R
Ric
Guest
No real issues with it, just wanted to share my account of the first valve adjustment on the 300:
This was surprisingly easier than I thought it'd be. Mind you, I've assembled engines for cars, lawn mowers, weedeaters, 2 & 4-stroke dirt bikes alike... but this was the first time for me on the top end of a road bike. It has a tick under 23k on it, and had never had the valves adjusted in at least the 15k miles we've owned it.
So four bolts and a gas line, and the seat and tank were off and sitting on the bench at my friend's place. A few more bolts and screws bad the end caps off and the valve cover ready to come off. A little careful prying in spots, and she lifted right off with some polite maneuvering. Time to get down to bidness.
The valve stems are recessed into the retainers, which made it hard to get a good reading with the feelers. A quick snip off the sides of the ones I used and we were rolling on. Holy CRAP these things were tight! No play whatsoever in them at all. It's entirely possible that the valves weren't completely seating once yhe engine was warmed up. It did have a random pop and crackle over and above the exhaust note when I'd be accelerating. Anywho, I set the intakes at .004" and the exhausts at .005", cinched the jam nuts down, reinstalled the valve cover and breather, cinched it down, and remounted the tank & seat. Done.
So far it's ran fine! No pop or crackle under load, my right plug doesn't show as lean, the engine idles smoother, and the exhaust note seems to be louder than before. I'm happy with it!
This was surprisingly easier than I thought it'd be. Mind you, I've assembled engines for cars, lawn mowers, weedeaters, 2 & 4-stroke dirt bikes alike... but this was the first time for me on the top end of a road bike. It has a tick under 23k on it, and had never had the valves adjusted in at least the 15k miles we've owned it.
So four bolts and a gas line, and the seat and tank were off and sitting on the bench at my friend's place. A few more bolts and screws bad the end caps off and the valve cover ready to come off. A little careful prying in spots, and she lifted right off with some polite maneuvering. Time to get down to bidness.
The valve stems are recessed into the retainers, which made it hard to get a good reading with the feelers. A quick snip off the sides of the ones I used and we were rolling on. Holy CRAP these things were tight! No play whatsoever in them at all. It's entirely possible that the valves weren't completely seating once yhe engine was warmed up. It did have a random pop and crackle over and above the exhaust note when I'd be accelerating. Anywho, I set the intakes at .004" and the exhausts at .005", cinched the jam nuts down, reinstalled the valve cover and breather, cinched it down, and remounted the tank & seat. Done.
So far it's ran fine! No pop or crackle under load, my right plug doesn't show as lean, the engine idles smoother, and the exhaust note seems to be louder than before. I'm happy with it!
