Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Valve Adjustment time - confirmation please

Update:
Finished the job today. Put all the wires back where they
should be, and re-routed some I didn't like. A tie-wrap
here, and there. Started up on the first try, and sounds
great! No test ride yet, but it sounds smooth.

Final clearances:
Exhaust .26 .26 .26 .26
Intake .16 .17 .18 .18

I'll take a test ride tomorrow.

Uncle Charlie

No more broken hardware?

And no bloody knuckles!

Went for a 40 mile ride today, and all I can say is wow!
This bike just keeps getting better. Pulled like a mule,
with a noticeable decrease in valve train noise. 6 of 8
were pretty loose before the adjustment.

Now I need:
Tires, engine oil, fork oil, and brake fluid changed, and
I'll be good to go for this riding season.

Lots to do still,
Uncle Charlie

beautiful day for a test ride thats for sure

My picture seems to have disappeared. Here's a shot of the tools I made for the back-lash gears as referenced below:

Quote:

---

Guys & Gals:
Here's a picture of the cam gear tools I made and described earlier. A buddy just drilled two holes in them. They are made from two, 5/32" pin punch tools. Sears had a loose box of them on sale last year, for $1/each. I just cut them to fit between into the cam gear and clear the caps. I just used a cut-off disc on my die grinder.

Once I started using them, and the the cams were still in the head and not under tension, I was very concerned they'd slip out and fall into the motor. This would cause a world of hurt so I had to be extra careful until the cams were pulled to ensure this didn't happen. Once the cams were out, the two gears locked onto the pins and falling out was not a concern. Of course on the reinstall, the same thing could happen and care was needed.

I thought if there was a hole drilled in each one, I could tether them together with wire which would make falling into the motor far less likely. Drilling two holes into them was an exercise in futility with my poor hand tools. I gave them to a friend who does machine work and he drilled them with his stuff (carbide tipped bit).

If you have the means to drill hole in them, they make a cheap tool. I suppose a metric pin punch near that size might work just as well.

They are 1.5" long.

---

Quote:

---

A left hand bit would have probably walked the broken piece right out.
But, I only had room to go at it with a Dremel(no reverse).

After experiencing how hard it was to break the cam-cap bolts loose,
I would use a manual type impact driver(rap with a hammer) next time.
Of course I found my old one from my dirt-bike days after the fact.

---

Good tips them. I'll keep em in mind, tks.

I still remember when I sheared off the rear shock top post and how it shook me up a bit. At that time I'd never even heard of an easy-out, but what was I worried about, No shortage of blokes here to advise me.

Ended well too. Just listened and took my time.

For a bloke who's never really done much mechanical work, with the skills I've learned and found out about here, I now know almost anything's possible. Without sounding too dorky, I can't talk highly enough of some that frequent this place.

I just hope they don't go over to the dark side and buy a T-bird

The thing is, I saw one in the flesh last week sitting in the main street of a town nearby and I have to admit I liked it. My first impressions were, sh#t, it's all motor

I just love my speedie too much to even consider having an affair with a younger more racier girl