I performed my first ever valve check on a bike tonight on my TE450.:banana: What an awesome feeling doing that yourself! At first I was scared shit-less that I would not figure it out, f-it up or get dirt dropped in the engine. After fumbling with my feeler gauges, it went pretty easy. I tried to use my new ones with the angle at the end and didn't like them. I ended up using the straight ones and putting a small angle on them because they were shorter.
I think the toughest part of the project was getting the de compression cable in and out! Well I didn't get any dirt in the engine since i wrapped a clean towel around the top frame to keep the dirty cables and wires from shedding dirt in the thing and my valves ended up being= both exhaust at .008 and both intake at .006 which im very happy with. Also the inside of the valve area(gears, chain, cam lobes ect) looked like it hadn't ever even been started! Im stoked!!
BTW, I thought id add this- As you take your bike apart for maint, ever notice worn areas in the alum sub frame and other spots from rubbing parts? Ive been using tarp repair tape on these spots and been happy with the protection it provides.
Jason.
