valve shims

[dkfrizzell]

Are all valve shims for Suzuki's the same? I have a 78 550 that I have never checked but am sure it needs shimming. I also have a friend (who doesn't live near me) that has a bunch of shims for his newer bike (2003) that he is willing to send me, but not sure if they are the same or not.

Thanks,
Dave

[Steve]

It might depend on what bike he has.

I looked at a few models on Bike Bandit, and all of the ones I saw that had shims for adjustment used the small shims under the buckets. It appeared that the Intruder has hydraulic adjusters, so no shims there.


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[bwringer]

AFAIK, the only current model still using the same 29.5mm diameter shims is the GS500.

All the 8 valve 4 cylinder (and 4 valve 2 cylinder) GS models used the same shims.

Two good sources for shims at about $5 each:

http://crc2onlinecatalog.com

http://z1enterprises.com

[bcrowther]

Good Info

That is some good info. I just checked my valves and they were all within specifications but I was wondering where I would get new ones if I had one out.

[dkfrizzell]

ya.. looks like they are completly different. oh well, guess I have to get a bunch just like everyone else.

[Steve]

Rather than stock up on a bunch of shims that you might not need, just record the numbers on your shims the next time you adjust the valves. By moving them around, you might only need one or two.

Of course, that assumes that you can wait a few days while adjusting the valves to either wait for a mail order or go to the shop and swap a couple of shims.


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[bwringer]

I always try to plan ahead by keeping track of the valve clearances and the existing shims, and I usually buy one or two extra shims in the sizes I might need in the near future.

Clearances tend to decrease, and exhaust valves tend to decrease a bit faster than intakes.

After a few years of this, I've got a nice collection of shims, and rarely have to buy more. Of course, CRC2 is only about 20 minutes away from my home or office, so it's not a huge hardship.