Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi all,

First off, I'm new around these parts, but from what I've seen so far, this looks like a really helpful and active community and I look forward to participating.

I'm getting my bike ready for the coming riding season and, primarily due to money concerns, I'm going to have to do as much of the maintenance as possible on my own. One item that needs to be done is a valve job since mine are clicking like some kind of giant insect, but I've never even tried to do this on my own. I do have the maintenance manual, and it looks simple enough, but I'm not 100% sure that I'm reading the thing right which has left me with a few questions. First, is this something I can do without having to remove the engine from the frame? Tonight I pulled the airbox to see if there might be enough room to work in there and, while it looks pretty tight, it looks like there is still enough room to get the camshaft cover off, but again, I'm not sure. Second, I'm wondering what I will need to get the job done properly? The manual suggests that all I would need is the valve tool and the shim set and I should be good. That being said, I can afford the valve tool, but I've not been able to find a shim set for less than $70 and even those are not the correct 1.20mm - 2.20mm set described by the manual, but rather about 2mm - 4mm, making most of them too big for my application. Do most dealerships carry individual shims so I can find the ones I need and buy only those? I've even read about people trading in their current shims for the new ones.... is this an option for me? The last question I have relates to the timing chain and/or tensor... Is this something that I check along with the valve clearance? Or is it a fully separate and more involved job? The maintenance manual simply says to check it and see if it moves freely and if not to replace it... it doesn't give any real instructions about how to get to it...

Thanks in advance for all help here,
Greg

PS: Last dumb question that I have to ask every year because I only do it once a year... I have a 6v-12v battery charger / tender which I use to charge up my battery for the coming year. Do I need to run it on the 6v setting or the 12v setting? Or does it matter? Thanks again.

The best way to adjust valve clearance yourself is to get a service manual. It has charts to give you the correct shim needed based off what you have now. Then you only need to get the exact shims necessary.

It can be done with the engine in place, once the airbox and such are out of the way. You may want to check the camchain tensioner too. Any wear on the ratchet teeth can let the chain flop enough to be noticeable.

And put it on the 12V setting.

BuzZz wrote:The best way to adjust valve clearance yourself is to get a service manual. It has charts to give you the correct shim needed based off what you have now. Then you only need to get the exact shims necessary.

It can be done with the engine in place, once the airbox and such are out of the way. You may want to check the camchain tensioner too. Any wear on the ratchet teeth can let the chain flop enough to be noticeable.

Ok, so just to be 100%, I can both check the clearance and remover the cam-shafts / replace the shims without having to remove the engine from the frame? Also, will I need more special tools than the feeler gauges? I've seen something called a "valve shim tool" which looks like a curved wrench with a lip on it, but its not mentioned in the service manual, so I'm not sure if its required or just a work saver?

Wrider wrote:And put it on the 12V setting.

Thanks, I always seem to forget this one for some reason. I'm sure I'll be asking again next spring...

There is enough room to do the job with the engine in place. You might cuss occasionally, but you can do it easily enough. Just be patient and gentle.

There are many types of valve shim tools out there. You won't need any of the to do your bike.

BuzZz wrote:You might cuss occasionally, but you can do it easily enough. Just be patient and gentle.

What, cuss and curse at my bike? never

Swearin' shows you care.

You ain't gonna bother cussin' out something that means nothing to you, right?

Anyways, the most likely cause of blue language will probably be from the skin lost working those parts out of the bike....

Thats why I usually wear gloves, though they have gotten kinda holey lately from all the times I've touched hot metal with them.

Gloves, eh.....

I find them a bit clumsy and dirty for pokin' around engine internals myself....

And you check valve lash on a cold engine.

I use mechanix high sensativity gloves... good for keeping hands clean and skin in place, but bad for durability. The cold engine part was one of the few things I knew already from the maintenance manual. It might be sparse with extra info and disjointed and hard to read, but at least its clear about important stuff like that.

One new question thats come up today is how do the feeler gauges work? I bought a set today and the guy at the store said I will probably be able to fit a larger gauge than the actual current clearance in there and then I've got to pull it out and feel for the right amount of resistance to determine if the clearance is too large or too small for that particular gauge. Is this the case and if so, what is a good method to zero in on the right size? Should I start with what should be the correct gauge for proper spacing and work up or down from there?