[Fred H.]

Finished another valve adjustment today on a customers bike with 27K miles on it. All intakes were at center spec, had to adjust 6 exhaust valves.

 

[Zee Fifty]

How far out of specification were the exhaust valves, on average, and were they loose or tight.

 

[Bucfan11]

Finished another valve adjustment today on a customers bike with 27K miles on it. All intakes were at center spec, had to adjust 6 exhaust valves.

Are they still shim adjusted?

 

[reginaldmc]

Are they still shim adjusted?

Yes, they use shims

 

[Fred H.]

The six exhausts that had to be adjusted were at .003 in (center spec on exhaust is .004). The exhaust valves use screw adjusters, the intakes require shims. The Honda uni-cam design is smart, since the exhaust valves are the ones that wear faster, so having them use screw adjusters means you don't have to remove the camshaft to adjust them.

The bad news is that if you do have to pull a camshaft to change a shim on an intake, it means you first have to totally loosen ALL the exhaust screw adjusters, and then when you put it back together, you have to go back and reset each one of them.

 

[techdude2000]

I still don’t understand why Honda will not use hydraulic lifters in the wing’s engine. The ones in the old NightHawk were fabulous.

 

[Bartho]

Was it the first valve correction or inspection at 27K miles?

 

[Zee Fifty]

So if I read this thread correctly the valves were all within specification.

Intake: .005” plus/minus .001”
Exhaust: .004” plus/minus .001”

 

[jlbc212]

I still don’t understand why Honda will not use hydraulic lifters in the wing’s engine. The ones in the old NightHawk were fabulous.

And the GL1500 too!

 

[trewm]

I still don’t understand why Honda will not use hydraulic lifters in the wing’s engine. The ones in the old NightHawk were fabulous.

Yes they were. Had a '98. Balancing the 4 carbs could be a bear though.

 

[reginaldmc]

I still don’t understand why Honda will not use hydraulic lifters in the wing’s engine. The ones in the old NightHawk were fabulous.

Saw this on Revzilla site - https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-do-bikes-use-shim-under-bucket-valve-adjusters

Shim-under-bucket valve adjuster. TeamZilla illustration.
This brings us to valves set with shims under the buckets, the prevalent method of adjusting valves on modern bikes. A shim-under-bucket setup uses the bucket to shroud the shim. By virtue of the bucket’s protective “walls,” the shim cannot be “spat out” by the camshaft. Additionally, shims can also be made smaller in diameter, which reduces valvetrain weight — a huge consideration when every last pony is being extracted from an engine.
So when it comes to valves on modern motorcycles, that's why things are the way they are.

Engineers have gone to some pretty great lengths to correctly maintain a few thousandths of an inch of space between vital engine components, which should encourage you to check and adjust your valves! If you remember one thing from this article about valve lash, let it be the following:

Too loose is better than too tight, and valves tighten as you pile on miles. A quiet engine should scare you a bit. Those close to me know I’m fond of saying, “Loud valves save lives!”

 

[INTHEWIND]

So if I read this thread correctly the valves were all within specification.

Intake: .005” plus/minus .001”
Exhaust: .004” plus/minus .001”

True

 

[Fred H.]

By the way, it's worth mentioning that the air filters in these new generation Wings seem to get dirtier a lot faster than the previous generation did. Here is one I pulled out of a different bike yesterday, with around 18K miles on it. I've done a lot of these now, and every air filter I've pulled out has looked pretty dirty at relatively low miles.

 

[reginaldmc]

By the way, it's worth mentioning that the air filters in these new generation Wings seem to get dirtier a lot faster than the previous generation did. Here is one I pulled out of a different bike yesterday, with around 18K miles on it. I've done a lot of these now, and every air filter I've pulled out has looked pretty dirty at relatively low miles.

What is your thought on K&N air filters? I had one on my GL1500.

 

[Fred H.]

What is your thought on K&N air filters? I had one on my GL1500.

I don't like them. For one, they don't filter as good, and for another, I've seen the filter oil from them get into the throttle body and gunk it up and cause issues. My advice is stick with the OEM paper element filter. Nothing filters as good as a paper filter.

 

[Corventure]

Oh boy. Had to mention K&N! opcorn:


Corventure Dave

 

[Zee Fifty]

Cool.

From valve adjustments to air filters.

Dilly dilly.

:capwin:

 

[DDL]

Cool.

From valve adjustments to air filters.

Dilly dilly.

:capwin:

Just need someone to mention oil..... crap, I just did!





Lets get back to valves.....
I have not had time to watch "valve's" yet, but my need is getting there. Interesting that you have to "undo" exhaust adjustment to do the intake adjustment. Sounds like checking may be relatively easy, exhaust adjustment a little extra effort, but intake is more of a chore mandating 3 exhaust adjustments for each side of needed intake adjustment.

 

[Fred H.]

. Interesting that you have to "undo" exhaust adjustment to do the intake adjustment.

In order to adjust the intakes you have to remove the cam to change shims, and in order to have room to remove the camshaft, you first have to loosen up all the exhaust valve adjuster screws to the max value.

 

[Pigeon Roost]

In order to adjust the intakes you have to remove the cam to change shims, and in order to have room to remove the camshaft, you first have to loosen up all the exhaust valve adjuster screws to the max value.

Moral of story, check intakes first.

prs