Joined
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701 Posts
Well, I knew it was bound to happen: previous owner (and potentially a few owners before him) never adjusted the valves on my bike. I did it immediately when I got it, and noted that the adjusting screw and top of the valve was worn at an angle to complement each other. I adjusted as best I could to let it even out a bit, then did it again 500 miles later with much better results.
The damage done by the previous owner was already set in stone, though: the adjusting screw mushroomed a bit, and today on my way back from work, it let loose and demolished everything up to the threads on the intake valve adjusting screw, also smashing the valve collets up a bit. I was hoping to get the rest of the season out of it, but no such luck!
boats.net, here I come, order and express shipping in hand..
Anyone have any suggestions on additional items I should get into while I'm doing this? I'm considering just doing a teardown tonight to see what else: cam chain/sprockets, cam chain guide, etc. The bike is a '97, is there anything I'm likely to break while doing this, so I can just go ahead and order it up front?
I'm thinking I'll also look into a machinist to do a valve grind and let them do the disassembly/reassembly job on the valves, as well as seats/seals, etc.
The damage done by the previous owner was already set in stone, though: the adjusting screw mushroomed a bit, and today on my way back from work, it let loose and demolished everything up to the threads on the intake valve adjusting screw, also smashing the valve collets up a bit. I was hoping to get the rest of the season out of it, but no such luck!

boats.net, here I come, order and express shipping in hand..
Anyone have any suggestions on additional items I should get into while I'm doing this? I'm considering just doing a teardown tonight to see what else: cam chain/sprockets, cam chain guide, etc. The bike is a '97, is there anything I'm likely to break while doing this, so I can just go ahead and order it up front?
I'm thinking I'll also look into a machinist to do a valve grind and let them do the disassembly/reassembly job on the valves, as well as seats/seals, etc.