Well, I also got the hang of pulling the carbs off my 550, but that was a long learning curve.I have never had a shim that was "stuck" enough to warrant all THAT effort. :-k
And we have it MUCH easier with our shafties, I can't imagine suggesting that to someone with a 550 or 650.
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The problem with my 1100G yesterday was: I bought shims from Z1, and they don't have the rounded edges the OEM shims have, so they're kinda hard to seat and also hard to remove.
Plus I had the ebay version shim tool, manufactured rather sloppy. Plus on the inner exhaust valves the handle was restricted by the frame. Had to take it to the next level.
I got 2 outer intake shims changed using the tool, but it wasn't gonna work for the inner exhaust valves.
Just did a 14 mile test ride in 32? weather, worked great considering the cold.