Valve shim size

redtrek

.040 Over
Joined
Dec 7, 2011
Messages
55
Location
Casa Grande, AZ
Ride
2006 Rocket III Classic
I'm putting together an order of items to do my own tune up. As my bike is my commuter, I would like to have shims on hand in case I need to adjust the valves. I'm not a mechanic, but understand mechanical systems. I'll be doing this at a mechanic-friend's house, so I'll have the right tools available (feeler gauges, etc.). Which measurement in the manual do I look at for deciding which size shim kit to order? Valve head diameter, valve bucket bore diameter, valve bucket diameter? Thanks!
 
valve clearance is the specification. section/page 3.19 of the manual
so you'd need to know what thickness shims are in the bike already on each valve, and buy spare shims on both sides of that value.
this page might be of assistance
 
redtrek said:
................... which size shim kit to order?...............
Click to expand...

Not sure that there is a 'shim kit' available and if there were, at £5 (UK) a shim, it would be shed loads of money. You need to check the existing clearances first, then remove each shim that needs changing - measure it and replace with one of the correct thickness. Can't see how you could know what sizes to get before hand so trying to do this job in a weekend say, would be nye impossible imo.

In about 2k miles I will need to do a clearance check/adjust and I'm not anticipating this being a quick job - even when I know what sizes I need, by past experience, my local dealer will need to order the shims in.
 
They are a more-or-less commonplace 25 mm shim, you will probably need thicknesses between 2 and 3 mm once you measure your clearances. Such shims are used on lots of bikes, and you may also be able to get them cheaper (& quicker??) from an independent shim manufacturer - Fr'zample, Precision Shims, in Oz.

Try Googling something like "valve adjustment shim suppliers" or similar....
 
just re-reading your question redtrek, did you mean what is the diameter of the shim seat on top of the bucket?
so you can get a shim kit of that size locally. im away from my spare engine but could get someone to measure diameter tomorrow by proxy unless someone on here has some sitting on his mantelpiece (i'm looking at you Scott!)
 
there you go ruzz posted it as i was typing :lol:
 
Thank you Ruzz and everyone! As always, extremely helpful! The 25mm diameter is the answer I needed. It looks like most shims run about $5-9 apiece and they can be ordered individually on eBay. From what I've read, there is a chance that my valves may not need adjustment, so I'll take all my measurements when I do the tune-up and put the bike back together. If I need to make any adjustments, I'll order just the shims I need and then plan a separate day just for doing the valve adjustment.
 
Not to hijack but how big of a job is this? I'm assuming you shim both intake and exhaust? Do-able in a few hours? I've only done this on small (comparatively) atv's.
 
rentalrider said:
Not to hijack but how big of a job is this? I'm assuming you shim both intake and exhaust? Do-able in a few hours? I've only done this on small (comparatively) atv's.
Click to expand...
That realy depends on how the bike is set up. If it has all the stock air system on it that has to be pulled verses a captain with tripple filters. You will need the cam timing tool to lock the cams back in time witht he crank. I would say more then a few hours especially if there is barley soda involved
 
As Warp says, measuring the clearances can be a small (or bigger) job depending on how much air plumbing you have on top of the cam cover.

If they are all within tolerances, just put it back together, easy peasy.

If some require adjustment, then... you need to remove cam ladder, remove camshafts, remove offending valve buckets and shims, so you can measure the shims and determine what size replacement shims you need to obtain.

Having done all that, you then sit around waiting for the new shims, 'cos you're probably not gonna put it all back together in the meantime, then have to strip it again?

Number one source of delay is obtaining the shims! Waiting around is the barley soda part......
 
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