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How to guide: Adjusting your valves 101 with pics and vid

179K views 168 replies 93 participants last post by  bry 
#1 ·
Here’s another tutorial for those looking to save some money by adjusting their own valves.

Notice: This valve adjustment procedure was performed on a 2002 Suzuki Volusia with naked jugs (i.e. de-paired and de-filtered). Having a pair valve and/or air cleaner installed will require the removal of additional parts.

For this procedure, we need the following tools:

17mm, 10mm and a 8mm ratcheting box wrench (5/8” box wrench for Mustang seat)
3/8” socket wrench, 10mm socket, 12” extension
Phillips and slot screwdriver (size 2)
Suzuki spark plug socket (from toolkit)
Set of metric Allen wrenches
Needle nose pliers
Set of security bits from Harbor Freight (will explain later)
Feeler gauges (optional)
Spark plug gap tool (for gapping spark plugs)
Wire brush (for cleaning spark plugs)



The #10 security bit from this Harbor Freight set comes in handy for holding the valve adjustment screw in place.




The motorcycle must be completely cold before you can accurately adjust the valves (wait 24 hours after ridding it). Secure the motorcycle to a stand or jack at a comfortable working height.



Remove the seat using a 6mm Allen wrench. Mustang seats require a 5/8” box wrench. Use a 3/8" socket wrench and a 12mm socket to remove the bolt holding the gast tank to the frame.



Using a 3mm and 4mm Allen wrench, detach the speedometer housing from the gas tank. Slip back the boot on the wire harness underneath and squeeze the plug so it releases from the speedometer assembly.




Detach the vacuum hose, fuel line and idle adjustment from the left side of the gas tank using the needle nose pliers; position an old towel to catch the fuel from the hose.




With the handlebars straight, carefully lift up the back of the tank (near the seat) and disconnect the fuel gauge sensor plug. Then, carefully remove the fuel tank from the frame. Sit the fuel tank aside on a soft surface to prevent damage to the underside.



Remove the plastic neck covers from both sides to expose additional working area around the valves.



Loosen the hose clamp securing the carburetor to the intake using a Phillips screwdriver. Carefully lift up the carburetor off while rocking it back and forth. Put a towel under the carburetor to catch any excess fuel.




Using an 8mm ratcheting box wrench, remove the chrome sparkplug covers from both sides of the bike. Then, use the Suzuki spark plug socket and a 17mm ratcheting wrench to remove the spark plugs from the engine.



You are ready to remove the valve covers. I usually start with the harder to reach bolts because they are prone to falling. Using an 8mm ratcheting box wrench, slowly remove the hard to reach bolts on the rear right and front left covers.




Remove the 10mm nuts from the top of the bike using a 3/8” socket wrench, 10mm socket and 12” extension.



Remove the remaining bolts using a 8mm ratcheting box wrench. Be careful not to drop the bolts into hard to reach places.



Using a 10mm and 8mm Allen wrench, remove the caps from the engine covers. The large cover is where we will be rotating the engine with a socket wrench; the small cover is a viewing hole to align the RT/FT marks (more on this later).




Using a 3/8” socket wrench, 17mm socket and 12” extension, slowly rotate the engine counter clockwise. The valves will begin to move up and down on both cylinders. Be aware, you should NEVER rotate the engine clockwise as it may cause damage to the engine!



While slowly rotating the engine, use a flashlight to look into the viewing hole. Every full rotation of the engine, you will see an R/T and F/T mark pass by. These marks help you locate the adjustment positions for either the Front (F/T) or Rear (R/T) cylinders. These positions are also called Top Dead Center (TDC).




Continue rotating the engine. Take notice to the valves on top of the rear cylinder. They will open and close in the following pattern:

Exhaust – open (down)
Exhaust – close (up)
Intake – open (down)
Intake – close (up)

Here’s a video showing the above pattern:
http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums...a Riders/?action=view&current=valve_video.mp4

As soon as the intake valves on the rear cylinder close (as shown at the end of the video), use a flashlight to look for the R/T in the viewing hole. Slowly rotate the engine until the R/T mark is dead center in the viewing hole. This is the adjustment point for the rear cylinder. If you accidentally bypass the mark, you will have to rotate the engine around a couple times until the valves open and close again.

