Valve adjustment - more lessons learned

[tntmo]

I finished my second valve adjustment yesterday, at 53,000 miles. The first one was done a bit early due to a big trip coming up, and I had two intake valves that needed adjusting on the #2 cylinder.

This time I had one exhaust valve tight on the #1 cylinder. I installed new spark plugs and a new air filter, the job took me about five hours including a lunch break. I have a manual CCT on my bike.

It's really not a terribly difficult job, but some things are a bit fiddly and some things could have been better designed (odd CCT, cam sprocket markings on the side that you can't see). Compared to several other bikes I have worked on, I would rate it a 6 out of 10 on difficulty.

 

[TenereGUY]

If I understand this correctly...
You are rotating to align K and checking lobes. Then rotate 71° to line up the T. The way they make it look it is the top of the T (line e) you line up and not the centerline (long part) of the T. (EDIT-OK, I GET IT. ACTUAL LINE ABOVE THE T)
Not used to a Yamaha manual... you would think that they would have put the specs by the step to instead of up front in section 2.
I have to pull the clutch cover too. Thought I read somewhere (could be wrong) that there was a way without pulling the clutch cover...

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[SkunkWorks]

If you are just "Checking" the valve clearance, then you do not have to pull the clutch cover.
Unscrew the "Plug" in the clutch cover and shine a light inside. You can view the timing marks through the hole.
You can also put a socket through this hole to turn the crankshaft.

If any of the valves require adjustment, then you will have to pull the camshaft(s) and also the clutch cover will need to come off as well.

 

[Tenman]

I had mine checked at 24k. They were n spec. I had them checked at 70k at another shop. They were still in spec. I got charged for an adjustment both times. Which adds a some shop hours for not doing any work. I’ll probably never checkem again.

 

[Clawdog60]

What are the diameter of the the shims?

 

[SkunkWorks]

What are the diameter of the the shims?

Valve Shims are 9.48mm diameter for the Super Tenere 1200.

 

[~TABASCO~]

I had mine checked at 24k. They were n spec. I had them checked at 70k at another shop. They were still in spec. I got charged for an adjustment both times. Which adds a some shop hours for not doing any work. I’ll probably never checkem again.

In my humble opinion, The shops telling you that at 24K they are all "good".... and again at 70K, they are all "good", is extremely unlikely (they are totally in mechanical spec's)..... Of course anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely they are all still in the centers or in spec.

You should play the Lotto, you will probably win 3X with that type luck......

Im certainly NOT saying you did anything wrong at all, just suggesting that with my experience with this bike I do NOT find your luck to be normal findings for this bike & engine.


(For anyone reading the post) I have also found, for instance on my bike. The last time I checked the valves I had like 2 out and 2-3 on the edge. I put all eight valves back in the "middle"..... the difference after adjusting all eight was quite noticeable. Very noticeable..... so, if anyone finds that only 1-2-3 are out and you're inside the motor, just pull them all and put all eight back in the middle... It's more work, but "worth it".... FYI

 

[Kruzzin5]

In my humble opinion, The shops telling you that at 24K they are all "good".... and again at 70K, they are all "good", is extremely unlikely (they are totally in mechanical spec's)..... Of course anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely they are all still in the centers or in spec.

You should play the Lotto, you will probably win 3X with that type luck......

Im certainly NOT saying you did anything wrong at all, just suggesting that with my experience with this bike I do NOT find your luck to be normal findings for this bike & engine.


(For anyone reading the post) I have also found four instance on my bike. The last time I checked the valves I had like 2 out and 2-3 on the edge. I put all eight valves back in the "middle"..... the difference after adjusting all eight was quite noticeable. Very noticeable..... so, if anyone finds that only 1-2-3 are out and you're inside the motor, just pull them all and put all eight back in the middle... It's more work, but "worth it".... FYI

I agree. Since this is such a pain in the ass job, I wonder how many dealers are opening up the top of the motor? To charge only three hours labour to inspect/adjust the valves, I don’t know how they do that. It takes much longer.

