Woking - self 24000mile service - wanna help me?

[darren_uk]

check valve clearenceI was told NOT to touch this until I hear it rattle. Waste of time and money?!?

Checked my Valve Clearances yesterday.




Fiddly to get the valve cover out - with the help of my son, if you lift both sides right to the top so it's against the frame, it does come out.  But it was fiddly.




valve clearances were all in tolerance.  It didn't help that my Halford feeler guages didn't allow me to get to exact numbers between 0.11-0.20 (inlet valves) or 0.21-0.30 (exhaust valves) but I had enough combinations to discover things like "0.20 fits but 0.25 does not" for example.  So although I couldn't tell the exact gap, I knew they were all within tolerance.




Putting the stuff back together was a doddle, and it started :P




The gasket was in good condition, and I'll keep an eye for any leaks just in case it's not a good seal when I refitted it.




I didn't use a torque wrench on doing it back up:  however, I did "hand tight plus 1/8 turn" - I don't have a lot of leverage on my allen keys so I was confident I couldn't strip the threads.  And if course I'll double check every few rides to make sure they're still tight.

[Slaninar]

That measurement is the way it's done. For torque: I use two fingers. My ingex finger and thumb. That way I get it tight, but never too tight. Hold near the bolt for worse leverage and use only two fingers. Works for me with my strenth. But I'm known for stripping threads.

[Slaninar]

Had the cam chain changed and carbs cleaned and balanced by a mechanic mate. I was first amazed by the quick and relaxed way he put it all apart (it takes some taking things off to get to the carbs and cam chain on the Fazer). I was thinking: "How will he put it back together? Awesome!" Well, he didin't!    I had to help him put everything back in place. If there's one good thing about it - I got a lot more confidence. Mechanics aren't magicians. Just a bit more experienced, that's  all. Same problems, complications, no hats out of their sleaves.

Bike works nice now, pulls better from low revs and no sound of the cam chain. Nice. Will clean brakes, calipers and wait for the spring!