Going to Adjust Valves, What Will I Need?

[Guest]

I'm going to be adjusting my valves on my '80 GS 550L. Before starting in on it, I want to order everything I will need to complete the job (shims, gaskets, etc..). This is the first time adjusting valves for me, so I'm not sure what all I'll need. Can anyone give me a list of what I should order?

Appreciate the help. I want to get my GS running as good as possible as it will be my daily driver for the summer/fall months here in northern Colorado.

[Nessism]

Do a search on "basscliff", go to his website, and find the instructional information he has there. It will lead you through the process.

[DimitriT]

If the gasket is really old you will need a rubber mallet to get the valve cover loose. I had to use a sharp putty knife to loosen it. The old gasket may break apart and leave pieces stuck to both the valve cover and the head. You then need to carefully scrape off the pieces without damaging the surfaces. Nasty job.

You will need a tappet compressor tool, a set of metric feeler gauges (the thinnest should go to 0.03 mm which is paper thin), a pair of long tweezers and a small flat screwdriver. The screwdriver is use to lift the shim out of the bucket and the tweezers are use to pull the shim out. Also get youself a nice notepad to record the shim sizes and clearance measurements. Some paper towels are good to have. Some nitrile rubber gloves will keep you hands from getting oily. You will ofcourse need a new gasket. If you rub it with some assembly lube it may come apart easier and even be reusable a few times.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Colorado CJ,

Until you have measured your clearances and inspected the existing shims (to know what size you have) you won't really know what size shims to order, unless you want to order a whole kit (~$100) that has 2 of each (you'll probably never use half of them). You'll need a breather gasket, valve cover gasket, maybe an ignition cover gasket, tappet tool, metric feeler gauge, and shims. Send an email to Mr. Steve and request a copy of his valve adjustment spreadsheet. It's a handy thing to have.

Be sure to check your manual (there's a 550 manual on my site) but feel free to reference the valve adjustment pictorial guide that Mr. Nessism mentioned on my little BikeCliff website. Let us know if you have questions.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Colorado CJ]

Appreciate the help guys. I was afraid of having to order shims AFTER taking the engine apart, but I don't want to spend $100.00 either. I guess I'll go ahead and do it as I don't know what the P.O. did when he had it (don't know if the valve shims are in spec or not).

I guess I'll sandblast/bondo and paint the tank while the bike is apart. That will make me feel a little better about having the bike down while waiting on shims to arrive 8-[

[Steve]

Shims shouldn't take that long to get there, but before you order them, look carefully at what you have, as you can sometimes shuffle them around to get what you need. As an example, I helped a forum member with a valve adjustment last year. All eight valves were out of spec, but, with the different shim sizes that happened to be in there, we shuffled shims around and he only needed to order two shims. \\/

Something else you can do while you are waiting is to send me an e-mail, as BassCliff mentioned, requesting a copy of my spreadsheet. It's not hard to use, and helps you do the math on figuring out what shims you need, then keeps the record for the next adjustment, so you will already know what's in there. 8-[

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