Could 7 valves out of spec be "normal"?

[Guest]

Thanks for reading. I just checked my valve clearances and 7 of them won't even fit a .04mm shim. The bike was running 5 years ago - though I honestly can't remember how well (or not well) it was running at the time. Could this even be possible? I can't really figure out how they get tighter over time, you'd think they'd get loser.

Also, since they're all so tight, how do I know what size shims to replace them with?

[Steve]

Yes, it's possible.

Inventory your shims. Remove them ONE AT A TIME, record the number on the shim. Since you know the history of the bike (how many miles on it?), you might get by with dropping one size. Note that you might be able to swap a few shims around and minimize how many you need to procure.

Why do they get tighter? Because they bang into the seats about 2500 times every mile (in top gear). Do that for 3000 miles (the recommended service interval), each valve is closing on the seat over 7.5 million times (allowing for occasional use of lower gears). The action will compress the seat just a bit and/or reshape the face of the valve just a bit. Either way, the valve is going to sit just a little bit deeper, which shows up at the other end as less clearance between the cam and the shim.

This is about the time when I invite you to take advantage of the offer in my signature.

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[Maxdpower]

Thanks for the info Steve, and you already sent me your spreadsheet, so thanks for that too. I was just a little confused by it and I am just trying to learn everything I can about this thing!!

[tkent02]

Need some help with it?
I'm pretty close if you get stuck.

[Steve]

Thanks for the info Steve, and you already sent me your spreadsheet, so thanks for that too. I was just a little confused by it and I am just trying to learn everything I can about this thing!!

If you have questions about the spreadsheet or the adjustment procedure, let me know. Both are rather easy.

[Maxdpower]

If you have questions about the spreadsheet or the adjustment procedure, let me know. Both are rather easy.

Yeah, I'm working through it. Two shims didn't have the sizes stamped so I'm trying to solve that problem now.

Need some help with it?
I'm pretty close if you get stuck.

Thanks! I may take you up on that. Where are you located?

I'm working with Ray (GhostGS1) to get the right shims at the moment as he's a Colorado local as well. I cannot thank the people on this site enough for all the help I've gotten so far!