Just to summarize this long thread for any new readers. There really wasn't much of a problem with the valve adjustment.
2 very small oddball things happened and these two small things were hell to figure out because while my seat was away getting Russelized I had my tank painted, added a bunch of electrical farkles, checked and adjusted my valves and had the ECU flashed.
Problem #1 I needed to replace all 4 exhaust shims. After doing so, 3 ex valves were perfect one was so tight you couldn't get a feeler gauge in. After 3 tries it was discovered that while the shim was the correct thickness, the diameter was slightly bigger than it was supposed to be. This kept it from seating correctly in the bucket.
Problem #2 After putting the bike together, it wouldn't start. The fuel pump would come on and pump fuel but no start. After exhaustive trouble shooting including taking that valve cover back off and checking that timing was correct I finally rigged a fuel pressure gauge to the bike and discovered that even though the pump ran, it ran with 0 pressure. Further trouble shooting of the pump makes it look like an o-ring was not seated inside the pump correctly but it isn't definite that was the problem and if it was the problem I'm not sure how it became unseated unless the painter took the pump out.
Moral of the story
If adjusting your valves, mic the thickness and diameter of the shim before putting it into the bucket and if at all possible do one project at a time.
A friend and I did my valves today. All 4 ex. valves were pretty tight. Everything seemed to be going really well. Got everything back together and re-checked the clearances.
3 were perfect but one was super tight, much tighter than it was before the smaller shim. It would me most accurate to say there is no clearance as my smallest feeler is .007mm and won't fit.
Edit
Just got back from taking it apart and reassembling. The shim wasn't sitting on the magnet when I pulled the bucket out but I have no way of knowing if it was sitting correctly when it was together.
It was the correct shim.
I measured on my own the exhaust clearance of .178 on my own and we repeated the valve check again this morning. We took out a 1.95 and put in a 1.85. The ex. valve should now be at the top of the clearance but I can't get any feeler gauge in there.
This time I put the shim into the space on the valve instead of on the magnet in the bucket.
The other 3 exhaust valves are coming out perfect.
I rotated the engine a few times before checking again.
Could it be the bucket isn't seating right? Would a tiny bit of grit or maybe a dog hair be enough?
We were pretty conscientious about cleanliness etc but I am not sure what else could be going on.
2 very small oddball things happened and these two small things were hell to figure out because while my seat was away getting Russelized I had my tank painted, added a bunch of electrical farkles, checked and adjusted my valves and had the ECU flashed.
Problem #1 I needed to replace all 4 exhaust shims. After doing so, 3 ex valves were perfect one was so tight you couldn't get a feeler gauge in. After 3 tries it was discovered that while the shim was the correct thickness, the diameter was slightly bigger than it was supposed to be. This kept it from seating correctly in the bucket.
Problem #2 After putting the bike together, it wouldn't start. The fuel pump would come on and pump fuel but no start. After exhaustive trouble shooting including taking that valve cover back off and checking that timing was correct I finally rigged a fuel pressure gauge to the bike and discovered that even though the pump ran, it ran with 0 pressure. Further trouble shooting of the pump makes it look like an o-ring was not seated inside the pump correctly but it isn't definite that was the problem and if it was the problem I'm not sure how it became unseated unless the painter took the pump out.
Moral of the story
If adjusting your valves, mic the thickness and diameter of the shim before putting it into the bucket and if at all possible do one project at a time.
A friend and I did my valves today. All 4 ex. valves were pretty tight. Everything seemed to be going really well. Got everything back together and re-checked the clearances.
3 were perfect but one was super tight, much tighter than it was before the smaller shim. It would me most accurate to say there is no clearance as my smallest feeler is .007mm and won't fit.
Edit
Just got back from taking it apart and reassembling. The shim wasn't sitting on the magnet when I pulled the bucket out but I have no way of knowing if it was sitting correctly when it was together.
It was the correct shim.
I measured on my own the exhaust clearance of .178 on my own and we repeated the valve check again this morning. We took out a 1.95 and put in a 1.85. The ex. valve should now be at the top of the clearance but I can't get any feeler gauge in there.
This time I put the shim into the space on the valve instead of on the magnet in the bucket.
The other 3 exhaust valves are coming out perfect.
I rotated the engine a few times before checking again.
Could it be the bucket isn't seating right? Would a tiny bit of grit or maybe a dog hair be enough?
We were pretty conscientious about cleanliness etc but I am not sure what else could be going on.
