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GS-650 Tappet Clearances

  • Thread starter Thread starter G0FHM
  • Start date Start date
The valves tighten with mileage so I'd plan ahead and first take an inventory, then order enough shims to have on hand for your next couple of adjustments. For example: if you have 2.80's installed now, I'd get several 2.75's, 2.70's, 2.65's, and 2.60's. Places like Z1 Enterprises (in the US) will ship overseas if you can't find what you need local.
 
Send a PM to Ghostgs1 on this forum. Ray is his name, really a wonderful person. He runs the Shim Club. He grinds the fat ones down into the smaller ones most of us need. He has a big stack of the 2.70s and 2.75s that you need, I just gave him a bunch of them last week. He ships internationally all the time. The best surprise is his price.
 
Ed,

I already have an inventory of what shims are where, and that's probably what I'll end up doing for the future. The mission for the moment is to get the 2 that I need, to get the bike running properly (it belongs to she who must be obeyed, and delay is not an option!), then I'll sit down and work out what I need and compare prices etc, as the budget is not all that "fat" at the moment. I'll probably end up buying them from the US, as having trawled ebay and various other sites for parts during the resto, it seems that US parts are half the price of what we can get them for in the good old UK!

J
 
G0FHM said:
Tom,
The engine was stripped and checked, new rings fitted as well as new stem seals, and the valves re ground.
J
Click to expand...

By the way... If you had the valves reground, then you can pretty much guarantee that the valves are going to need the shims to be a couple sizes thinner.
 
JTGS850GL said:
By the way... If you had the valves reground, then you can pretty much guarantee that the valves are going to need the shims to be a couple sizes thinner.
Click to expand...

Not if they were done correctly. A good shop would shorten the valve stems to make them fit with normal sized shims.
 
Well, I've sent Ray a PM and will await his reply with interest.

I did have the valves out and reground them - Doing it the correct way with coarse then fine, and with the wooden stick, none of this battery drill nonsense!

I didn't think of the shims... As I said in an earlier post, most of my previous work with car engines has been either rockers (easily adjusted) or hydraulics!

J
 
Still sounds like the valve stems were not ground. Just the seats. That would have sunk the valves deeper and require thinner shims.
 
I haven't got the engineering equipment to shorten the valve stems, so yes, you are right, I will need thinner shims!
 
You may want to consider picking up a very thin shim as a reference shim. Something in the range of 2.50 or even thinner. That way you can get a true measurement on the clearance needed using thicker feeler gauges.
 
G0FHM said:
I haven't got the engineering equipment to shorten the valve stems, so yes, you are right, I will need thinner shims!
Click to expand...

Have you tied your local Suzuki dealer for shims, I know there no penny's but the gen ones I'd seen on flea bay were asking ?3.95 postage made them far more expensive than my main dealer, if your only after two you looking a ?8 + vat each! and there usually in by the next day! I had to change 5 :( but it was worth every penny she runs like a champ now.
 
Chris,

The closest dealer to me is circa 35 miles away, so that's a 70+ mile round trip. So there will be postage whatever happens!

I can get a pair from the US on ebay, which works out ?17 the pair delivered - But then there is the waiting time!

I'll go see Shaun in the morning, see what he has - Else try and find a more local dealer!

J
 
any UK dealer will post them to you, within a few days usually. google it and ring them all until you find one that has some in stock. if not, most dealers will get them in within a few days if ordered
 
What I don't get is if you ground all the valves, and didn't shorten the valve stems, the shims should all be several sizes too large. You had a couple that were OK? That makes no sense.

Wait, corse and fine, and a stick?
You just lapped the valves? OK never mind.
 
Yes, I meant lapped!

I'm not about to start playing around with valve seat cutters... I don't have the engineering prowess to pull off such a feat!

So lapping them in will have no real effect?

If so, it reinforces my suspicions that somebody has had a go in the past and made a bit of a pigs ear of the job. That may explain why number 3 had a lower compression figure. The exaust valve wouldnt have been seating properly with the negative clearance.... I did the motor oil down the plughole test, and it raised:pd the compression slightly, but not blisteringly high! like the other 3

Apologies for any typos and grammar errors, using tablet

J
 
G0FHM said:
Yes, I meant lapped!

I'm not about to start playing around with valve seat cutters... I don't have the engineering prowess to pull off such a feat!

So lapping them in will have no real effect?

If so, it reinforces my suspicions that somebody has had a go in the past and made a bit of a pigs ear of the job. That may explain why number 3 had a lower compression figure. The exaust valve wouldnt have been seating properly with the negative clearance.... I did the motor oil down the plughole test, and it raised:pd the compression slightly, but not blisteringly high! like the other 3

Apologies for any typos and grammar errors, using tablet

J
Click to expand...

All correct except for the pignose part. Normal wear results in tighter and tighter valves, neglect them and they will get negative clearance, neglect them more and you get low or no compression on that cylinder, keep riding and burnt valves will follow.

Once they re shimmed correctly check the compression again, if you are not happy with them ride it 1,000 miles and check again.
 
I'm fixed up now!

Went to the local bike shop this morning and grabbed a pair for pennies and gave the unwanted ones in exchange!

Sweet :)

J
 
It wasn't an easy task though....

The last rookie that he had in the workshop dropped the box on the floor, and he told him to put them back in size order....

He didn't!
 
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