I have been lazy and my 2004 DL650 is now at 30,000 km and they recommend doign valve clearance adjustment every 24,000 km. I am leaving on Friday for 4000-5000km motorcycle trip...

Do I need to try to do this valve clearance adjustment first to not wreck anything or is it maybe at worst just not going to run at 100%?

Thanks
Joel

I would at least check them. Not really that difficult and then you will know for sure if they need adjustment and how far out they are. If they get too tight then bad things can start to happen. Your first sign would probably be difficulty starting.

I suggest removing the radiator, side fairings and fuel tank to have easier access to everything. If you remove the radiator it's also a good time to change the coolant and replace the spark plugs if you haven't already. Be careful when you remove the coolant drain plug because the coolant tends to come out in a long stream instead of just trickling out. A little coolant will be left inside the hoses so make sure to empty those out too. Collect and dispose of the coolant properly. After the radiator has been removed the job of checking the clearances is pretty straight forward. Just snug the valve cover bolts when you put them back on.......tighten them until they stop. If you have any questions about the procedure then shoot me a PM because I just did it not that long ago. IF they do need adjusting then the process gets a little more involved and luckily mine were still good. I will need to keep an eye on them because the exhausts were all near the bottom of spec and I don't want them getting too tight. I will check them again in 10k or so and see if they have moved at all.

The first sign of too tight clearances is a reduction in performance as the engine warms up. The clearance is necessary because the valves get a little longer as they heat up. They'll seat when cold but leak when hot if the clearance is a little tight. If they leak when cold, they are way out of spec. When they don't seat, the valve bodies overheat because they are in the flow of combustion gasses and never get to give up heat by contacting the head. Burned valves can result.

Too loose and tappet noise becomes apparent. The tappet gets a good windup before hitting the valve stem. It's kinda like the difference between pushing a nail with a hammer or hitting it. A worst case scenario can mushroom the end of the valve but that's really rare. Too tight is the much more dangerous condition. Unfortunately, valve clearance movement over time is in the too tight direction as valve/seat erosion causes the valve head to seat a little more deeply. Such movement is infinitesimal. It's not unheard of for some shim/bucket engines to stay in spec their entire existence. Exhaust wear is typically faster as they are subjected to more heat.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

Argh I am an idiot!!!

I checked the clearances, and they were within tolerance but then when I was torquing the valve cover back down it stripped the threads in a couple places, where it goes into those cam blocks!

So now what!? Do I just have to replace them or is there a possibility of taking them to some sort of machine shop to get it rethreaded? And the service manual says if you remove them then you probably need to redo the clearances. bah!

Heli coil...or live w/ a bit of seepage...if lucky the stripped threads will provide enough tension. The covers do not need much tension.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it....

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2006 Suzuki DL1000
2003 BMW R1150RS
1991 BMW R100RS
1980 Suzuki GSX750E
1979 Yamaha DT175
1973 Yamaha RD350
1972 Yamaha TD3-350
1978 Yamaha XS750
1974 Honda CB500
1976 Honda TL250 (My First Bike)

Reach in and pull out the big ones

That sucks.......did you not see my post though?

So basically, each time a valve adjustment is needed, a smaller(thinner) shim will be needed to correct the narrowing/tightening gap between the cam lobe and bucket ? Correct, Greywolf ?

Is this valve-seating-more-deeply-so put-in-a-smaller-shim-to-increase-the-clearance-so-the-valve-doesn't stay-open-too-long typically the pattern of adjustment for the intake valves(as well as the exhaust) over the life of the engine ? Same for different motorcycles you have owned that required manual(bucket over shim) adjustments?

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'06 DL650 Pearl Crystal Red

That seems to be the case. I only had one other bike with shim valve clearance adjustments. After the first adjustment, it never went out of spec. Wear on the cam lobe and bucket or shim it contacts would increase the gap, but it doesn't seem to be the way change occurs with properly heat treated parts.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

I have a pretty cool Microsoft excell program that will do all the math for you. Once you measure the current gap, then add in the predertermined gap you want to be at after installing a shim, it determines what size shim you need to use. PM me if anyone wants it and I will email attachment. Pretty slick, and if your anything like me, once you tear down the top end, who in the hell wants to read charts?
Toll

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