Valve clearance adjustment using shims on a motorcycle Part 1

Please follow your bike's service manual as this video is not intended to be a substitution for professional advice.
Continuing my video series about valve clearance.
I show the steps in adjusting the valve clearance using shims.

[@2WCapo]

Using this video to double check my work on my 2021 ZX6R. At 15k miles I am seeing tight clearances on all of my exhaust valves, and within spec of all of my intake valves. Thank you again for posting this video it is very helpful 11 years later.

[@bongoms]

need to do the adjustment on my 04 636 and this video has been a live saver lol, thanks internet man from 11 years ago

[@paulb19691]

Great set of videos. Watched them then with the manual tacked the job on my Zx9. It's like a new engine now! Cheers

[@Doubledge]

ya...good advice is know your limits and i know mine. way over my head to do this my self. your the man bro big props to you. i want to buy me a junk bike and practice on to learn to do it right before i even try on my bike.

[@GharmanNL]

Isnt it better to go from the max clearance? What i've learnt is that your valve seats wear over time so the valve clearance actually gets smaller over time. So when you shim your valves to the max of the specified range it actually wears down through the specified range until the clearances get too small again and you have to re-shim your valves.

[@sidneylol]

Great video. Don't worry about getting some words wrong, it must be a bit nerve wracking at times :-) Excellent info there bud! Cheers Sid

[@morganman102]

Your voice is a little funny but these are great videos. Can't wait for part 2 appreciate the help

[@happycanadian5424]

Btw the timing mark is to put pistons 1 or 4 at tdc not both so make sure you’re not 360 degrees out on your measurements. You can check this by seeing if the cam lobes on pistons 1 or 4 are engaged then you can continue to measure the valve spacing.

[@jukee07]

this is the beast vid ever, verything is so clear to me now BIG THANKS :)

[@wedginator]

lol, yea, I can't do much about my voice but thanks! Part 2 is up already.

[@wedginator]

@undertaker6fd $300 seems about right for the entire valve adjustment procedure including the valve check. If it is only the valve check, it should take no more than 1 hour.

[@mrjaybennett80]

First of all thank you for your detailed approach to this critical maintenance. My question is- I had to replace the entire head due to camshaft damage and damage to the bottom of the cylinder head. I found the entire top end on Ebay for $220 the unit came in excellent condition with the shims in place. Since the unit is disassembled do I assemble it then check valve clearance? I have Hotcams complete valve shim kit but not sure if I should replace them according to their current values and then assemble? Please lend me your guidance O' wise one!

[@michor10]

Check your owner's manual. Valves need to be checked after a certain amount if miles. It is usually done by a mechanic/shop, though.

[@markharper8913]

pretty good job. Note to self: look up dial gauge. You showed a micrometer.

[@1100HondaCB]

@wedginator I have the ZZR600. At least your timing chain is on the end, unlike mine which is in the middle. If you need to replace the timing chain, at least you don't have to split it.

[@wedginator]

@peter0139 Thanks! Yes, I have another video on checking the valve clearance.

[@AlexRyteuBart]

I am glad I have got Yamaha XT660Z single piston... it is so much work here. :0

[@wedginator]

Yea, I agree. Just did a few single piston bikes and they're a breeze to work on.

[@DatSteeeze]

Lookin good man. I appreciate how meticulous you are, taking pride in the bikes... love it. i ride an '07 zx6r and Im thinking of checking my clearance soon. I am just wonderin how many km or miles you had on this zx when you did the work ...????

[@brandond7559]

Same exact here.

[@wedginator]

$300 is what most shops ask for. I did this over the winter. I had to order parts...

[@trbrenis1]

can i use that formula to figure out the shims for my 07 R6? the manual say something cocmpletely different but its hard to understand.

[@AlonsoNoCarDude]

Yes, you should be able to use this formula. What he's doing in the video is to bring the valve clearance to the middle of the range, that's why he's is averaging the min and max clearance values. Is the service manual they are just tying to bring the clearance back into spec, in the service manual if the measured clearance is over the max they are adjusting it to the max clearance, on top of that they are rounding the value of the thickness of the pad(shim) because they are saying the pads are only available in increments of .05 mm. If this is true you have to take that into account the valve clearance tolerance given in the spec. If the spec says 0.12-0.19 mm and you use .155 in your formula you know that the shim can have a thickness of plus/mines .035 mm.

[@denisrailey777]

Very similar to mine. Thanks for sharing.

[@Frog_man007]

So did you just went a head and changed all of them thats what it looked like from your chart thanks

[@wedginator]

The other video you were watching is a different type of valve adjustment. It is different from what I'm doing in this video. Make sure you know what your vehicle has first before beginning the procedure. There are 2 types of valve adjustments, shim under bucket and screw type.

[@AlvaroGarcia-kf3ih]

1993 Suzuki gsxr 750 my valves open are 0.06 and 0.08 they are super tight.how much did you pay for the shims?

[@wedginator]

Yes, that's pretty much it.

[@rickmonster636]

awsome vido very imformative...keep them comming

[@kevinscifres3683]

does it matter if the valves are hot or cold to adjust them or to check the lash?

[@afelipefelipe8626]

Bro could you tell me more about the formula is that the average on the Kawasaki zxr6 2007?

[@thatcutndude1]

if you have the wrong size shim in your bike would it cause you to lose compression...if you know its not the rings or head gasket....i think mine are to tight..

[@tovvman]

Great stuff, thx for making it!

