Valve Adjustment

[jblvalk]

All, I know this has been discussed quite frequently, but I wanted to ask a specific question as it relates to my bike.

First some facts.  Bike has 64k on it, and the last time it had a valve adjustment was 37k at the dealership.  At that time, no adjustments were necessary.

Now, when the bike is warm, I hear the valves making noise at idle.  It's not real loud and I couldn't describe it as ticking but just normal valve train noise.  I hear the noise until about 1500 rpm and then it disappears.  I just wonder if what I am hearing at idle through 1500 rpms is abnormal or not, and if it's something you guys hear on your F6's.

Trying to determine if I need to adjust the valves - I have the DIY's for the job and it looks rather simple and I am comfortable getting my hands dirty doing it as I do most of the other maintenance on the bike.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Bighead]

You can hear a bit on all Valks. I would bet your valves don't need a thing maybe a heavier weight oil?

[Valker]

The PAIR valves in the emission system frequently makes a very similar noise. I first checked my valves at 125,000 miles, only 3 of the 12 were slightly out.

[98valk]

I adjust my valves .001 over as stated in the archived post. I emailed Vger yrs ago and he had done about 100 dyno pulls to come up with these #s. it makes a difference. He is a big time engine race builder. He was still doing head work at the time. he had MPG and HP ported heads.


7 on intake and 10 on exhaust

Posted By: Deano <deano97@atlantic.net>
Date: 3/22/2003 at 04:47:52

In Response To: Re: Tune up questions?? (BigBF)


is in fact .001 more than the factory sites in the manual. The premise is that these settings allow for more power and seem to have been confirmed by quite a few people here (who would be considered in the know).

If I remember correctly, and I may not, I believe these settings were initially reported by Vger, and if so, were probably confirmed on a dyno. For you new guys, Vger was the one who was first doing head work on the Valks and I believe was working on trying to devolope improved cams when I last heard much about his escapades.

These numbers were reported and have been used by many folks. Myself included on the five or six that I have done. While someone said that the increased clearance allowed the valve to seat longer and dissipate more heat because of it, I always kinda held that premise suspect. Seems to me that the increased clearance might allow the valves to fully seat when runnign at higher RPMs than the 6 / 9 specs. Who knows?

It seemed to work on mine, so I figured it fell in the catagory of Why ask why?.

Deano

ps I don't know how far the board is archived now, but a search may yeild volumes about this premise.

some more info

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=42900.0

[iliveforcurves]

According to the Kawasaki Ninja 250 mavens at ninja250.org, looser valve clearances will make the engine idle smoother and give an increase in low and midrange power.  It will also allow the valves to transmit more heat to the valve seats because they are in contact longer.
Tighter clearances will give more power in the upper rpm range at the cost of rougher idle and less power at lower rpms, because tighter clearances cause more valve overlap.
This info is based on the Ninja 250 engine which makes about 112 horsepower per liter and has a torque peak around 8200 rpm and peak hp at 12000 rpm.  These principles will probably work on a Valkyrie even though it has a redline at half of the Ninja 250's.
I like pointing out to people that each cylinder of the Valk has more displacement than both of the Ninja 250 cylinders combined, and the Valk has SIX OF THEM! 

[jblvalk]

Thanks guys.  Agree that all Valks are not exactly quiet.  Have my feeler guages in hand still on the fence as to whether or not to pull the covers and go through the exercise.  I tend to agree with Bighead and that there probably is no need for any adjustment, but I may check them to be on the safe side...not sure I want to guess incorrectly and then have some heavy duty engine damage as a result.

[Paladin528]

Valve overlap is determined by the Cam not the clearance.  The clearance is there to allow for expansion due to heat.  Taking thermal expansion out of the equation then the clearance would be Zero.  Excessive clearance will cause damage to the cam because the rocker will "bounce" on the cam surface and negate the oil layer that forms between the rocker and the cam surface.

For positive valve closure one needs to look at Ducati and the Desmodromic Valving on their engines.  The cam forces the valve both open and closed and does not rely on a spring. 

Changing the valve clearance beyond the specification would not result in an increase in base horsepower but "MAY" reduce valve float at high RPMs except you would need to be running at 9k-18k rpm to notice.  These things dont even got close to that.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Thanks guys.  Agree that all Valks are not exactly quiet.  Have my feeler guages in hand still on the fence as to whether or not to pull the covers and go through the exercise.  I tend to agree with Bighead and that there probably is no need for any adjustment, but I may check them to be on the safe side...not sure I want to guess incorrectly and then have some heavy duty engine damage as a result.

I adjusted the valves on my standard at about 30k. I could hear a couple clicking. Most didn't need anything but a couple were slightly off. It's a very easy job, not like having to put shims in.

[BigBod]

I say check them. Peace of mind then. You will know for certain they are done.

[jblvalk]

Finished the job yesterday.  Consistent with what most people's experience, I only had two that I needed to tweak.  #3 and #4 intakes were a little tight.  Re-set them and happy to report there is no added ticking through 1500 RPM like I experienced before!

Took my time on it and admit I was a little intimidated at first but got the hang of getting the "feel" for this job.  In the end, it was pretty easy to do as everyone knows.  Very glad I did it.

The trickiest thing I found was getting the damn valve covers back on and to make sure the gasket was seated properly too.  Ideally I would have liked to just get a new gasket but most people it seems use the same one.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Finished the job yesterday.  Consistent with what most people's experience, I only had two that I needed to tweak.  #3 and #4 intakes were a little tight.  Re-set them and happy to report there is no added ticking through 1500 RPM like I experienced before!

Took my time on it and admit I was a little intimidated at first but got the hang of getting the "feel" for this job.  In the end, it was pretty easy to do as everyone knows.  Very glad I did it.

The trickiest thing I found was getting the damn valve covers back on and to make sure the gasket was seated properly too.  Ideally I would have liked to just get a new gasket but most people it seems use the same one.

Yeah it's easy especially compared to some bikes. I use the old gasket with no problems.