I finished the valve job on 1980 GS550!

[cmn1771]

this is the first time iv ever done a valve job on any motorcycle. i want to show that anyone can do this. especially with the help and knowlegde of this great website! all the valves except intake #2 was too tight. so i re shimmed everything to .08mm . the loose end of the spec.
heres a lot of pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/cmn1771/20110311#

https://picasaweb.google.com/cmn1771/20110307#

it took a total of 5 hours to do this. next time will be a piece of cake, since now i know what to do. maybe since i set them at .08 , i wont have to adjust them for a long time. this bike has 16000 miles on it. so valves can tighten rather quickly. i was surprised that they would be out of spec. its changed my mind about the seriousness of valve checks. i used to think it wasnt important. not anymore.

a big thanks to the GSresourses!!!!

-matt
Leeds,AL

[TeamDar]

What you accomplished was a "valve adjustment" not a "valve job" which would have required a head removal.

[Steve]

Agreed, that was just an "adjustment", not a "job".

Congrats on "only" 5 hours. Eventually you will get it down to less than an hour.

While the numbers are still somewhat fresh in your mind (or written down somewhere), may I invite you to ask for my spreadsheet that will help you next time?
It would have helped this time, too, but you didn't seem to take the hint in your thread asking for help with your adjustment.

.

[azr]

Nice work. It's amazing what you can think is 'a real job' only to find out it's a piece of cake. The bike looks really good, now ride the sheet out of it.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Top notch!

It took me about 5 hours the first time too. I was taking lots of pictures and wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Now the quickest part of the job is the valve adjustment. It takes longer to remove and replace the seat, tank, valve cover, etc.

I run my clearances on the loose end of spec too. That way I can stretch the valve checks to 5000 or 6000 miles without worry. Once the clearances are set and you change the oil regularly, the engine should be pretty stable. I didn't have to change any shims on my last two valve checks.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cmn1771]

agreed, i said "job" when obviously it was just an adjustment. pardon my slip up.

the hardest part was finding that some of the shims had no numbers on them. they had worn off. i was careful to put the new shims number side down. i recorded the sizes in my maintenance schedule manual.

----------
now im doing my V-Strom. luckily all were in spec so no adjustment were needed. thank God , because it would be much harder because the shims on it are under the bucket. im just about to get it all buttoned up so i can ride tomorrow. it also give me an opportunity to change the spark plugs and flush the coolant since i had to remove the radiator anyway.

thanks again,
matt

[duaneage]

Now resync the carbs since you changed the way it pulls air. That completes a tuneup and will give you fuel injection quality throttle response

[cmn1771]

Now resync the carbs since you changed the way it pulls air. That completes a tuneup and will give you fuel injection quality throttle response

will do. but its running so unbelievably good already! im amazed that a 31 year old bike can run this good. i put 140 miles on it yesterday, grinning all the way.

https://picasaweb.google.com/cmn1771/Places12#5579612736361875714

[jasper]

Agreed, that was just an "adjustment", not a "job".

Congrats on "only" 5 hours. Eventually you will get it down to less than an hour.

While the numbers are still somewhat fresh in your mind (or written down somewhere), may I invite you to ask for my spreadsheet that will help you next time?
It would have helped this time, too, but you didn't seem to take the hint in your thread asking for help with your adjustment.

.

OK Steve - I'll bite. I'm about to tackle a valve adjustment on my GS550E and I'll gladly take a look at your spreadsheet. You can email me at rexjoropo@gmail.com

Also - can you post up the clearance specification - in mm and in 0.001? I have a good procedure in the form of Bass Cliff's GS850 write up. Is there a better procedure out there?

The bike is new to me so I have no idea what to expect in terms of requiring new shims...I also don't want to spend a handful of $ on shims I don't need. What would you do?

Thanks gents.

[cowboyup3371]

Basscliff's procedure is the one to use for every bike out here that is running straight shims.

Actually, you'll want to email Steve so he has your email address on file and will just reply back to you. Check out the GS Shim club found in the services section here on the forum. Real inexpensive if not even free (depending on how you do it).

[MisterCinders]

OK Steve - I'll bite. I'm about to tackle a valve adjustment on my GS550E and I'll gladly take a look at your spreadsheet. You can email me at rexjoropo@gmail.com

Also - can you post up the clearance specification - in mm and in 0.001? I have a good procedure in the form of Bass Cliff's GS850 write up. Is there a better procedure out there?

The bike is new to me so I have no idea what to expect in terms of requiring new shims...I also don't want to spend a handful of $ on shims I don't need. What would you do?

Thanks gents.

Check the clearances before you buy shims. You might find that the valves can be sorted by swapping a few shims. Once you narrow down what shims you need (i.e., clearances that you cannot fix from your current shims), buy those. You might also check out the shim club.

[jasper]

Check the clearances before you buy shims. You might find that the valves can be sorted by swapping a few shims. Once you narrow down what shims you need (i.e., clearances that you cannot fix from your current shims), buy those. You might also check out the shim club.

Yes - I came to this realization after I wrote the post.

I'll check the clearances and swap where I can. If I do my math right, then I should have to buy 4 shims at the most. I'll measure the actual thickness of the shims too. Sounds like they aren't always correctly labelled.

What's my target clearance guys?

I thought I read somewhere 0.001" (0.025 mm) - 0.003" (0.075 mm) and that loose is better than tight.

inb4 - "that's what she said"

Oh and yes I'll check out the shim club...sounds interesting.

[Allie]

will do. but its running so unbelievably good already! im amazed that a 31 year old bike can run this good. i put 140 miles on it yesterday, grinning all the way.
https://picasaweb.google.com/cmn1771...12736361875714

I'm still grinning over how my bike runs after doing the valves and intake o-rings last fall. Your bike is gorgeous by the way!

[Steve]

OK Steve - I'll bite. I'm about to tackle a valve adjustment on my GS550E and I'll gladly take a look at your spreadsheet. You can email me at rexjoropo@gmail.com

I would, but the invite says that you have to e-mail me first.

That way, my fat fingers don't mis-type an address and then I can simply attach the spreadsheet to the reply.

.

[cmn1771]

I'm still grinning over how my bike runs after doing the valves and intake o-rings last fall. Your bike is gorgeous by the way!

thanks.

by the way. its for sale now! ill post up an ad in a few minutes.

-matt