[@93bradley]

Just did mine, went pretty well, put it back together and started to turn it over and it sounded fine but wouldn't start, just kept turning over... Any suggestions?

[@alkhatibziad723]

Would it be possible for a motorcycle that's been stored for 5-10 years to have valves be too loose? perhaps from a compressed spring from the cam shaft pushing on the bucket for such an extended time? I'm only asking because the bike has 9100 miles on it, and has tap noise. It may just be the cct but it doesnt quiet down or go away after riding for a while... But I suppose it hasn't gotten worse though either.... Hm... Thoughts?

[@Patek808]

Yo, did you figure out the problem? does it tap during idle and revving? was it the CCT? I have not replaced my CCT yet but im hoping itll fix the issue. I just hope it isnt a spun bearing.

[@estrelladelnorte1308]

Really nice video thanks!

[@conchim99]

can i reuse the head gasket cover ? I'm broke, don't have $40 to shell out for new one. Let me know thank.

[@drake2692]

Did you have to remove the radiator for this?

[@jwhameltown]

Bravo. Well done.

[@animatormentara]

I have a zx9 and I have the service manual how exactly did you figure out the average

[@mogearz]

does this absolutely have to be done on a motorcycle

[@naturestrail2296]

mogearz different bikes are adjusted differently with different specifications and you should consult a manual specific to your bike and engine model to be sure. Yes almost all bikes are either shim styled adjustments or they have a little screw on top you adjust. The engine needs to be turned to a specific position for the adjustments. You really need a manual specific to your bike to be sure but if you're really experienced you might get by without one if you can find the clearance specs. I can do atv valve adjustments easy enough with the little screw and some motorcycles are this style but I'm nervous about messing with the shim & bucket styled but the shim style adjustments don't need to be adjusted very often at all compared to the regular. So your answer is yes your bike needs valve adjustments but it may not be this complex. Best to look for a video for your specific bike.

[@vladvladi3491]

hi.where you take these exhaust specified Valve Clearance 0.275

[@mantasjaskevicius1385]

Thanks

[@tonydelpilar]

8:30 pic gave a lil break thru lol seeing it onna manual is one thing

[@171apples171]

While adjusting the vavles on a motorcycle, you just adjust them with the lobes pointing away from the valves dont you?

[@00Mass00]

I saw another vid on measuring valve clearance, and he changed it by tweaking some bolts. With how much clearance do you need to change chims? Please help I need to adjust mine too

[@elixier33]

That information would be in the owner's manual as it's different for every bike

[@00Mass00]

@@elixier33 lol thanks, sure took the time to respond (8 years)

[@adamyamaha3177]

Great vid! Can you do a steering bearing replacement vid next =)

[@jjack010]

What kind of bike is this?

[@MrSimgal]

good video,but i found it a bit strange having the new shim thickness to a smaller value.

[@bagpopuk]

+MrSimgal But you understand why the new shim is a smaller value?

[@MrSimgal]

+bagpopuk yes I was told that the valve length increase by time.

[@bagpopuk]

+MrSimgal The more accepted causes are that the valve gets forced further up into the head through either wear between the valve head and seat face, or the relatively soft Aluminium of the head into which the seat is pressed deforms fractionally with increased mileage until it work-hardens, hence the less frequent need for shim changes with higher mileage.

[@MrSimgal]

+bagpopuk ok thanks, good explanation.

[@bagpopuk]

+MrSimgal It may not be the whole picture but it made a lot of sense when I read it. By the way, nice vid of your ZX10R you posted. Bit too fast for me and I'm the wrong age and shape for one, so I bought a ZZR1100/ZX11 instead, love it to death :-)

[@wedginator]

That's what she said.

[@wedginator]

I did this around 50,000 kms.

[@undertaker6fd]

Where did you learn this? Obviously your not some joe with tools. Also not sure if you can give advice on this. I dont have the faith to do this myself, I called a shop and was told around 250-300$ for about 4 hrs of work. Is this normal or is this just for checking the valves not actually putting in the right shims.

[@joed8580]

Im doing this to my 04,im about to pull the valve cover off,but my mechanic told me i have to use a spring compressor, cant i just pull the cams out and buckets to acess the shims? Its an 04 zx 636,and in the manual it only says to use the compressor to actually remove the valves,anyone chime in on this?

[@inockupp]

Did you ever figured it out, I'm sure you have, just need to ask you of questions.

[@joed8580]

+Inock Up never actually needed adjusting. Just checked for clearances and was al set. What questions ?

[@dakotabeeson]

must be cold while checking and adjusting

[@joselizaraujo7212]

quem sabe como colocar o ponto da cbr 1100

[@StefanKingdom]

How many miles should we check and do the adjustment?

[@StefanKingdom]

yep, thanks!

[@StefanKingdom]

yes, r6 ... 14K miles

[@Theonlypayne]

mr butterfingers lol

[@Ticholasnesla]

2011 I saw a BlackBerry

[@wedginator]

@jjack010 2008 Kawasaki ZX6R

[@ytrgfahgfahomr340]

بس الطماطة ماتضبط بلا صلصه

[@Ticholasnesla]

u r mr butterfingers hahahahahahaha

[@AlexRyteuBart]

Man with two or more pistons = Gay :) ;) I use only one... but with one or more cylinders ;)

[@user-hb4qi5mf7r]

Пифагор!

[@airmannajera]

hah who complains about someones voice ha