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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
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Old Git Racing |
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Old Git Racing World Chat Champion
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Riejufixing |
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Riejufixing World Chat Champion
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Posted: 00:30 - 11 Oct 2018 Post subject: Re: Valve clearances. |
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Kawasaki Jimbo wrote: | I tend to do my own servicing these days but apart from oil and spark plug changes the engine block and cylinder head are a bit of a mystery to me. Some time ago a bike shop I trust said they don't look at valve clearances unless there are indications. My two bikes start and run fine but still I wonder if damage is occurring. Should I worry? |
I wouldn't worry, but I'd check them. Find out how to position the engine correctly in its cycle, get the lid off, measure the clearances, fix if need be, it's not difficult, but you may have to get other bits off for access.
If they're slack, probably the only thing you'll notice is a light tickety-tickety-tickety top end noise.
If they're too tight, performance will drop off, soon you'll get overheating, and in extreme cases the fuel in your carbs will boil, and your exhausts will be seen glowing cherry-red when it gets dark after you've struggled on all day long to go 150 hard miles wondering what the hell's wrong with the poxy thing and stopping to piddle about with it and let it cool down every few miles and you're still only halfway home, and you'll suddenly remember that the bloke at the Wheel & Wings Truro mentioned "the tappets do themselves up" but you'd forgotten and THAT is why the thing's red-hot and you will adjust the things in the morning after kipping all night in a cold derelict house on rusty bunk-beds with your mum and sisters who'd been following you in a car all the way and blocking their ears up at the language and when you finally get home next day you'll take it apart and look at the valves and they will look as though a mouse has nibbled a deep cheese-segment-shaped notch out of the outside of the dratted things and you'll wonder how the hell it worked at all and you will never forget about it. Grrr! |
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A100man |
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A100man World Chat Champion
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Posted: 11:32 - 11 Oct 2018 Post subject: Re: Valve clearances. |
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Riejufixing wrote: |
If they're too tight, performance will drop off, soon you'll get overheating, and in extreme cases the fuel in your carbs will boil, and your exhausts will be seen glowing cherry-red when it gets dark after you've struggled on all day long to go 150 hard miles wondering what the hell's wrong with the poxy thing and stopping to piddle about with it and let it cool down every few miles and you're still only halfway home, and you'll suddenly remember that the bloke at the Wheel & Wings Truro mentioned "the tappets do themselves up" but you'd forgotten and THAT is why the thing's red-hot and you will adjust the things in the morning after kipping all night in a cold derelict house on rusty bunk-beds with your mum and sisters who'd been following you in a car all the way and blocking their ears up at the language and when you finally get home next day you'll take it apart and look at the valves and they will look as though a mouse has nibbled a deep cheese-segment-shaped notch out of the outside of the dratted things and you'll wonder how the hell it worked at all and you will never forget about it. Grrr! |
Painting pictures with words.. glad you're almost over it now though. ____________________ Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750
Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600 |
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
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Posted: 12:27 - 11 Oct 2018 Post subject: Re: Valve clearances. |
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DrSnoosnoo |
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DrSnoosnoo World Chat Champion
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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BusterGonads |
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BusterGonads Trackday Trickster
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BusterGonads |
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BusterGonads Trackday Trickster
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Riejufixing |
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Riejufixing World Chat Champion
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Posted: 15:13 - 11 Oct 2018 Post subject: Re: Valve clearances. |
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BusterGonads wrote: | Riejufixing wrote: |
If they're too tight, performance will drop off, soon you'll get overheating, and in extreme cases the fuel in your carbs will boil, and your exhausts will be seen glowing cherry-red when it gets dark after you've struggled on all day long to go 150 hard miles wondering what the hell's wrong with the poxy thing and stopping to piddle about with it and let it cool down every few miles and you're still only halfway home, and you'll suddenly remember that the bloke at the Wheel & Wings Truro mentioned "the tappets do themselves up" but you'd forgotten and THAT is why the thing's red-hot and you will adjust the things in the morning after kipping all night in a cold derelict house on rusty bunk-beds with your mum and sisters who'd been following you in a car all the way and blocking their ears up at the language and when you finally get home next day you'll take it apart and look at the valves and they will look as though a mouse has nibbled a deep cheese-segment-shaped notch out of the outside of the dratted things and you'll wonder how the hell it worked at all and you will never forget about it. Grrr! |
Happened to me that back in 1972/3 when I'd stupidly been pissing about with the carb needle on my BSA A10. Weakened it to save petrol and burned a valve. Half way up the A1 between London and Newcastle the thing had a red hot pipe and terrible performance. Since it had one of those bomb shaped side cars on with my girl friend in and all our worldly goods I was in REAL trouble. Did I mention it was the middle of the night? That's how we noticed the red hot pipe. What a trauma that was. This is why my advice to young lads is don't meddle with what you don't understand. Nearly all my 1970s break downs were caused by my own stupid meddling.
