry SOB if you did some thing wrong. Ask Radio Howie and will tell how much fun bent valves are to fix.

8. Take everything apart and measure your valve clearances then go to the dealer and buy the shims you need. Make sure the dealer will be open when you are going to be there. The shims cost me $7.50 each and I needed two.

9. If at all possible have someone there who has done the valve adjustment before. I think one is obvious but I put it in just in case.

10. Get one of those small mirrors dentist use so you can see in the tight spaces around the motor.

As I said earlier this is not a hard project and if you have worked on a motor before I would encourage you try it. The first time you do this it takes about 4 hours to remove everything and check the valves and then 3-4 more to put it back together.

Good Luck!

 

[Fairlaner]

Or take it to the dealer..........

R

 

[dcarver]

Or take it to the dealer..........
R

Some of us are poh folk and have to work on our bikes ourselves?

 

[Zorlac]

Or take it to the dealer..........R

I guess if you've found one that will actually do it (valve cover comes off), and do it right (all parts back & tight).
"The shims cost me $7.50 each and I needed two."

Just out of curiosity, how many thousandths out of spec?

 

[user 6393]

Or take it to the dealer..........R

I guess if you've found one that will actually do it (valve cover comes off), and do it right (all parts back & tight).

Or that will actually do the work they charge you for.

Rumor has it, my dealer doesn't even have a bucket o'shims. Funny, being a cruiser rich environment (and some yamaha cruiser's recommended valve check interval is 4000km), you'd think they'd have some?

Apparently, they park the bike for 6 hours, have the lot kid wash and shine it and then ask for $627 plus parts and taxes.

 

[dj bill]

Or take it to the dealer..........
R

x2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

 

[johnny80s]

Or take it to the dealer..........
R

x2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Like I said some people should not attempt this. You and Richard fall into this category.

 

[johnny80s]

Or take it to the dealer..........R

I guess if you've found one that will actually do it (valve cover comes off), and do it right (all parts back & tight).
"The shims cost me $7.50 each and I needed two."

Just out of curiosity, how many thousandths out of spec?

I had and exhaust valve that was .6 and an intake that was .6. The intake did not need to be done as it was in spec but on the tight end of the spec. I reshimmed the intake valve hoping that the next time I check them they would all still be in spec. Both of the valves I to reshim were closest to the cam gears and those are the hardest ones to reshim.

I figure I will save myself any where from $1800 to $4000 over the life of my bike doing the valve checks ($225) and the reshimming ($90 an hour) myself. If you have the money and trust your dealer take it there and let them do it. If you want to save yourself some pretty serious money then try it yourself. Most people don't realize you pay $225 to get the valves checked. If they are out of spec you pay $90 and hour to get them adjusted. That can add up quick. If you do all the rest of the maintenance on your bike then you can do the valve check.

 

[Fred W]

It's not all that hard. 'specially if you are lucky enough not to need adjustment.

Why, even Richard could probably manage to do it, but then he might risk dripping some oil on that shiny garage floor!!

One additional tip about the valve cover gasket: If you don't tear the old one during removal, don't bother removing it from the cover. It's probably stuck in there nice and tight, so you won't need to cement it on for install. Just wipe it down and reuse it.

 

[johnny80s]

It's not all that hard. 'specially if you are lucky enough not to need adjustment. Why, even Richard could probably manage to do it, but then he might risk dripping some oil on that shiny garage floor!!

One additional tip about the valve cover gasket: If you don't tear the old one during removal, don't bother removing it from the cover. It's probably stuck in there nice and tight, so you won't need to cement it on for install. Just wipe it down and reuse it.

I agree with you on this one Fred. I would reuse the valve cover gasket next time unless it is leaking. I would change it every other valve check.

 

[olsonm3915]

Agree totally about reusing the cam cover gasket. I have done many valve checks on Jap bikes and have never needed to replace a cam cover gasket except when a previous "mechanic" slopped goo all over them and ruined them. Think of them like a big O-ring- all they need is a little oil on them and they should last an indefinite number of remove and replace cycles. It is total overkill to replace it if it's not leaking. THe only place you should ever contemplate using sealant on them is where the half-moons go into the camshaft cutouts in the head, if recommended in the manual, and even there, go very sparingly on the RTV.