Valve adjutment / compression testing

[ddeboer]

GS1100E:
Q: Do the valvesneed to be adjustd every 3000 miles or is there some leniency in this?

Does running synthetic oil allow for longer change intervals?

Also, to do a compression test, do I need a special Suzuki tester or will a generic tester with adapter suffice? Is there a spark plug hole measurement?

Thankyou in advance

[tkent02]

GS1100E:
Q: Do the valvesneed to be adjustd every 3000 miles or is there some leniency in this?

Once a bike has many thousands of miles, the wear slows down. If you have done three or four valve clearance checks, you can pretty much predict which valves will need an adjustment, and when. If you just picked up the bike, you can't check it often enough.

Does running synthetic oil allow for longer change intervals?

Yes, it's up to you how far to push it.

Also, to do a compression test, do I need a special Suzuki tester or will a generic tester with adapter suffice? Is there a spark plug hole measurement?

Thankyou in advance

No, any old compression tester will do just fine.

[koolaid_kid]

My 83 has the smaller diameter plug threads. If yours does also, just make sure the adjuster has the adapter. (I have a HF model which contains the larger diameter thread on the base hose, and then an adapter for the smaller.)

[rapidray]

That engine has 12mm spark plugs. You need the 12mm adapter. Ray.