Well I have to be one unlucky SOB. :'( It seems like no one, at lease that I have ever seen post, has had to actually adjust valves at the first check. Many even recommend skipping the first check because the valves are almost never far enough out to worry about. So I fully expected to only have to check the valves and put the thing back together. WRONG!!! All 4 exhaust valves were out of spec!! ??? And one intake was on the edge. Three of the exhausts were just out at .008" but one was at .0065!!.
So I thought I would pass on my "lessons learned"and a few tips and tricks. I failed to take pictures, sorry about that, but there are already plenty of pictures posted here that would look pretty much the same.
First this is a big job and I underestimated the the amount of disassemble involved. The only other bike I have done with shim under buckets was my old V-Strom. I thought that was a bit of a PIA but now know that it was far easier. And part of my problem was self inflected to a degree because of all my mods, many of which got in the way and had to be uninstalled first. Like Givi crash bars, LED lights (attached to the bars), and cruise control.
Once you get everything removed to gain access (including the air cleaner, spark plugs, throttle bodies, and wiring harness), you are faced with actually removing the valve cover. As many have posted it is a VERY tight fit. The major issue is the right side because that side covers the cam sprockets and of all the wiring above it in the top right side of the frame opening. The more of the wiring you can remove the better. Tie the rest up as tight as you can to get it out of the way.This a major pain in itself but worth it when you try to get the cover back on without ripping the valve cover gasket.
OK here is the first tip: The alignment marks on the cam sprocket are on the OUTSIDE. i.e the side next to the electric tray. DUH! You can't see them so they are useless unless you have the motor out of the frame or you completely remove the electric tray. Not even with a mirror, there is not enough room. The simple (and maybe obvious) fix is when you have the cam out, make an alignment mark on the inside. I used a Dremel tool to make a small groove on the inside of the gears aligned with the original marks on the outside. I also put a small amount of yellow paint to make easier to see. Worked like a charm.
Second tip: This is a big one but it will be controversial. However I and others have done it for years and NEVER had a problem. Getting the right shim is a PIA. Either you have to buy a complete set, expensive and 99% of which you will never use, or you have to order the ones you need after you have the cam out. You may get lucky and find the one you need at the dealer. Yeah, that could happen . . . :
However, the clearance almost always gets tighter. So you need a shim a few thousandths thinner. So why not just thin down the one you have? That is what I do. I mic the shim first and then thin it down using emery cloth type sandpaper on a flat surface. I used 320 grit. The key is to rotate the shim as you work it to make sure it stays perfectly flat. Another advantage is you can set the clearance exactly where you want it, not in steps of shim sizes but dead on. For example for the exhaust valves that were at .008", I wanted them to be .010" so I just thinned the shims down by .002". Now they are all dead on .010". The one that was .0065, I want to set up a bit looser so I took .004" plus a tad off and now it is a loose .010, close to .011".
I used the above process on the V-Strom many times. It has about 95K miles now and is still going strong. Zero issues.
More later but I have to rest now, my brain hurts!
Going for a ride in the morning! ::001::
John
So I thought I would pass on my "lessons learned"and a few tips and tricks. I failed to take pictures, sorry about that, but there are already plenty of pictures posted here that would look pretty much the same.
First this is a big job and I underestimated the the amount of disassemble involved. The only other bike I have done with shim under buckets was my old V-Strom. I thought that was a bit of a PIA but now know that it was far easier. And part of my problem was self inflected to a degree because of all my mods, many of which got in the way and had to be uninstalled first. Like Givi crash bars, LED lights (attached to the bars), and cruise control.
Once you get everything removed to gain access (including the air cleaner, spark plugs, throttle bodies, and wiring harness), you are faced with actually removing the valve cover. As many have posted it is a VERY tight fit. The major issue is the right side because that side covers the cam sprockets and of all the wiring above it in the top right side of the frame opening. The more of the wiring you can remove the better. Tie the rest up as tight as you can to get it out of the way.This a major pain in itself but worth it when you try to get the cover back on without ripping the valve cover gasket.
OK here is the first tip: The alignment marks on the cam sprocket are on the OUTSIDE. i.e the side next to the electric tray. DUH! You can't see them so they are useless unless you have the motor out of the frame or you completely remove the electric tray. Not even with a mirror, there is not enough room. The simple (and maybe obvious) fix is when you have the cam out, make an alignment mark on the inside. I used a Dremel tool to make a small groove on the inside of the gears aligned with the original marks on the outside. I also put a small amount of yellow paint to make easier to see. Worked like a charm.
Second tip: This is a big one but it will be controversial. However I and others have done it for years and NEVER had a problem. Getting the right shim is a PIA. Either you have to buy a complete set, expensive and 99% of which you will never use, or you have to order the ones you need after you have the cam out. You may get lucky and find the one you need at the dealer. Yeah, that could happen . . . :
However, the clearance almost always gets tighter. So you need a shim a few thousandths thinner. So why not just thin down the one you have? That is what I do. I mic the shim first and then thin it down using emery cloth type sandpaper on a flat surface. I used 320 grit. The key is to rotate the shim as you work it to make sure it stays perfectly flat. Another advantage is you can set the clearance exactly where you want it, not in steps of shim sizes but dead on. For example for the exhaust valves that were at .008", I wanted them to be .010" so I just thinned the shims down by .002". Now they are all dead on .010". The one that was .0065, I want to set up a bit looser so I took .004" plus a tad off and now it is a loose .010, close to .011".
I used the above process on the V-Strom many times. It has about 95K miles now and is still going strong. Zero issues.
More later but I have to rest now, my brain hurts!
Going for a ride in the morning! ::001::
John
