measure and re-shim.


exhausts are usually somewhere like .010 and intakes are usually around .005/.006 depending on what the model calls for, but that's kind of the "norm"

and within spec is generally a +/- .001 of those measurements as a rule of thumb. those aren't exact, just kind of rule of thumb stuff.


go by what the manual says!!!! but those are the numbers you are looking for. in the manual. the best thing to do is get a big sheet of paper, and draw 16 circles on it to mimic what your looking at as valves from where you're standing so you don't get them confused (2 rows of 8 circles). this way, you can measure all at once, exhaust and intake. after you take cams off, just set the old shims and buckets on workbench just how it came out of motor. by the circles on your piece of paper, do all your math.


bolt ever thing back up, get cams timed right, then measure again before puttin the valve cover back on

 

I think I may be confusing myself a little bit with terminology. Are the shims the hearing aid battery like spacers that are placed ontop of the valves? I have those along with the buckets mixed up. How important is it for those to go back exactly where they came from.

 

Yes those are the shims and where they go is going to determine your valve lash. As previously said, with them being mixed up you are going to have to put them back in, remeasure and move them around until you get it right

 

okay.... the shim + the bucket is what's going to give you your correct valve clearance.


so for you to put them back in right now (because i assume you have the all out), is NOT important because you're RE-measuring everything.

however, after you measure this time, it IS important that you do not mix up which buckets go where. if there is .001 difference between buckets, then you're out of spec again.

like i said. take a piece of paper, and draw 2 rows of 8 circles on it. that's ALL valves. after you take the buckets off, line them up the same way.

do all your math so that you understand where your shims are going.

you are adjusting the valve clearance by the shim, so the bucket must be the constant - meaning it must be the same bucket for that valve from which you measured it.


just sit back for a second, don't think about anything else other than how the valve works, and you'll understand. and from there, it's just a few simple math equations of adding and subtracting

 

Thanks for the help everyone escpescially you Conrice. I think I understand what stands before me. I'll attack it this weekend and let you know how it goes. Perhaps I'll create a write up so that when someone pulls a bonehead move like myself they can learn from my mistake.

 

whatever man, you're doing the most critical thing right - getting your hands dirty. how else do you know how to do it other than gettin' down to it and actually doing it? it took me a considerable 'nudge' by my friends in order to get down to doing the work myself.


hell, i once paid a shop $35 to adjust my throttle cables... now i re-build bikes. doing the work is the first and most critical step - so good job. keep going

 

Make sure that when you install the shims you put them with the size numbers facing away from the cam lobes or they will be worn off the next time you check your valves and then you have no idea what's in there without a micrometer.

 

I was gonna ask, Why are your shims in a pile out of the bike anyway? Was it to do some work aside from a valve adj? If you want to set your bike up perfect for the next 10-20k mi get a shim kit and set them all at the loose end of spec and save yourself a future chore.

 

I had them out because I removed the whole top end to clean the carbon deposits off of the valves and check tolerances, etc.

 

I'm in the process of checking the clearances but I'm having trouble determining if the feeler gauge is too tight or not. There is a clear point in which I can't put a certain thickness between the parts but the first one that can fit after the no go feels really tight. It feels almost like I have wedged the gauge in there and it has compressed the spring some. I'm not applying a lot of force to put it in but I'm just not sure how much resistance I should be feeling when I'm checking them. If I choose the one where I feel absolutely no resistance, then I'm incredibly out of spec, so much that I'm fairly confident it's wrong. I'm using all of the same shims as before and they were in spec to begin with. Please any guidance/tips would be great.