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How important to check valve clearances ?

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    How important to check valve clearances ?

    Background:
    I recently purchased a '93 GSX1100G with 2,500 miles from the original owner.
    I was told he never had the valve clearances checked due to his busy schedule.

    My question:
    I have it on good authority that it is important that I have them checked soon.
    I would like to get other opinions. How important is this ?
    I shudder when I think about leaving the bike in the shop and what damage might occur. On the other hand, I don't want the engine damaged by my neglect. Last time I visited (a different) shop, my other bike was returned to me with a scratch on the tank, chip on the fender, and small gouge in the timing cover.
    This bike is mint and I hope to avoid a similar situation.
    I plan to use a different shop this time.

    This is not something I am able to accomplish myself, so I will have to pay to have it done.

    #2
    It's better to hear the valves instead of smelling them.

    You can do it. Does your bike use shims?
    1983 GS 1100E w/ 1230 kit, .340 lift Web Cams, Ape heavy duty valve springs, 83 1100 head with 1.5mm oversized SS intake valves, 1150 crank, Vance and Hines 1150 SuperHub, Star Racing high volume oil pump gears, 36mm carebs Dynojet stage 3 jet kit, Posplayr's SSPB, Progressive rear shocks and fork springs, Dyna 2000, Dynatek green coils and Vance & Hines 4-1 exhaust.
    1985 GS1150ES stock with 85 Red E bodywork.

    Comment


      #3
      Hi Mr. Florida Guy,

      I don't know what the maintenance schedule is for your bike. But on mine, the valve checks should occur every 4000 miles or so. Valve checks are not hard, but they must be done meticulously. The check itself doesn't take long at all. It's the disassembly and reassembly that takes the time. And valve checks are very important to the health of your motor. Running too tight will burn valves.

      I'm pretty sure you've got the lock nut adjustments on the GSX1100G (you are a lucky duck to have that bike!) and you can get an idea of what it takes by looking at the 16-valve adjustment guide on my website (graciously provided by Mr. basic).

      I've heard many horror stories of bike shops mangling up our classic bikes. That's why I'm learning all of this stuff as quickly as possible. Good luck to you.

      Thank you for your indulgence,

      BassCliff

      Comment


        #4
        You DEFINITELY need to have the valve clearance checked. The thing about it is that you can't hear a TIGHT valve like you can a loose one! Bite the bullet & either buy a manual & learn to do it yourself, or take the chance on a shop. If you take it to a shop you need to explain to them your past experience with damage to your bike & make sure they know that if your bike is damaged when you pick it up that they will need to make it right. Ray.

        Comment


          #5
          Definately get them done.Definately find another shop.Give the dealers a miss and find "old mate"-the one man band-who loves older bikes.You can tell them by the smile when they first see your bike.Not the sarcastic smile of (sadly) many dealers now,but the smile of appreciation and anticipation.Cheers,Simon.
          http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...esMapSimon.jpg

          '79 GS1000S my daily ride in Aus

          '82 (x2) GS650ET in the shed

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by simon kuether View Post
            find "old mate"-the one man band-who loves older bikes.You can tell them by the smile when they first see your bike.Not the sarcastic smile of (sadly) many dealers now,but the smile of appreciation and anticipation.Cheers,Simon.
            what a cool tip !
            GS850GT

            Comment


              #7
              May I be so bold as to ask what you paid for this most excellent machine. If you don't want to publicly state this a PM would be fine. Or you can just tell me to go screw myself. I would probably buy one if I could find one with a price that is acceptable to me.

              And as the others have stated, you definitely are due to have the valves adjusted. These use a rocker and adjustment screw. Not that hard to do. Pick up a manual and have a go. The trickiest part is to get the locknuts on the adjuster screws tight enough to stay while at the same time keeping the proper clearance without over tightening.
              Last edited by Guest; 07-25-2008, 07:28 AM.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by chiphead View Post
                May I be so bold as to ask what you paid for this most excellent machine. If you don't want to publicly state this a PM would be fine. Or you can just tell me to go screw myself. I would probably buy one if I could find one with a price that is acceptable to me.
                Hey chiphead - I had the same bike I bought new as a leftover in '94 (long gone) and really wanted to get another one at this time as I really liked almost everything about the bike.
                I looked for about 6 months before finding this '93. I wanted a mint, low mileage example, preferably still with the original owner.
                I found this bike over on the GSX site at Yahoo! The original owner decided to sell after all this time as he needed the money to invest in his business.
                I paid $2,500 for the bike, then paid $595 to have it shipped to me in Florida.
                If you are really interested in finding one, there are 2 that were just listed for sale - one with 6k miles, the other with 15k. This bike was produced from '91-'93 only, and are virtually clones of each other. I believe the '91s came in 4 colors, but the '92-'93 were only available in maroon or black.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Not to suggest that you shouldn't adjust your valves, because you should. However, the risk of not doing it is not that great. Eventually what will happen is that the bike will become harder and harder to start and eventually will not start. Obviously you want a good running engine and as previously stated, "a somewhat loose valve is a happy valve". You won't destroy your engine if you don't do it though. It just won't really run well and eventually won't run at all.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by drhach View Post
                    You won't destroy your engine if you don't do it though. It just won't really run well and eventually won't run at all.
                    Tight valves, particularly the exhaust valves, can burn because they will never close which is critical to their cooling. Very bad. That said, their is minimal risk with an engine that only has 2500 miles on it.
                    Last edited by Nessism; 07-25-2008, 05:54 PM.
                    Ed

                    To measure is to know.

                    Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                    Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                    Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                    KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Florida Guy View Post
                      Hey chiphead - I had the same bike I bought new as a leftover in '94 (long gone) and really wanted to get another one at this time as I really liked almost everything about the bike.
                      I looked for about 6 months before finding this '93. I wanted a mint, low mileage example, preferably still with the original owner.
                      I found this bike over on the GSX site at Yahoo! The original owner decided to sell after all this time as he needed the money to invest in his business.
                      I paid $2,500 for the bike, then paid $595 to have it shipped to me in Florida.
                      If you are really interested in finding one, there are 2 that were just listed for sale - one with 6k miles, the other with 15k. This bike was produced from '91-'93 only, and are virtually clones of each other. I believe the '91s came in 4 colors, but the '92-'93 were only available in maroon or black.
                      Thanks Florida. I'm a member of the GSX forums on Yahoo and I'll check it out. Been a bit since I've passed through there. You got yourself one heck of a sweet machine. Enjoy the ride.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        That all being said, I just got a bike and did a valve adjustment. The bike was the hardest cold start ever. 1min of cranking to get it started. It was horrible. Most of the valves were .1 to .15 too tight. Who knows how long that has gone on for. After the adjustment, it started on one crank! Vroom Vroom!

                        Little effort, huge reward!

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