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  • #1

    Valve Adjustment

    Well the summer is gone for sure. I still get a few rides in during the day here in Salt Lake City, but soon there will be snow. This was my first summer in 5 years with a motorcycle, I am so glad I bought my 99' TL1000R in June. This leads me to my question, I want to do work during the winter, or at least have it done. I put 6,000 miles on my tiller this summer, I am now at 15,500. Does someone have some info on valve adjustment? Do you attempt it yourself with minimal mechanic skills or go pay a dealer to rip you off. I read a lot of your posts, many of you are good mechanics, I can figure things out if I have good info. It is critical at this mileage to check the valves is it not? I think I am losing a little power in there. I want to be ready to ride next summer without the surprise of bad valves.
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  • #2
    Good reminder...I have 22,000 kms on mine! I should get on that as well!
    Be good, and if you can't be good...be really, REALLY bad!!

    TusherTLR

    gear:
    Arai Okada replica; Joe Rocket GPX gloves; Joe Rocket Ballistic & Joe Rocket Ballistic mesh jackets
    stuff:
    D&D boltons; TFI; K&N air filter; JSD Switchable TRE; EBC HH pads; BT010's; front and rear flushmounts; 16t front Sprocket Specialist; manual fan switch; 3/4" lift kit
    Soon (well...maybe not too soon):
    Joe V mod, Pair valve removal

    Comment

    • #3
      Grab a copy of the manual too if you haven't got one.
      "I spent most of my money on Scotch, women and cigarettes. The rest I just wasted"

      Comment

      • #4
        It really depends how comfortable you are working on the bike. The hardest part about it is getting to the valve covers, particularly on the front cylinder. The rear is a piece of cake, lift the tank and have at it.

        The one beautiful thing about the TL engines is the gear driven cams. They lift right out.

        Do get the service manual. It can be downloaded, JiffyPark is hosting it in PDF format.

        Just take your time and avoid 2 the nasty mistakes:

        1) Do not drop the hardened steel adjustment shims into ya
        engine when pulling the buckets

        2) Make sure to line up the flywheel to "T" and the index marks
        on your cams when putting them back in.

        Once you have sucessfully done it, you will see that it is not difficult. It is the getting over the initial fear barrier that is toughest.

        That is really about how we grow and better ourselves in life in general isn't it? Check adjust those valves. Next thing you know, you will be the fearless leader of the free world
        Last edited by Duken4evr; 10-20-2003, 10:48 PM.
        "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by Duken4evr
          It really depends how comfortable you are working on the bike. The hardest part about it is getting to the valve covers, particularly on the front cylinder. The rear is a piece of cake, lift the tank and have at it.

          The one beautiful thing about the TL engines is the gear driven cams. They lift right out.

          Do get the service manual. It can be downloaded, JiffyPark is hosting it in PDF format.

          Just take your time and avoid 2 the nasty mistakes:

          1) Do not drop thje hardened steel adjustment shims into your
          engine when pulling the buckets

          2) Make sure to line up the flywheel to "T" and the index marks on your cams when putting them back in.

          Once you have sucessfully done it, you will see that it is not difficult. It is the getting over the initial fear barrier that is toughest.

          That is really about how we grow and better ourselves in life in general isn't it? Check adjust those valves. Next thing you know, you will be the fearless leader of the free world
          Duken,

          I have never even looked at valves. I am not too afraid to try. Is that all you do to adjust them? What is it that you actually adjust before realigning the flywheel (whatever that is) to the "T" and index marks? If the manual from jiffypark is good, I'll be able to do it, I think. Does it tell me how to adjust them?

          Comment

          • #6
            They are adjusted by shims, you measure the cam to bucket gap with feeler gauges. Then you measure or read the shims that are under the bucket and get other ones that are sized to give you the correct gap.

            Also, don't let the locating dowl pins drop down into the engine either when you remove the covers.
            "I spent most of my money on Scotch, women and cigarettes. The rest I just wasted"

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by Steve TLS
              They are adjusted by shims, you measure the cam to bucket gap with feeler gauges. Then you measure or read the shims that are under the bucket and get other ones that are sized to give you the correct gap.

              Also, don't let the locating dowl pins drop down into the engine either when you remove the covers.
              Thank you!

              Comment

              • #8
                from anyon who has done this where do you get he shims that you need to set the gao and how long should the rear take compared to the front? Mine just flipped 12k and I need to do this during the winter as well. don't want to be
                No More TLR

                Comment

                • #9
                  Shims, from the stealer, I guess ronayres sells them to.

                  You might not have to even adjust any. mixing and matching what you already have might save you a couple too.

                  In the manual is a chart of available sizes etc.
                  "I spent most of my money on Scotch, women and cigarettes. The rest I just wasted"

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Remember tho... if you're thinking of racing or doing lots of track days... be sure to set them on the "loose" side of spec.

                    TRUST me on this one!
                    Kim
                    CCS AM #507
                    Twilight Racing
                    Special thanks to: Visionsports, Suomy Helmets, Learning Curves, Lockhart-Phillips, SliderPhoto, Spyder Leather Works, MotoSliders,SportBikeMike, Polar Optics LLC

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Yes, better loose than tight. Valves tighten over time as the valve head and seat wear, which causes the valve to recede into the head and the stem to move closer to the cam, using up the clearance.

                      It has been my experience on my bike (and what I saw on N2Wheelies TLS) that these engines hold their valve adjustments well. Once mine bedded in, they pretty much settled at a constant spec.

                      One final thing to be aware of is that one of the exhaust valves on each cylinder has the decompressor mechanism. If the cam is positioned so the pin is contacting the bucket, it will give a false very loose reading.

                      I posted some pics and stuff on this here: http://www.tlplanet.com/forums/showt...t=decompressor
                      "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        I agree with all of the above. You may not have to make any adjustments at all, so measure the clearances first. If this is your first time doing this sort of work, it would be good to have someone walk you through it. Minimaly you need a service manual to do this job. It is a simple proceedure, but if you screw it up, it will cost you big $$$ to fix the mistake. Not trying to scare you, but this is one area of maintainace you want to do right the first time.
                        Doc

                        Geez my bike sounds funny now

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Originally posted by doc
                          I agree with all of the above. You may not have to make any adjustments at all, so measure the clearances first. If this is your first time doing this sort of work, it would be good to have someone walk you through it. Minimaly you need a service manual to do this job. It is a simple proceedure, but if you screw it up, it will cost you big $$$ to fix the mistake. Not trying to scare you, but this is one area of maintainace you want to do right the first time.
                          Good idea. I want to learn how, but not by mistake. I'll find someone here in Salt Lake City to give me a hand. THanks all!

                          Comment

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