Break-In Valve Check

[clark4131]

I'm at 100 miles now and I've got no starting problems or anything that would indicate I've got valve issues. Do I still need to get in there and check these things? On a scale of 1-5, what's the difficulty level of this little operation? Does it require I remove the engine completely? Thanks...SC

[WheelsUp]

It's a good idea to check them somewhere around the first 10 hours. My buddy's center intake was at .07... just a little tight, and probably that way from the factory. Since the stock shims (in all valves) were 192, he's going to switch to a 195 shim to move the center one to .10, and though the two outside valves are at .10, he's going to 195 in those to bring them up to .13

I'll be checking mine next weekend.

If you've never done it before, just checking them is an hour job... maybe less.

If you're good at turning a wrench, it's a half hour. Once you've done it, and if you're good at turning a wrench, you can probably do it in 15 minutes.

This needs to be done when the bike is cool... 15 hour minimum after riding.

1 - Pull the seat and shrouds.

2 - Pull the tank.

3 - Remove the upper engine mount.

4 - Wrap the frame in Saran-wrap.

5 - Pull the coil, plug wire.

6 - Pull the two plugs from the left engine housing (if the bike has been sitting for very long, you may get oil out of the center plug)

7 - Pull the two bolts from the valve cover and remove it.

8 - Turn the engine so the "I" on the flywheel lines up with the mark on the engine cover, and the cams are positioned like this: http://personal.linkline.com/rlockyer/camlobes.jpg

9 - Check clearance.

If they're in spec, just reverse the above and go ride.

If they're not in spec, THEN you need to remove the cams, remove the buckets, check the thickness of the stock shims, and feed this thickness into the table in the owner's manual to see what shims you need to buy to get them back into spec.

Keep the buckets and shims oriented with their original valves!!! Do not swap them around... with one exception... you MAY be able to swap them around if, say one valve is at .07 and one is at .15, due to variances in the thickness of the buckets, you may be able to swap them and bring both into spec without buying new shims... but in general, keep them oriented as they are and draw a picture of the top of the head, writing down the shim thicknesses and clearances.

That way, even if they're fine now, when they DO start to close up, you'll already know what shims are in there without having to remove the cams again.

Make sure you have a good quality 1/4" drive caliper torque wrench to reinstall the cam caps... you want one with 80 inch-pounds near the center of the scale. Overtorquing cam caps is the #1 cause of cam failure. These caps are aluminum, and there are NO steel sleeves/bearings/bushings in there. The cam is supported on the sprocket end by a large ball bearing, and the other caps just steady and position the cam.

[JeffWR]

Wheels,

I am new to this also but what is this for? "4 - Wrap the frame in Saran-wrap"

Thanks, Jeff

[sharpmarble]

Wheels,

I am new to this also but what is this for? "4 - Wrap the frame in Saran-wrap"

Thanks, Jeff

So no dirt/debris falls into the open head. Also, be careful when taking the caps off of the cams, there is a C-shaped guide for the bearing that can fall out and possibly down in the motor. I know this from experience, luckily it didn't fall all the way down and I was able to fish it out.

[WheelsUp]

Yup... the saran wrap will be obvious when you pull the tank. It's pretty near impossible to completely clean around the wires and hoses... it's like detailing the bottom of your truck ?

To heep the clips out of the engine, stuff a rag into the timing chain gallery before removing the cam caps. Those clips have a magnetic attraction to the flywheel ?

[Rip Wheeler]

Yup... the saran wrap will be obvious when you pull the tank. It's pretty near impossible to completely clean around the wires and hoses... it's like detailing the bottom of your truck ?

Wow, I must be a whack job then! I remove my tank and clean it on the underside. I have a buddy who tells me there is medicine for this condition. ?? Its as clean under the tank and frame as anything else.

[WheelsUp]

Its as clean under the tank and frame as anything else.

Do you detail the bottom of your truck too? ?

The way I look at it... it's a dirt bike. It's not a chopper or a bar bike or a show bike. It's gonna' get dirty. It's gonna' get scratched.

