Which year did shim adjustments quit

[Brendan W]

I have a Yamaha NOS shim here somewhere which is also 29mm.

[Wingsconsin]

One thing I loved about my '96 Honda Goldwing GL1500 -- Hydraulic lifters - No adjustments in 161,000 miles

Now the GL1800 I have is shim under bucket - but check every 32K miles - so far only 2 changes in 70K

The GS850GL is now settled in - I suspect my next check will reveal no changes .

[ddaniels]

Just be glad it's not a shim "under" bucket design like my FZ1. You can't do any adjustment without removing the cams. Sucks!

[xkaes]

I did the Valves (Shim over bucket with roller rocker assembly) at 20K miles on the Bonneville and it's been rock solid at 40K, 60K and 8)K miles.
Valve clearances are more set and forget after the first service with shim bikes these days... Which is nice. All my modern high mile bikes with shims, were only set once and never touched again (FZ1, Concours 14, Bonneville T120). The Bandit 1200 being my first high mile bike (with lock nut adjustment) was adjusted annually or every 15-20K miles and yes it was out of whack every year however maintained a healthy service life to 104K miles (80K where my miles).

I guess this answers my question -- kinda sorta. I've only had to change one shim once, but I've always wondered how long they typically last? Do they ever wear out -- and what can cause incorrect valve cleanace/gap other than the shim or camshaft wear?

[Rijko]

I guess this answers my question -- kinda sorta. I've only had to change one shim once, but I've always wondered how long they typically last? Do they ever wear out -- and what can cause incorrect valve cleanace/gap other than the shim or camshaft wear?

Original shims typically last forever.
They may wear a little bit but i measure them and welcome the worn
shims as i would the 'X' intermediate shims.

Aftermarket shims are sometimes not properly hardened and can wear.

Valve gap decreases with time mainly because of valve wear.
Valve seat, cam lobes and shims hardly wear.

The GS has the cams riding on bare aluminium.
Sometimes, not often, i find these are worn, which causes strange
measurements when adjusting valve play.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Valve gap DECREASES with time
.

Fixed it for ya.

[Rijko]

Thanks Rich i corrected that in my earlier posting.

I re-read, usually multiple times before i post.
But this one i did not notice ..

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I knew what you meant. Just want to make sure future readers don't get the wrong idea.