 

[Jlq1969]

In my humble opinion, The shops telling you that at 24K they are all "good".... and again at 70K, they are all "good", is extremely unlikely (they are totally in mechanical spec's)..... Of course anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely they are all still in the centers or in spec.

You should play the Lotto, you will probably win 3X with that type luck......

Im certainly NOT saying you did anything wrong at all, just suggesting that with my experience with this bike I do NOT find your luck to be normal findings for this bike & engine.


(For anyone reading the post) I have also found four instance on my bike. The last time I checked the valves I had like 2 out and 2-3 on the edge. I put all eight valves back in the "middle"..... the difference after adjusting all eight was quite noticeable. Very noticeable..... so, if anyone finds that only 1-2-3 are out and you're inside the motor, just pull them all and put all eight back in the middle... It's more work, but "worth it".... FYI

I'm asking, not because I'm curious, but it's good to learn from someone who knows…why do you regulate them in the middle of the spec instead of leaving them in the max spec range??….if as they settle in, they go away Closing…I kept in mind that the first pass is between 25,000 and 35,000 miles….the second pass is between 60,000 and 70,000 miles……and from there it goes well in specification at 100,000 miles…just check

 

[Tenman]

In my humble opinion, The shops telling you that at 24K they are all "good".... and again at 70K, they are all "good", is extremely unlikely (they are totally in mechanical spec's)..... Of course anything is possible, but it's highly unlikely they are all still in the centers or in spec.

You should play the Lotto, you will probably win 3X with that type luck......

Im certainly NOT saying you did anything wrong at all, just suggesting that with my experience with this bike I do NOT find your luck to be normal findings for this bike & engine.


(For anyone reading the post) I have also found four instance on my bike. The last time I checked the valves I had like 2 out and 2-3 on the edge. I put all eight valves back in the "middle"..... the difference after adjusting all eight was quite noticeable. Very noticeable..... so, if anyone finds that only 1-2-3 are out and you're inside the motor, just pull them all and put all eight back in the middle... It's more work, but "worth it".... FYI

My thoughts too. I'm gonna ride it.

 

[WJBertrand]

For me, as long as they’re in spec, I don’t adjust them. If an adjustment is needed, I’ll set them nearer the upper clearance spec knowing they will tighten with mileage.


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[~TABASCO~]

I agree. Since this is such a pain in the ass job, I wonder how many dealers are opening up the top of the motor? To charge only three hours labour to inspect/adjust the valves, I don’t know how they do that. It takes much longer.

100% agree. And I’ve had issues with that for ten years. People telling me there shop will do it for X-Y-Z price for only a few hours. I know much better than that. I’ve personally only come across one bike that an owner said he want to a shop, he paid them to adjust everything. He did not feel good about what they told him, so he wanted me to confirm the work. I told him, 100% nobody has been in the motor and it’s not been checked, and the valves were not adjusted. I did the work properly and provided all the paper work, and photos.
He dealt with the other shop on his own afterwards.

 

[~TABASCO~]

I'm asking, not because I'm curious, but it's good to learn from someone who knows…why do you regulate them in the middle of the spec instead of leaving them in the max spec range??….if as they settle in, they go away Closing…I kept in mind that the first pass is between 25,000 and 35,000 miles….the second pass is between 60,000 and 70,000 miles……and from there it goes well in specification at 100,000 miles…just check

Sorry for the confusion. What I meant by in the middle was, the intake and exhaust valves have an acceptable range. I try for the ‘middle’ of those numbers. I was not referring to when I actually do the job at a particular mile marker. I do my own valves at or around 20-24. I’m a maintenance nerd, and want to know my machine is in the best working condition. If I felt they needed a ‘peek’ before hand I would do it “just to check”. Nothing ticks me off more than a basic bike problem ‘broken down’ 3K miles from home. I’ve had to fix other people bikes many times for dumb shit, lack of maintenance.

