[RockyTFS]

I decided to do the valve check/adjustment myself after reading posts about how easy it is. Is it premature at only 400 miles?



(I haven't adjusted valve clearances for a very long time, ever since I tried it on my 1976 Land Cruiser and found out the hard way that Toyota twinned exhaust and intake instead of alternating them like the old Chevy inline 6

That little detail cost me $1500!

)



Somehow I don't think I'll make the same mistake on the T-dub....now let's see, which one is the exhaust?

Rocky

 

[qwerty]

Yamaha calls for a valve clearance check at 600 miles. Won't hurt to do it sooner. Tdub needed some adjusting at 770, then again at 3000, 6000, 18000, 30,000, and 42,000. I tend to set valves at the loose end of the tolerance, because with valve seat wear they tend to tighten up. The exhaust seems to tighten up more than the intake, but when I need to adjust the exhaust I go ahead and do the intake, too. I still check them every 3000, though.

 

[RockyTFS]

Yamaha calls for a valve clearance check at 600 miles. Won't hurt to do it sooner.

Forgot to mention that the reason I want to do it now is that I still can't ride here at home due to snow and I'm going south again (probably to Arizona this time) for some camping and riding and I don't want to do this check while on a road trip. By the time I get back I hope to have 1,000 miles on her.

I'll leave 'em alone if they're no tighter than middle of the range.



Thanks,



Rocky

 

[qwerty]

Sounds like a plan. better to check early than late.

 

[RockyTFS]

Sounds like a plan. better to check early than late.

Well, guess what....I just finished adjusting them and the intake was at .007 and the exhaust at .008! I doubt if that would hurt anything, but I did wonder if there was a tad much valve train noise. I set them at .003 and .005....probably OK now until 3,000. Come to think of it and since it's so easy to just check them, maybe I'll check again at 2,000...2,000 miles is a lot of hours in the dirt, 98% of my riding.



BTW, I was surprised just how much torque 10 ft.lbs felt like! I held the valve stem with your cheapy square drive deck screw method, tightened the lock nut as much as I could with a 4 inch long 10mm box end, then put my 1/4 drive torque wrench at 120 inch/lbs on it, and got almost another 1/4 turn before clicking out. There was no movement of the stem during final torque without the square drive. I checked again: right at .003 and .005. I now see how easy it would be for a guy who eschews torque wrenches to get that nut too loose and 2,000 miles later it unscrews!!

Got my Jimbo shield and the storage tubes on....I'm going for a ride! even if it is only 40....



Rocky



P.S. Perhaps some members think Querty's a bit anal, but in a pilot's book, anal is good! Anal pilots usually live a lot longer than normal "kick the tires, light the fires" types and their machines last a lot longer too without huge unexpected maintenance bills!!!

Sh**, it only took me 30 years to learn that!

 

[qwerty]

I'm anal. Tdub has >46000. Coincidence? I think not.



My greatest joy in life is going remote, far-away places, alone. Dualsport motorcycle and sailboat are my preferred means of transportation. A properly prepared motorcycle or boat will get you home. Either riding or sailing, there are times when anal = life and laziness, ignorance, or stupidity = death.

 

[Woofhound]

I was having noise issues with my 09 and took it to the dealer with 400 miles on it, dealer told me i had a tight valve. he didn't fix the noise, but did a valve adjust. now that my warantee is up, i bought a manual cam chain adjuster for it. hope that fixes it. woof