Grinding Valve Shims - Anyone tried it?

[Mobetter]

You could always grind your cams.
The stock motors usually come with shims in the 2.75 range.
As the valves wear into the seats over time, you need thinner
shims to maintan the same clearance which leaves most people
with thick shims that they no longer need.
Yank the cams out and grind the underneath fat part of the lobe
to get you back to square one so you can use your original shims.

It also has the added bonus of giving you net higher profile cams,
which is a good thing, Old tuners trick.

It works, I've done it myself.
Just take lots of measurements along the way, you don't want to overshoot.

God's Peace
Mo

[bwringer]

You could always grind your cams.
The stock motors usually come with shims in the 2.75 range.
As the valves wear into the seats over time, you need thinner
shims to maintan the same clearance which leaves most people
with thick shims that they no longer need.
Yank the cams out and grind the underneath fat part of the lobe
to get you back to square one so you can use your original shims.

It also has the added bonus of giving you net higher profile cams,
which is a good thing, Old tuners trick.

It works, I've done it myself.
Just take lots of measurements along the way, you don't want to overshoot.

God's Peace
Mo

Sure, I'll just fire up my trusty Sears camshaft grinding machine. There's one in every household!

But if you're having cam work done anyway, it does make sense. I've got a ton of 2.70 and larger shims that will never be used.

Still seems easiest to just order up the correct shim (unless you order through the dealer morons), but if I was in a real pinch, the wet sanding on glass trick might work.

[earlfor]

I was about to suggest you give Rob a call. LOL If I ever get to that neighborhood, I will make it a point to stop in and buy him lunch. He's helped me out a lot.

Earl

[QUOTE=bwringer]
Finally (this took a few days), I admitted defeat in my quixotic quest and zipped down to Cycle Recycle II over lunch hour. $5 each for all the shims I needed.

[duaneage]

Guys sell sets of shims from parted out bikes on eBay for around 20.00. Not a bad deal if you need a few that are in the pile. You could always swap with other GSR members

[Jon78gs1000]

I know what you mean about the kids.
In the dealership I go to there is only 1 guy that you want to talk to.
When I call I only ask for him, he will take the time to look up parts for my old bike as if it were a new one. If he can't find them he will hunt for them! Once the kids are trained approx 3 years if they will stay (and loose the attitude)you can start to talk to them....occasionally :-D

[vtcycle]

shims

8-[
Hey Reno,
I thought shims were sold in kits at denniskirk.com ?

Seems to me $15 a shim is excessive, but.....

Here the local honda/suzuki/yamaha/kawasaki/polaris etc shops were all bought out and put under one roof. Guess what? all the prices suddenly went up!

Nooo!!!

Last time I went in (over an hour away) the kid behind the counter said,
"What kinda of bike is a CB750?!!!" Haven't been back there in a while.
peace,
michel

[renobruce]

8-[
Hey Reno,
I thought shims were sold in kits at denniskirk.com ?

michel

Free is better! I guess I'm lucky...

[minimag79]

grinding shims

If you can do it for free as I did (buddy at a machine shop did them for me) they can turn out pretty well. My buddy worked at an aircraft shop, which has a CNC grinder and a magnetic chuck. You NEED to be absolutely certain that they can de-magnetize the shims after the grinding operation though. You can also do it yourself by running the shim through a spiral of wire with 110vac going through it. The A/C current will take away any magnetizing done, just MAKE SURE that you are not wearing any sort of watch while doing this, as it will ruin it. I learned the hard way (110 dollar citizen turns to a paperweight). arg.

Shaun