 

[holligl]

If you take it to a shop, ALWAYS insist on getting written measurements of each valve. NEVER accept 'They were all good.

 

[~TABASCO~]

If you take it to a shop, ALWAYS insist on getting written measurements of each valve. NEVER accept 'They were all good.

Amen......... 100%............. People are tired of hearing this from ME......... LOL.... NEVER leave without the technical numbers for each valve. Have this discussion about getting the paper work BEFORE you drop off your bike........

The funny thing to me is this........... Unless you are a mechanic with a total photographic memory,,,, how would you remember each valve values as you check each one without writing down each value for each valve? And then after you check all eight, you then can "remember" all the values to then do the conversion to know what shim to install? And then, "not have the notes for the customer"............ Not possible..... You have to write down all this info so you can see how close to being 'out', or how far out they are so you can do the math to fix them properly.
If there are mechanics that has this photographic memory like this, that are legit, they are in the wrong business and should be a surgeon..... Not saying there aren't smart people out there, only suggesting that it's probably EXTREMELY RARE to find this genius.

For any dealer that has no notes or paper work to provide to the customer on the valve values...........................................

I'll let you come to your own common sense conclusion.

or

They must have a savant working in the back of a dealership.....

 

[scott123007]

Just to play Devils Advocate, the other side of the coin is "if" all they did was check them, because they were all in spec, you wouldn't need any paperwork. You stick your feeler gauge in there, it is in spec., and you move to the next valve. BIG IF, but if they were all in spec, you button it back up, and you're good to go.
I for one, am not going anywhere near those fuckers, if they are anywhere in spec. They give you a range for a reason. They can be on the edge of too tight or the edge of too loose, but as long as they are in between those ranges, you are safe until the next adjustment. In my mind, the potential detriment of something going wrong by loosening cam caps and retorquing them, CCT being removed, reset and replaced, Cams out and back in, cam chain getting askew, is just not worth doing something that does not need it. Rant over...LOL

 

[whisperquiet]

I checked the valve clearances today on my 2021 S10 with 26114 miles on it. I ride a lot but not hard…..I doubt that this bike has been over 7000 rpm more than a handful of times. So, all of the clearances were in spec with three of the exhaust at .009 and one at .010 thousands of an inch………the intakes were at .005 for three valves and one at .004. The top end was buttoned up with new OEM NGK plugs installed and it is ready to ride another 26000 miles or so.

I checked the bike over; lubed the shift lever pivot and found that the left headlight bulb was out. A new H7 bulb was installed.

This is my fifth S10 and second ‘14+ bike and this one is by far the best running, smoothest S10 that routinely gets 50mpg. I checked the throttle body sync at 600 miles and it was spot on. I didn’t even bother checking them today. The old spark plugs looked good and there was no corrosion around the stick coils.

 

[Mr. BR]

In the middle of a valve check on my '12 with ~84K miles... all good except Exh on #1 cylinder are both a rather tight .009" with cyl at TDC. However, both a bit looser when checking with lobes pointing directly away from bucket. Whaddya think? Leave as-is or adjust? I have paperwork from previous owner showing previous valve checks but the mechanic was kind enough to leave some proof on the inside of the valve cover. Intake valves are very clean and my reassembly is pending a new valve cover gasket.... the old one has a slight tear and it was heavily sealed in place and I'm not going to spend hours picking all that off.
Thanks,
Mr. BR

 

[WJBertrand]

The cams should be in the position indicated by the timing marks and the instructions in the manual when measuring the clearances. Measurements at any other position are not defined.

 

[Jlq1969]

On a cam without a decompressor, it is fine to measure on the opposite side of the cam....but with a decompressor, you should measure as WJ says...otherwise, you may find yourself with a decompressor pressing the valve and giving you more clearance than the real one in one of the valves. exhaust