GS 1000 valve adjustment

[Guest]

So far I've tried to measure each exhaust tappet and my thinnest feeler is .04mm and doesn't fit. Can anyone link me to a smaller set of gauges? Figured Z1 would carry them but smallest they go is .002". Or is my best course of action to just remove the shim and replace it with a smaller shim? If .04mm isn't fitting, would I subtract a few thousandths for the new shim? The chart in the manual is confusing me.

[cowboyup3371]

Going one size down (.05mm) should give you enough room to start.

Have you emailed Steve (name and username) for his valve adjustment spreadsheet? If not, look up his profile here and send him an email; it will help immensely

[Throttlejock]

I believe it was posted in my welcome thread. I'll check it out. Best place to get new shims? I heard there was an exchange program but haven't got any details. And of course my idiot self turned the motor over after I pulled the chain tensioner, and the cam chain jumped a couple times, so now I have that to deal with as well. Learning sucks when you do everything the hard way.

[cowboyup3371]

The GS Shim Club is your friend if you would like to save the time and hassle of buying stuff - go to http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...alve-Shim-Club and read up on it.

If you really want to buy then Z1 sells some.

[geol]

I posted this a couple days ago in the tips and tricks forum. Keep in mind
that I do thicknesses in millimeters and not inches. The range your valve
clearances can be set is .03mm to .08mm. I addressed the feeler gauge
issue in this post................

Bought a Motion Pro Suzuki valve adjustment tool and a shim kit. First valve
adjust on the project bike (1980 GS1000L). I had checked clearances with
my trusty old set of Craftsman feeler gauges. Clearances on all valves were
too skinny to allow my .051mm blade under the cam lobe on all valves. That
is the thinnest blade on my set and is fine for doing Z1 or KZ900/1000 valve
clearances where the smallest clearance is .051mm.

Sorry, I do this in metric...

Tip 1.
Anyway, had to buy a BIKEMASTER brand set of feeler gauges from eBay as
one of their sets has .03mm and .04mm blades... the two blades are like
paper and care must be taken so as to not bend and ruin them when in
use.

Tip 2.
The K&L 29.5mm shim kit has two each of a variety of shims. The kit comes
in a nifty box with shim sizes marked (although they are marked incorrectly) and
includes two each of the following sizes:
2.30 2.40 2.50 2.55 2.60 2.70 2.80 2.85 2.90 3.00

Not sure if you have ever adjusted clearances using shims but the 2.80, 2.85,
2.90 and 3.00 are unlikely to be used. Most factory fitted shims are 2.50 to
2.70 on shim over bucket valve trains. Since you will be using SMALLER sizes
to get the necessary clearances as the valve seats wear in, you will be better
off buying some 2.40 to 2.70 shims... My valves had likely never been clearanced
and were all in the 2.80 to 2.65 range so I needed and will need to buy additional
2.55 and 2.60 shims. I couldn't swap around and get all clearances within
spec and won't be able to until I get a 2.60 in my fingers.

Tip 3. After you change a shim, roll the engine over so the cam lobe depresses
the shim you just changed out. It will squish out the oil between the bucket and
shim and make you clearance check meaningful. If you check after just tossing
the shim in the bucket. it will show a lot less clearance with the oil under the shim.

Tip 4. Record current clearances after checking and rechecking and what shim you
have in. This will save you time next time you do this job.

Hope this helps someone...

[phydeauxmutt]

... Clearances on all valves were
too skinny to allow my .051mm blade under the cam lobe on all valves. That
is the thinnest blade on my set and is fine for doing Z1 or KZ900/1000 valve
clearances where the smallest clearance is .051mm.

Sorry, I do this in metric...

...

If you do this in METRIC, where did you find a 0.051mm feeler gauge?

I'll bet you ANYTHING that it's really a 0.002 INCH feeler with the metric APPROXIMATIONS printed on it, too.

A true metric feeler gauge set will go up in somewhat round numbers, like 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05mm, none of them will end with a third digit, let alone a digit that ends in an oddball number.

If you are going to apologize about the fact that you only deal in metric, at least do yourself the decency to actually use metric.

[geol]

It is a Craftsman gauge I have used for about 30 years. It has both the SAE and metric. I bought it long before metric became common here in the States. I bought a Bikemaster set of feeler gauges for the GS1000 as it goes down to .03mm (it doesn't have SAE numbers).

[phydeauxmutt]

If it has SAE and metric, it's probably made to SAE and has metric approximations.

Look at the measurements, the SAE numbers go up in nice increments like 0.0015", 0.002", 0.025", 0.003", 0.004" and so on. That shows that it's made to SAE specs.

So much for your "only do[ing] this in metric".

[Throttlejock]

My motion pro tool is on the way. Unfortunately I need to rebuild my cam chain tensioner and reset the cam timing before I can do the valve adjustment now. The more I think about, the more I'm thinking this thing has probably only had one valve adjustment done in its 33k miles.