Valve Adjustment Questions

[Nessism]

2) I am having trouble understanding the set of feeler gauges I ordered from Snap On (FB-310B). The gauges are as follows from top to bottom:

.015/.381 mm
.001/.025 mm
.004/.102 mm
.005/.127 mm
.007/.178 mm
.008/.203 mm
.010/.254 mm
.012/.305 mm
.013/.330 mm

Sorry, not trying to bust balls but these numbers are wrong. The Snap-On set you have is perfectly fine for adjusting GS valves. The FB-310B set comes with .001", .0015", .002", .003" and .004" sizes, which are all you need.

Use the .0015" (.0381mm) as your minimum; if that size won't pass, go to a thinner shim. If the engine has been abused you may need to go two steps so don't assume anything. The .004" (.104mm) is the largest clearance you should allow. Just hit somewhere between these two sizes and you are good to go.

[Good Times]

the base circle is the part of the cam that isn't the lobe. You are measuring clearance between the shim and the cam. When the lobe comes around it will touch the shim and push the valve open. If the shim is touching the cam when the lobe is 180 degrees around from the shim your clearance is too tight.

Ahhhh....iiiight. Got it.

[Good Times]

Sorry, not trying to bust balls but these numbers are wrong. The Snap-On set you have is perfectly fine for adjusting GS valves. The FB-310B set comes with .001", .0015", .002", .003" and .004" sizes, which are all you need.

Use the .0015" (.0381mm) as your minimum; if that size won't pass, go to a thinner shim. If the engine has been abused you may need to go two steps so don't assume anything. The .004" (.104mm) is the largest clearance you should allow. Just hit somewhere between these two sizes and you are good to go.

Got my gauge set to prove you wrong and guess what. You're right. The feelers were stuck together. . This is the part where you can insert the "what a noob" eye roll. Thanks Nessism.

[Nessism]

Oh, and another thing...

Please use the cam positioning method contained in the GS factory service manual. Don't use the method in Clymers since it will lead to less accurate adjustment.

If you don't have a FSM, you can download one from Basscliff's website. Basscliff also has a valve adjustment tutorial if you need your hand held. Great info from a great guy!

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[Good Times]

Downloading the FSM and using Steve's spreadsheet. Should be good to go. Thanks guys.

[Good Times]

OK, so here are what my clearances (or lack thereof) look like in the spread sheet.



Here's my next question. The measurements I have listed as 1 are actually 0. No clearance with my .001 gauge. Should I go down another size on these?

[Nessism]

No clearance on .001 means moving down a shim. Some times you need to go down two sizes, or even three. Blame the idiot previous owner that didn't adjust the valves and hope there isn't too much damage.

[1948man]

Where the .001 won't fit, try spinning the shim or bucket. If it moves, that would indicate there is at least some clearance and you would only need to go down one size shim. If it won't budge, who knows what you will need but try 2 sizes down first and hope the valve isn't burnt. Also, you probably already know this but never rotate the crank unless there is a shim in every bucket.

[Good Times]

I could spin all of the buckets with my fingers so maybe it isn't that bad. They are tight though. The bike has been ridden hard and put up wet for sure. I'll see if I can get it within spec.

I'm joining the shim club and thankful for it after calling a couple of local bike shops and having the parts guys freak because I was asking for a 29.5mm shim. "We don't have those. They are only for old bikes." Uhhhh....yeah.... $8 per shim and if they didn't fit then too bad. Z1 isn't a bad option, but I like dealing with GSR guys anyway.

This is where I am until I get some shims from "THE club":



Thanks for the help fellas. Couldn't do this without theGSR!

[Steve]

Uhhhh....yeah.... $8 per shim and if they didn't fit then too bad. Z1 isn't a bad option, but I like dealing with GSR guys anyway.

Only $8? That's not bad at all, but Z1 is still better.

Most places are in the $12-15 range for shims, and they still have to be ordered.

.

[Good Times]

Only $8? That's not bad at all, but Z1 is still better.

Most places are in the $12-15 range for shims, and they still have to be ordered.

.

That's good to know Steve. JPM is the local bike shop I use. Really good guys and they give me the best price they can on parts. I like to use them when I can.

[Good Times]

Got my shims in the mail today. Can't tell you how cool the shim club is. Kudos to the club!

My clearances now look like this:



Two more shims on the way via THE club and I should be in good shape. I went ahead and got another full size down for two remaining valves since there is still no clearance with my .001 feeler gauge.

[Good Times]

Got some more shims in today and got them in the motor. Still amazed at how far off these clearances were. I started with a 2.95 in #4 intake with no clearance. I went down to a 2.80 and still no clearance with my .001 feeler gauge. I put a 2.50 in just for kicks and now have .002 in of clearance.

I need one more and then I should be in good shape.

[tkent02]

Got some more shims in today and got them in the motor. Still amazed at how far off these clearances were. I started with a 2.95 in #4 intake with no clearance. I went down to a 2.80 and still no clearance with my .001 feeler gauge. I put a 2.50 in just for kicks and now have .002 in of clearance.

Something isn't right here, is a valve sticking or something?

[Good Times]

Something isn't right here, is a valve sticking or something?

I know, crazy. I checked it 3 times turning the motor over 4 times each time before I checked. Couldn't believe it. Hoping that valve isn't burned.