valve adjustment

[oldgsfan]

I had put this off for far too long so today I decided to check my valve clearances.

My last valve adjustment was just over 15,000 miles ago. Yikes! Right?

I'm thinking I can pull my valve cover, check my clearances, and order the shims I need. I have a few shims from my last valve adjustment, but I figure I'll need to order a few.

Anyway, the gasket gets completely messed up. So it looks like I won't be riding for a few days - at least until the new gasket arrives in the mail.

But when I went to remove the spark plugs, I discovered that my number 2 plug had not been seated all the way in. And, I realized, it won't seat all the way in! I had the same problem with my number three a few months ago.

So my new plan -
- check my clearances and order the shims I need
- retap the spark plug hole so the plug seats properly
- once it's all together balance my carbs with my vacuum synch
- plug chops

Make sense?

The bike was running OK before - really good acceleration. But it didn't run great when I was cruising. This is what prompted me to finally do the valve adjustment.

[hampshirehog]

Make sense?

Yes. Don't leave the valve clearance check so long next time (you knew that though....).

[oldgsfan]

Well, I checked my valve clearances and, amazingly, only two were out of spec. I've got replacement shims on order from Z1. The others were all within spec.

And, yeah, I'll never wait this long again.