Finding the adjustment points on the front valves is done in a similar manner. Rotate the engine counter clockwise until both the exhaust and intake valves on the front cylinder have opened and closed. Use a flashlight and slowly rotate the engine until the F/T mark is dead center in the viewing hole.

Work on one cylinder at a time. Use a 10mm ratcheting box wrench to loosen the retention nuts around the valve adjustment screws. Loosen the valve adjustment screws using the #10 security bit until they can be rotated by hand.

You can adjust the valves using either a feeler gauge or the “Jpaige” method. A feeler gauge is arguably the most accurate method, but it’s also the most difficult method.

The specification for the exhaust and intake are as followed:
Exhaust - .007 - .009
Intake - .003 - .005

Insert the feeler gauge between valve adjustment screw and the lifter as shown. You will have to bend the tip of the feeler gauge to get an accurate adjustment on all the lifters.




The “Jpaige” method doesn’t require a feeler gauge. It’s based off a mathematical calculation of the screw’s thread pitch. You simply finger tighten the valve screw until it touches the valve lifter. Then, you back out the exhaust screw 1/4 turn (90 degrees) and the intake screw 1/8 turn (45 degrees).

Adjust and secure each valve individually. Use the #10 security bit tool to hold the valve adjustment screw in place while you tighten the retention nut with a 10mm ratcheting box wrench.



Assemble your bike in reverse order. If everything is adjusted properly, you should hear a very faint ticking noise at idle (commonly associated with a sewing machine). Improperly adjusted valves will result in excessive ticking noise, poor performance and overheating.

While everything is accessible, now is a good time to clean off or replace your sparkplugs and check the gap. Use a wire brush to clean off the soot and the gapping tool to adjust them as followed:
0.8 – 0.9mm (0.031 – 0.035 in)
 
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#52 ·
valve adjustment 101l

Does anyone know how much different the procedure is to adjust the valves on a 2008 c50 vs. a 2002 volusia? Is there enough room to actually do the job correctly? Will i need any additional or special tools? Or should I just pay a stealer to do the job?

Any suggestions or help would really be great.

Paul
 
#53 ·
Re: valve adjustment 101l

pwsl100 said:
Does anyone know how much different the procedure is to adjust the valves on a 2008 c50 vs. a 2002 volusia? Is there enough room to actually do the job correctly? Will i need any additional or special tools? Or should I just pay a stealer to do the job?

Any suggestions or help would really be great.

Paul
Are you asking if these instructions (for a Volusia) are adequate to use on a C50? If so, then yes, they are. I've never had a Volusia, but I used these instructions to adjust my C50 valves without any serious trouble.
 
#54 ·
Thanks for the guide. I did the 600 mile valve service on my 2009 C50. It differs from the pictures posted due to the fuel injection. The procedure is the same, but I figured I would post some updated pictures showing the throttle body removal.


Here you can see the TB removed and turned on it's side. You have to disconnect both the green and white connectors to get enough room to swing the TB on it's side. Also I put a piece of paper towel into each intake port just to make sure if I dropped something I wouldn't have to take the whole thing apart.



Here you can see the clamp hex screw that tightens the two bores of the TB to the intake manifold. The clamp loosens and tighten both bores from the one screw. I also removed the chrome tube that goes over the top of the valve covers. It was easier then trying to work around them.



Here's a picture from the right side.
 
#55 ·
+1 on all of the post above for the C50. I did the same.
Fortunate for me I found brass feeler gauges that can be bent into a Z shape to help get them into the valve tappets.
 
#57 ·
RT = Rear Top position
FT = Front Top position

means the cylinder is at the firing point and bothe valves are closed.
So at this point you can set the valves.

Be sure you are on the COMPRESSION stroke. It is possible to set the
valves 180* off on the exhaust stroke....bad.....
I'm about to take the big step. But this is TROUBLING me! If you see the R/T
or F/T in the viewing port, isn't it impossible to be 180 degrees off? I mean,
if I have "R/T" in the window, I can adjust all four of the valves in the rear
cylinder--2 exhaust and 2 intake, right?
 
#58 ·
Okie am gonna bump your question and ask one myself. If I can see R/T in the sight and the piston is at the top as indicated by my dowel rod in the spark plug hole I can adjust all of the rear valves?

Is the same true for the front? with piston at the top and F/T in the sight?
 
#59 ·
STEAK said:
Okie am gonna bump your question and ask one myself. If I can see R/T in the sight and the piston is at the top as indicated by my dowel rod in the spark plug hole I can adjust all of the rear valves?

