Need Advise on valve gaps and shimming

[Ralsmith]

Do you think I should change any of the shims. I have one intake gap that’s larger than spec and most of exhaust valve gaps are at tolerance or to big? They are not greatly over but looking for input from the engine experts.

 

[Gregger]

Depends on how fussy you are. I find with the 2.3 liter engines the exhaust clearances tend to open up and intake usually close (except for that one intake outlier showing). My personal preference, if you're going to adjust the 3 exhausts, you might as well see if you can put them all in the .175mm area. I bet at least one of the shims you remove from the exhaust side would fit the intake outlier. You could also just leave them since nothing is under. I'd rather have a little too much clearance than not enough.

How many miles on the engine?

 

[Ralsmith]

23000 miles on engine. 2011 roadster. First time I have been in the bike

 

[Gregger]

The big issue is having replacement shims on hand or readily available otherwise you end up waiting for replacements. You won't know what to purchase until you know what the current shims dimensions are. The manual would have you remove the cams to check/replace the shims, which is a bit of work. You could also make up one of the tools listed in this post by @Rocket Scientist Valve shim removal tool which holds the valve depressed enough to snag the shim and measure it. Then if you don't have any available you can stick the shim back in place while you order replacements. This is what I did. I ended up ordering from a dealer out of province who stocked them and I got mine overnight. Some other metric bike suppliers (Yamaha, Suzuki etc) also sell 25mm shims but I never had any success with their parts people when I tried. Good luck.

 

[Ralsmith]

Tool made and first pair of shims checked. Now to take wife to dinner

 

[MIG]

Tool made and first pair of shims checked. Now to take wife to dinner

Smart man...
-MIG

 

[Kevin frazier]

Smart man...
-MIG

A tool maker

 

[Ralsmith]

So after one poop my pants moment when tool slipped of and into bucket. Took so thinking on how to compress spring and reset tool without damaging bucket. I now have a list of all the old shim values I plan to change and new shim sizes. Does the attached chart look right, want to make sure I calculated in the right direction.