If I can't see the frame, it's gonna' get hosed down until I can.

[Rip Wheeler]

...the way I look at it... it's a dirt bike. It's not a chopper or a bar bike or a show bike. It's gonna' get dirty. It's gonna' get scratched....

Yes, and it does get filthy dirty for sure. But I have this thing about putting it away dirty. I like to clean it, service it, ie clean the air filter, lube the chain, change oil (if needed) so its put away clean and ready to ride by just adding fuel. So if A buddy sais "you want to ride", I go, you bet, load it up and I'm gone! I currently own 8 bikes/qauds, all look like new! Hey, I'm a whack job! ??

[WheelsUp]

Lol.... Mine gets the heavy stuff knocked off, sticks pulled out of whatever they're stuck into, and the chain cleaned and lubed.

It is always ready to ride.... just a little browner than stock ?

Actually, right now, it looks nearly showroom-new. They got totally caked during our last trip, so we were pretty much forced to hit them with the sprayer. Headed out for another ride and the road was too slick and sloppy so we turned around after about 2 miles... that was the last day of the trip.

I'll be seeing her again Thursday, and I have a big box of goodies for her ?

[clark4131]

Well, I did my valves today along with a bunch of other stuff. With the trip to the parts store for the shims it took me about 8 hours to do everything I needed. By the way, what's with dealers NOT stocking these things? My local dickhead said that they didn't carry them regularly, but one of the service morons had some stashed away. They said they'd trade them, but I couldn't outright buy them unless I was willing to wait a week for a special order. Michael's Powersports in Reno flat sucks, except for Kirk in parts. I'm glad I didn't buy the bike from them. Thankfully, the local independent shop had a large quantity on hand and was more than happy to help me out ? .

One of my biggest time consumptions was that I was working very slowly, double checking everything I did to make sure I didn't make any mistakes or drop anything into the engine. All in all, the whole valve clearance adjustment really wasn't too bad. I could probably do it all in about an hour or two the next time, now that I know what the hell I was doing. I needed to replace one intake and one exhaust shim, but now I'm all good. The bike starts much easier now, though it wasn't too bad before. There is a definite improvement though.

I also did a complete flush of the cooling system and replaced it with Engine Ice. And I completed my exhaust system with a PowerBomb SX to complement the new Q2. That bad boy sounds so sweet, I'm anxious to see the performance increase.

I had one moment of terror as I went to start the bike after I had everything back together. I hit the magic button and it wouldn't turn over. I pulled the hot start and gave it a few good kicks to clear things out and tried again...Nothing doing. When I was just on the verge of freaking out, I looked and saw I still had the wash plug firmly lodged in the exhaust. Out it came and she fired right up. Mission Accomplished! ?

The best part about this whole thing was that I did the entire process at work, so I got paid to work on my bike today. I love it when life works out like that ? ...SC

[newthumper05]

Can I get a job with you steve?

[Texas4play]

Clark,

What specs did you get when the valves were checked?

[clark4131]

Exhaust Valves: Spec .20-.25

Clearance 1: .19 w/ 179 Shim, changed to 175 = .23

Clearance 2: .21 w/ 180 Shim, changed to 179 = .22

Intake Valves: Spec .10-.15

Clearance 1: .08 w/ 188 Shim, changed to 185 = .11

Clearance 2: .12 w/ 180 Shim, no change needed

Clearance 3: .12 w/ 180 Shim, no change needed

The second exhaust valve was within spec, but since I had the 179 shim from the first valve, I swapped it in as a precautionary measure. I'll check them again after another 250 miles, provided I don't get any signs that I have valve issues. Hopefully, the bike will behave like everyone else's and won't need any more adjustment for quite a while. I'll just keep a tight maintenance schedule with oil and filter changes and all should be good ...SC

[clark4131]

Can I get a job with you steve?

Fill out the application, do well on the test, impress the Chief during your interview, then you're in. Easy ...SC

[Texas4play]

Thanks for the feedback Steve. Would that be the fire Chief?

[clark4131]

Would that be the fire Chief?

Bingo!...SC