GS650 Valve Adjustment Feeler Gauge Question

[Missile99]

The 2 shims I pulled out did not have an X on them. Are they a different kind of shim or is it just that the factory shims had an X and mine might not be factory?

I will contact ghostgs1 about the shim club, is it just a way of exchanging shims between members?

Yours might be factory shims. It's just possible that they were installed numbers up so the cam lobe wore them down. They're not necessarily "X" shims either. The picture I posted shows the discrepancy on a lot of my shims. It also shows that one had no numbers, so when last adjusted (or from the factory, , 30K miles) probably put in numbers side up. I haven't used the shim club yet but definitely might very soon. Let us know what ghostgs1 says. I think it's primarily an exchange. Some shim sizes he probably doesn't need extras of.

Also, it's a good idea to inventory and measure all of your shims that you have or will end up with for the next time. Usually you can move some shims around like I did to get your clearances correct and end up trading or buying the rest.

[Steve]

The 2 shims I pulled out did not have an X on them. Are they a different kind of shim or is it just that the factory shims had an X and mine might not be factory?

The "X" on a shim is not the official indication that it is a Suzuki shim (although Suzuki is the only one that made them), it is part of the SIZE of the shim.

For example, some of the stock shim sizes are:

2.40
2.45
2.50
2.55
2.60
and so on,in increments of 0.05mm.

Suzuki had some "half-size" shims that had an "X" after the number, meaning that they were about half-way to the next size.

In the same range, the sizes would be:
2.40
2.40x
2.45
2.45x
2.50
2.50x
2.55
2.55x
2.60
and so on, in increments of 0.025mm.

Even today, you can not go to any Suzuki dealer (in-person or on-line) and place an order for an "X" shim. You might find a friendly service guy that will provide one for you from their bucket of shims, your only other chance of finding one is to luck into an eBay auction or join the GSR shim club.

Although they are nice, they are not really "necessary" to do a valve adjustment.

.