Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Valve shims

Tore my 06 America down for it's 4th valve shim check. I needed two 3.075 shims so I went down to the closest Triumph dealer 75 miles away to see if they have any. As usual they didn't have the part I needed, not sure why I even go there anymore. I would have called first but they don't have a parts counter guy anymore so a service tech comes out from the service bay area to handle customers coming in for parts. He said they didn't have any but could order them and I would have to buy the whole pack not just the amount I needed. Don't you think that if they don't have any that they too would want some for the next customer? As I was standing there I saw a sign on the wall that said labor rate $47.50, I thought that was pretty good till I squinted my eyes and looked at the small print, that was per half hour. I ended up going through Hermys, they didn't have any in stock either so they had to order them but are at least willing to sell me only what I needed. I know it is a good thing to shop and buy locally, even if it is 75 miles away, but I'm starting to find it is easier to do business over the internet than with a person. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I believe customer service in the US is a thing of the past, especially if you are dealing with AT&T.

They’re the same as Yamaha shims. Go see your local Yammy guy and he can fix you up.

What kind of shops are these? I can't believe Hermy didn't have any in stock! Before my local yamaha shop closed he had both new and used to choose from.

When I needed 25mm shims for my Rocket, I contacted the 4 Triumph dealerships in Ontario along with several Jap bike dealerships and no one could fill my order for 4 shims. I contacted a maw and paw shop called Moto Montreal in Quebec and they had everything in stock. Overnight shipped. That's the 3rd time I have contacted them for shims and they had all on hand . One dealership in Hamilton Ontario (Sturgess) was willing to swap shims but they couldn't guarantee they had the shims I needed in their collection and I wasn't about to drive for 10 hours to find out.

Ebay sells our valve shims, even half sizes for us anal retentive types. They don't give them away, know what sizes you need.

In my experience, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it....trust me. You will know if there’s a problem with valves, either no compression or Ridiculously loud pinging, other than that, I wouldn’t touch it...

With that approach you are asking for burned valves or damaged seats or both.

Agreed Ian. If you wait until you have no compression.... you will need a valve job. If the valves weren't meant to be adjusted, Triumph wouldn't have included shims in the manufacturing process.