Valve adjustments

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

All of those cars probably had self-adjusting, hydralic valve lifters. Some bikes do too but not many.

:whistle:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Moedad

OK, that's ONE..........

I miss my 550. It had shaft drive too. SNIFF-SNIFF.....got somethin' in my eye.

[mr. softie]

All the tools you need are less than $20. I take the tank off, makes the job possible. Here is a link to a very good set of feeler gauges, but you could go to sears or autozone etc as well.

http://www.bikebandit.com/product/1411

The feel is what you need to develop when using feeler gauges. Should feel like a knife going through cool butter. Another method is "go/no go". If a .002 and a .003 go through the gap, but a .004 won't, the gap is .003.

It takes me 30 minutes tops to check and adjust my valves on the GZ. One of the big advantages of a single cylinder motor. While I am at it I check the spark plug and the torque of the head bolts, while I have the tank off.

[mrlmd1]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

I thought there was one there already.
:biggrin:

I searched before I wrote that and couldn't find one.

And to Alan who wrote "Didn't Mr MD used to do open heart surgery?" It's Dr. MD. :neener: :neener: :poke2:

[alanmcorcoran]

Let's see how you do adjustin' some "real" valves before we upgrade your salutation.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Moedad

:whistle:

Just one of the many reasons the NightHawk is still a popular bike.

Not looking forward to a valve check/adjust on the VStrom. But at least I have a line on a pretty good wrencher in a real shop. Don't have the patience or a young enough body to do the work needed.

[Canuck]

Hey guys, My girlfriends Dad is dropping by for a visit soon so i was thinking of doing the same thing as Chris. Get it done by him and photograph the steps etc in how it is done.

Ill invest in the feelers and necessary stuff to do it right and hopefully have something posted within a week..
Cheers!

[Chris]

I think adjusting the valves is a bit harder than heart surgery so perhaps we had better be careful who we let try it.
My friend did use .003" for both intake and exhaust valves, but I think that was a bit of luck. This job turned out a bit harder than I remembered. As I said, I videoed it and I am glad I did. Seems like a bit much for the average guy. Mr. Softie may do this casually, but it is some job for most people.
My GZ was getting 75mpg for a long time with easy riding on country highways. Then I switched to hi test gas and (I think) my mileage went to 65mpg. Hard to tell exactly, but on four tankfuls I was getting 65mpg. Yesterday I filled with regular gas and did a 200 mile ride. Part of that was very hard uphills (1st gear!) in the mountains of Alabama. I got 70mpg. I'll make a trip without the hills soon and expect to be back in the mid-70's, we'll see.
Great ride in NE Alabama. Rode around the Little River Canyon as I own property nearby. Never done that before and the canyon is huge! Alabama #275 running SW from Hwy #35 is a very twisty road that has got to compete with the Tail of the Dragon. 23 miles of 1st gear uphills, many turns, and "oh my gosh" downhills. Never got higher than 3rd gear and much of it was in second. Sand on the turns! Just glad to have stayed upright on that ride!

Chris, Atlanta

[Joho]

For what it's worth, I stopped by a reputable moto shop a few weeks ago. I told the guy who I am, we BS'd a little bit, and I asked him if he wouldn't mind listening to my bike to see if it needed a valve adjustment. Of course, he told me that he could hear ticking but it was impossible for him to know for sure. He looked at an online diagram, and charged me 30 bucks (1/2 hr labor) and adjusted them.

Later, he said they were not up-to-spec, but it was a no-brainer to adjust them. It DEFINITELY ran like a sewing machine afterwards!

The valves are terribly easy to adjust on our GZ's. With a tiny bit of knowledge and a generous heaping of diligence, anybody can do it. (the only reason I didnt is because I wanted maint. records!)

Ride safe

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Joho

The valves are terribly easy to adjust on our GZ's.

I beleive that is true of some people....even many people maybe but certainly not ALL.

Remember, if you would, that we have riders show up here ALL the time that can't figure out how to adjust the rear brake, check the slack in the clutch cable, adjust the position of the brake pedal/shifter lever or find the proper bolt to drain the oil !!!! :biggrin:

Adjusting the valves is a couple of orders of magnitude more difficult than those things.