Is the same true for the front? with piston at the top and F/T in the sight?
yes. both intake and exhaust valves are closed.

Provided you aren't 180 degrees off in the rotation.
 
#60 ·
Okie said:
I'm about to take the big step. But this is TROUBLING me! If you see the R/T
or F/T in the viewing port, isn't it impossible to be 180 degrees off? I mean,
if I have "R/T" in the window, I can adjust all four of the valves in the rear
cylinder--2 exhaust and 2 intake, right?
Okie,

There are 2 TDC positions for each cylinder. TDC on the compression stroke and TDC on the exhaust stroke. Both will correspond with the RT/FT mark printed on the flywheel. If you try to set the valve clearance on the exhaust stroke, you will end up 180* out and it will affect the valve clearance. At TDC on the compression stroke, there is no pressure on either the intake and exhaust rocker arm. If you are at TDC on the exhaust stroke, the intake valves will be completely closed, but the exhaust valves will be open or partially open. Setting the clearance on this TDC will result in extremely loose exhaust valves and a poor running engine.

When you have the cylinder set to TDC on the compression stroke, Then you will adjust ALL of the valves at the same time. Exhaust valves are between .007 and .009" and the intake valves are between .003 and .005"

It's time consuming and a bit intimidating the first time you do it. But if you have the right tools and a bit of patience, it really isn't a hard maintenance to perform..
 
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#61 ·
^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ya, what old rust pile , :p , said.
 
#63 ·
Sure could use more pictures and a bit more detail on removing the carb. I've had my C50 apart and worked on the rear exhaust valves, but what a pain in the a$$ getting a feeler gauge in there is. I broke the gauge twice trying to get it in.

In all honesty, I gave up after doing the rear exhaust valves. Without removing the carb there's just no way to get to the other valves that I can figure out. Even then, it looks like the feeler gauge is going to present the same problem. (Doesn't anybody make a "slim" version?)
 
#65 ·
IDK about the carbed bikes but for the fuel injected all it was was loosen the screw on the dual circle clamps that connected the throttel body to the bike and then simply pull the throttle body up by rocking it back and forth. It isn't bolted on its just held there with a special hose clamp.
 
#66 ·
Re: How to guide: Adjusting your valves 101 with pics and vi



if you have the carbed version it will be the screw pointed at by the arrow. If its the fuel injected bike it will be in the same place it just doesn't sit as high and the clamp has two smaller tubes as opposed to the one.
 
#69 ·
Okie said:
Guess it's a good thing I copied them off. I'll re-start the thread.
WTF???? what gives you the right to copy and then repost the fruit of someone elses labor???

whether you agree with oregonlan or not, the decision shouldnt be yours to make....

he feels that a company has come in a claimed ownership of his intellectual property, that company can and will use his labor to make a profit, he posted his thread as a community goodwill offering, at no charge. its his property!

so he does the only thing he can to retain it, he pulls the pics and then you come along and threaten to repost his thread and pics????

you are a piece of sh1t, i hope karma uses you as a target for ill will, you deserve it
 
#75 ·
Exactly. :lol:

On the valve adjustment procedure:

"I also used jpaige’s information: Throw away the feeler gages, back off 1/8 turn for intakes, 1/4 turn for exhausts.

If you do the math, you convert the pitch of the screw into degrees of rotation.

.75mm pitch = .02952756" per revolution = .000082" per degree
intake .003" to .005" = 36-60 degrees (call it 45)
exhaust .007" to .009" = 85-109 degrees (call it 90)

So, to achieve the clearance for the intake valve, loosen the lock nut, screw the tappet down until it touches the top of the valve, and then back it off 45 degrees (1/8 turn) Same thing for the exhaust, back off 90 degrees (1/4 turn) . Tighten the locknuts.

I also found that on my C50 I had to remove the air filter, air intake duct, and throttle body to gain unobstructed access to the valve covers."
---------------------------------------
I have BriMan's "how-to" saved off as a PDF file with excellent pictures. Will
try to get them on here.
 
#76 ·
MikeyD said:
Hey Okie, who in the hell does this Teddy guy think he is? Just another internet tough guy I guess.
just a guy who believes in the rights of an individual are sacred, and that those who would take them, without permission are thieves. does that make me tough? no, not at all, makes me right tho

:D
 
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