fostytou
New Member
I thought I'd start a thread where we can post some tips for checking the valve clearance I may also do a quick step-by-step in the second post. Lastly, if anyone wants to share their measurements and adjustments I'd welcome them in this thread so we can get an idea of what they take.
Tips:
My measurements and adjustments:
Tips:
- It is kind of a pain in the bike - there's barely any room to turn wrenches. Having a variety of bits (eg: tall 8mm, short 8mm, wobble bits) will help.
- That said - taking it out is probably more difficult unless you really need to do something extra.
- The newer FSM recommends blowing out the oil jets in the cam bridge with compressed air. You can see these little nozzles pointing at each lobe. I'd probably recommend spraying into their outlet so anything plugging the hole (eg - all those metal bits in your oil screens) will get dislodged. This may be messy though.
- The rubber engine cover is not on the cup bike. It can go. If you do need to unhook instead of cutting it the trickiest part is at the front where you can use a long, small screwdriver to push it over it's flat hooks.
- It has been said before - the metal in these bikes can be putty. Oil covered fasteners and tight working spaces don't help. If you can't move your torque wrench freely you may have to add in a little feel from one of the fasteners where you can.
- I would totally recommend getting rid of the charcoal canister - even if you keep and cap the solenoid to prevent a CEL (or use a 15 ohm 10 W resister according to some threads). You can use the existing tank vent and Y to tie into the other Y for fuel and coolant. You'll need a vacuum cap for the throttle body.
- I wasted 2 hours trying to put the left fairing back on without crushing the wiring harness behind it or flexing the panel. I' went back and referred to the owner's manual for hose routing and it only helped a little bit.
- The manual illustrates a bead of threebond that is about as wide as a tooth pick. You don't need much, but lining up the valve cover and propping up the cam gear side while you apply threebond to the head can keep things a little more clean. I applied it with a tooth pick to help my reach. (yes, you are supposed to put three bond on both surfaces but I think it will be fine.)
- I did the valve adjustment, checked the bike, and then did the oil change. I figure running it will clean up any minor dirt in there and then I can drain the gunk out in the oil right away.
- There are probably a lot of ways to do certain things, but I picked what seemed easiest to me.
My measurements and adjustments: