I'm finally fixing it!!! YEA!!!

[basketcase]

its not exactly stuck so much as probably stripped, just turns and turns without moving, then when it does bite it is done

[MisterCinders]

I have some spares. PM me an address and I can drop the parts into an envelope to you.

[FreshmanJoe]

Valve Clearance

So I figured I would start doing that valve clearance I keep putting off. I removed the valve cover and got to the point were I need to use the feeler gauges to measure my clearance. I just noticed that the smallest feeler gauges go is .04mm and my valves are tighter than that. Do I need to get new gauges that go smaller? How do I know what size shim I need. I'm reading the tutorial from basscliffs website and I have that spreadsheet that's been floating around. I was going to use the spreadsheet thinking it would make it easier but it needs my to plug in a number. What do I do????

[koolaid_kid]

In the spreadsheet put (less than 0.04mm(. Pull each one and measure it with your micrometer or caliper gauge, record those values also. At times you can move some around to get some within tolerances. Otherwise, sounds like shim club time to me.

[MisterCinders]

The minimum clearance is 0.03mm, so if your 0.04mm won't fit you are too tight or MAYBE just within spec. Basically treat <0.04mm as too tight, since more clearance is always better.

If you do shuffle your shims, make sure you don't turn the engine and cams without a shim in place. That can make swaps tricky unless you have a spare shim to use as a placeholder.

[FreshmanJoe]

Valve Clearance

This valve clearance is the biggest pain in the ass I have ever come across on this bike. I've been on my 1st shim for an 1 1/2 hrs. I can't seem to get it out!
I take my shim tool and press it against the cam. Then i SLOWLY push it down. I get it most of the way down (after many tries) and try to get the shim. can't get it with the damn twezers so I break the tension with a razor. Cool I get the shim so all I need to do is grab it. Damn that cam isn't high enough! Try to GENTLY push the tool down a litter bit more. POP, the damn tool slips off and it's time to try again! AHHHHH! Ok, I feel better now. Time to try again. As my old man said, "Nothin to it but to do it."

If only I had a magnet. That would make this much easier

[chuck hahn]

Turn the notch in the bucket so it faces to the easiest side to get at the shim. Pry the bucket down. Use a very small flat tip and go in the notch and lift on the side of the shim and it will pop up. leave the screw driver there and fetch the shim out with some hemos or tweezers.

[chuck hahn]

NO MAGNETS ON SHIMS!!! Any magmetic transfer to a shim will make any fragments or fine shavings stick to them and can potentially wear on a cam lobe after a period of time.

[FreshmanJoe]

So after a bit of practice I got the hang of taking the shims out and now I don't know why I had so much trouble in the first place. So to my question.

My clearances I have measured thus far...

Front (exhaust side)
---------------cyl 1 ----------cyl 2----------- cyl 3------------- cyl 4
clearance at ------- not measured ------ less than 0.04-----less than 0.04
shim -----------------unknown----------------- 2.85------------2.85

Back (carb side)
clearance at -------not measured -------- less than 0.04------less than 0.04
shim --------------------unknown----------- 2.80 ----------------2.85


I'm not good with exel (never used it before, never had to) So I was going to see if I could do the math cause I would like to be able to figure it out without a computer. It gives me a better understanding than just typing in a number and doing what the puter says without knowing why. Although I plan on having my wife help me figure out the spreadsheet when she gets off work. ( She's what I call puter savy)
Sooo the point... I've read the addendum on the valve clearance tutorial and from what I've gathered if your valve clearance is to small you need a smaller shim. With this train of thought I switched cyl 3 exhaust and intake thinking that it would increase the clearance on cyl 3 exhaust. It didn't. After switching the clearance is still less than 0.04 on both valves. So how do I figure out what size I need? Or do I need to shell out the 135 bucks for a shim kit and do it trial and error style? What now??? Will finish measuring and recording and will update in a few when I finish. Thank you all for your help!

[JEEPRUSTY]

The fear of magnetism has me perplexed. I thought you could only magnetize something by passing it through a magnetic field.

So then simply using a magnetic to hold something doe not impart anything signifigant.

[FreshmanJoe]

I dunno, but when I told my buddys in chicago the idea they threatened to line up and bitch slap me one by one till my face was numb if I took a magnet to those shims. So I guess magnets are bad. I just wraped duck tape to the top part of my twezers so it could grip it and whala. Shim comes right out.

[FreshmanJoe]

nevermind... I just realized my .04 and .05 feeler gauge was stuck together. HA
now exhaust #3 is .08 Yea baby!

[FreshmanJoe]

all of my clearances were less than .04 I started getting shims but ran out of time. got to get the wifey from work. guess I get back to it tomarrow and be able to order me some shims!

[7981GS]

nevermind... I just realized my .04 and .05 feeler gauge was stuck together. HA
now exhaust #3 is .08 Yea baby!

They DO enjoy doing that, don't they?

Eric

[FreshmanJoe]

So I need 5-2.75 shims. Is there anyone out there that can help me out? Who do I need to talk to in order to get in on this shim club? I'm willing to trade my current shims which are 3-2.85, 1-2.80,and 1-2.95 shims or buy them outright.