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Valve Adjustment Question.

955 views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Taz-man 
#1 ·
I started adjusting my valves today and noticed that the intake was less than 0.006 and the exhaust was less than 0.012.
I'm not sure how much under they were. I was just going to leave it thinking that a lower number would be better. Then a friend of mine started to tell me that as the valves wear the number will always get smaller. This meant that I needed to adjust to 0.006 +0.001 and not anything under. Is that right. I went ahead and made the intake 0.007 and the exhaust 0.013 so I wouldn't have to fool with it later.
My question is did I make a mistake listening to my buddy? He his after all a HD Rider :D
 
#2 ·
valves

at the first adjustment they will be tighter , iwould have set them at the recommended specs. because its only the first time that they will be tighter after that you will find that at each time they need adjusting they will probably be on the loose side . so by setting them loose to begin with that means you will probably have to adjust them again sooner than later
 
#5 ·
The spec is +/- 0.001", so setting them to 13 & 7 would be within spec. They will be noisy. Each bike has it's own unique idiosyncrysies. One will hold the rocker settings while another will loosen or tighten. Some do both. I have 5 rockers that will loosen and 1 that holds the gap. I set them at 12 & 5. Over time, you'll discover what yours are doing and can compensate for it accordingly.
 
#6 ·
at the first adjustment they will be tighter , iwould have set them at the recommended specs. because its only the first time that they will be tighter after that you will find that at each time they need adjusting they will probably be on the loose side . so by setting them loose to begin with that means you will probably have to adjust them again sooner than later
I do three or four VTX valve adjustments every month, both 1300 and 1800's since 2002! It has been my experience that the valve lash will get TIGHTER in lower mileage bikes , this is because as the valves and valve seats wear the lash is reduced. This will occur all the way through as much as 20k miles.

I recommend to my clients the following valve adjustment schedule: 600 miles to check factory settings, the dealers don't do it, they just do an oil change and "listen" to the valve train noise. 8k miles, 10k miles,12k miles,15k miles and from there once a year depending on how many actual miles they ride.

My 02 Retro currently has 120k miles on it, it gets a valve adjustment once a year. It will almost always have at least one valve set that needs adjusting, usually it will be a tad LOOSE!

The trick to a good valve adjustment is getting the two intake valve lashes exactly EVEN, so you do not have one valve "ahead" or "behind" it's companion. This is even more critical on the 1300 because it has independent rocker arms, whereas the 1800 has both intakes on the same rocker.

I always set the 1300 at a "hard drag" .006 intake and a .012 exhaust, this keeps them quiet and still gives them room for wear. The 1800 goes .005 and .013.

Adjusting valves on any engine takes a certain "feel" and requires patience that only much practice can provide.

I have learned over the years that "unqualified" friends' advice in mechanical matters are usually quite costly! Use the specs in the manual, the Honda engineers are smart guys, they have been building motorcycle engines for a long time!

Taz
 
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