Like you say - a nasty slice of cake shaped piece missing from the valve when I took he head off. Fortunately valve seats were recoverable with some grinding paste - no re-cutting needed. |
You too, huh? My first "breakdown" of the day was after about 15 miles, up on Davidstow moor. Oakhill, near Shepton Mallet, was reached after dozens and dozens of stops in about 10 hours. I'd even resorted to cutting up old tins from the hedge to make heat shields for the carbs. That was an outfit too, with a huge double-adult sidecar with another smaller body inside it. Anyway. |
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Enduro Numpty |
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Enduro Numpty Could Be A Chat Bot
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BusterGonads |
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BusterGonads Trackday Trickster
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Posted: 18:19 - 11 Oct 2018 Post subject: Re: Valve clearances. |
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Riejufixing wrote: |
You too, huh? My first "breakdown" of the day was after about 15 miles, up on Davidstow moor. Oakhill, near Shepton Mallet, was reached after dozens and dozens of stops in about 10 hours. I'd even resorted to cutting up old tins from the hedge to make heat shields for the carbs. That was an outfit too, with a huge double-adult sidecar with another smaller body inside it. Anyway. |
Ha ha ha - happy days eh? The breakdowns were legion. I was once reduced to scratting about in a lay by in the dark looking for discarded match sticks so I could stuff them into the magneto cam screw holes after the securing screws had worked loose and disappeared on the A1. The A10 magneto had a stationary cam secured by two small bolts and the contact breaker rotated around inside it. I found a couple of small wood screws in the back of the sidecar by groping in the dark and realised that if I could stuff some match sticks in the holes, I could get these little screws to hold the thing on in some semblance of timing. It was well off, but I did get it home, popping and banging, but still making some power to get along.
I once had a big double adult sidecar as well, but I got rid of it for one of those more modern bomb shaped ones. It was still rubbish, but it looked a bit cooler. |
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ThatDippyTwat |
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
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Pigeon |
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Pigeon World Chat Champion
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rhys99 |
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rhys99 Scooby Slapper
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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
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Fizzer Thou |
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Fizzer Thou World Chat Champion
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Fizzer Thou |
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Fizzer Thou World Chat Champion
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Posted: 10:08 - 12 Oct 2018 Post subject: |
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I have heard on a number of occasions that bike shops have charged multiples of £100 to check valve clearances and not even bothering to remove the cam cover...yet have furnished the customer with a printout of the supposed measurements.Not the done thing but reading this post I would not put it past some places making a quick buck and charging for work not actually done
In the old days of threaded adjusters (still used on my KTM enduro) it was relatively easy to check and adjust.Nowadays,with shim under bucket,this involves removing the cam(s) so as to access the shims.As this needs to be done with the engine cold and the bike has not long been dropped off for this service,accurate measurement of the clearances,if they were to be checked,would not always be possible.
The first bike that I owned (and still own) that has shims is the Exup1000.This engine has the shims under the inverted bucket and so,with the closeness of the frame,is not that easy.Just to measure the clearances is not that easy.But once all twenty were measured,I then had to pull the cams so as to check the size of the shims installed.Take into account that a shop has a fixed time for such jobs and it can be seen why corners are cut.
But once it was all sorted and eleven of the twenty were changed,the engine ran much better.The main problem was realigning the crankshaft to the cams,having to look through a small hole in the crankcase to check the markings.Then getting the cams bolted back down accurately without being even one tooth out.
When I rebuilt the FJ1200 I found it easier to pull both cams as fourteen of the sixteen shims needed changing.Like the FJR1300 it is a slow reving engine,but the service intervals are a lot more frequent compared to the Exup or the R1.
Having a clear worktop,a micrometer and a magnet are the best way to start the job.Do not forget to make a note of the shims fitted so that you know where to start from the next time around
https://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w384/Rhencullen5/FJ1200/20160425_154154_zpscxz7veoy.jpg~original ____________________ Just talk bikes.What else is there?
Always have a 'Plan B'
Last edited by Fizzer Thou on 12:39 - 15 Oct 2018; edited 1 time in total |
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doggone |
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doggone World Chat Champion
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Tdibs |
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Tdibs Traffic Copper
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BusterGonads |
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BusterGonads Trackday Trickster
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BusterGonads |
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BusterGonads Trackday Trickster
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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
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bikenut |
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bikenut World Chat Champion
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Posted: 13:49 - 12 Oct 2018 Post subject: clearance |
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The bikes maker quotes service intervals for a reason.
Has your bike got haudraulic cam followers or auto adjust in the system, valve working clearance wise, the slang being tappet clearance or tappets ( see FORD ) .
Your name suggests its a kawasaki, see cmsnl for the exploded views whioch will tell you if its bucket shims under the bucket, or, ala suzi gizzer, or screws/nuts...etc.....and go from there.
If you have a tight clearance then you run the very real risk of burning, a costly mistake, or a slack clearance you will hear, again a relatively costly mistake.
You can change the oil and filter as well as plugs, so do some research and see whats involved before you start taking the bike/engine apart.......
Some bikes are dead easy, others more difficult and some very difficult indeed being very involved needing many special tools and procedures......
Do the research first. ____________________ nuts about bikes |
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Fizzer Thou |
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Fizzer Thou World Chat Champion
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Posted: 10:31 - 13 Oct 2018 Post subject: |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 5 years, 197 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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