Valve adjustment - more lessons learned

Martino-2000

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Feb 18, 2020
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Hi Scott I am on the fence about taking it on right now. Bike starts easy and runs great. I will probably wait till next summer. Has 72k km at the moment. What are your thoughts?
 

holligl

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Hi Scott I am on the fence about taking it on right now. Bike starts easy and runs great. I will probably wait till next summer. Has 72k km at the moment. What are your thoughts?
Running great doesn't mean much. Mine was running great at ~55k mi. Several out of spec, the worst exhaust at .11, half of spec. On the other hand, I don't think I've heard of any S10 failures driven by a lack of valve adjustment.

I did start a Results thread where you can see the specifics of those that document their checks/adjustment.

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ohv

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Oct 17, 2018
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Just finished my valve adjustment. This thread has been very valuable to me so I thought I'd post a couple things from my experience in case it might help someone down the road.

Sitrep: 2012 S10, 49,500 miles (I bought it 2 years ago w/19k and ride it fairly hard). This was its first valve check. Intakes all within spec; exhausts all right around .12mm, so pretty tight. Stock shims were 205, 202, 202, & 201.

Highlights:
--Doing the math, I replaced the stock shims with a 185 and three 190s. This put them all around .25 - .26mm. I'm thrilled I didn't find anything weird and that I didn't have to do any on the intake side.

--Removed the clutch cover only after doing the initial clearance check.

--Still had the old 23P auto CCT so I replaced it with the updated (2014+?) version. Getting it compressed and locked to install was a PITA till I figured it out. I haven't seen anyone's details about "putting it in a vise", but it wasn't working for me till I put the end of the piston into a 1/2" socket (perfectly tight fit) and put the socket in the vise. Then, when compressed, the CCT body would hit the socket just slightly before being able to lock in the snap ring. So... I put nut and a washer down in the socket (before the piston) to prevent the smaller diameter end from entering completely and provide about 1mm of clearance which allowed the snap ring to be locked into the groove. Also the plastic spiral-y thing inside the piston that allows it to be "screwed" in apparently turns inside the assembly so you have to press hard enough to compress the spring but not too hard or the spiral thing will turn and not allow compression (or something??). Frustrating but not so bad after I figured it out. The manual is not very helpful.

--I zip-tied the cam chain to all the gears as others have described and didn't need to remove the cams. I removed one cap on the intake cam and loosened the others. Maybe I should have removed two as someone suggested, but there was just enough room to remove the exhaust valve bucket on the gear side.

--I removed the fork legs (to install seal savers) and the front motor mount. This made access from the front really easy. It might be worth removing the forks just for the valves adjustment.

--After unbolting the electrical panel and tying everything back as much as possible, the cam cover wasn't too bad. I didn't use any gasket adhesive. The gasket "wants" to go in the right place, it just needs a little assistance. I had a new gasket, but the old one looked so good, I reused it which may have made things a little easier. I peeked under the cover to check the spark plug hole rings and could easily align them with a finger in the plug hole.

Nothing else to report. Given the clearances I found and current mileage, I will probably wait another 50k. Thanks to everyone who posted to this thread over the years.
 

holligl

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--Still had the old 23P auto CCT so I replaced it with the updated (2014+?) version. Getting it compressed and locked to install was a PITA till I figured it out.
Did you have a used one? I thought they came pre-compressed new.
 

SkunkWorks

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I'm getting ready to do this clearance-check/adjustment.
Bike has just shy of 26,000 miles on it.
I have to do Fork-Seals/bushings too, so it should make it easier with the Forks removed.
I just ordered a spare clutch cover gasket just in case. I already have all the other gaskets.
Will be doing Spark Plugs at the same time as well.
 

Mak10

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I asked the local dealer what the cost to have this done would be. The service manager said a check or adjustment would be the same. 5.7 shop hours which is $570.
This shop had never laid eyes on a Super Tenere. I don’t trust them to work on my bike.
 

holligl

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I asked the local dealer what the cost to have this done would be. The service manager said a check or adjustment would be the same. 5.7 shop hours which is $570.
This shop had never laid eyes on a Super Tenere. I don’t trust them to work on my bike.
The fact he quoted the same price for a check vs adjustment indicates he doesn't know something.

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holligl

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I'm getting ready to do this clearance-check/adjustment.
Bike has just shy of 26,000 miles on it.
I have to do Fork-Seals/bushings too, so it should make it easier with the Forks removed.
I just ordered a spare clutch cover gasket just in case. I already have all the other gaskets.
Will be doing Spark Plugs at the same time as well.
Did you buy a shim kit or do you have other access to shims?

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SkunkWorks

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Did you buy a shim kit or do you have other access to shims?

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I don't have a shim kit.
Honestly I don't want to spend the money on a whole kit of shims I probably will never use.
I'm planning on doing the check, and if any are out of adjustment I'll just order the individual shims that I need.

I've been doing it that way for years with my FJ1200, and I'm in no hurry.
 

holligl

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I figured if you buy a kit ($60-70) for the life of the bike, it's probably cheaper, given you pay a significantly higher unit price for individual shims. It is wasteful that > 1/3 of the kit shims are too thick to ever be used. I do wish they came in the proper range, with 4 ea instead of 3 ea per size. I did use all of one size last adjustment. I didn't want to wait for shims with the bike torn apart. Plus, once you use one size, you won't likely need that size again.

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mran

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Rockymountainatvmc.com

Has the shims in .25 increments for less than $2 a pop. Killer deal imo.

Just finished a valve adjust on mine one thing i did different. Which made installing the valve cover a breeze was remive the whole wiring harness. Its a few plugs super easy and the valve cover goes on, no screwing around at all..
 

RogerRZ

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Apr 8, 2018
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New Brunswick, Canada
I'm not sure which part I missed, but I was able to get mine done without taking the clutch cover off, by looking through the access plug. Reinstalling the valve cover was also a less than 5 minute job, the gasket cooperated all the way. Dunno...
 

gv550

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The clutch cover would not need to be removed to check valve clearance, but to change shims requires removal of the cams and cam chain tensioner. You need the clutch cover off to release the CCT after re-installing it, according to the service manual. Maybe you could reset it by reaching down from the top? Anyway, it's not difficult to remove the clutch cover, mine's been off 3-4 times and still original gasket.
 

holligl

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Rockymountainatvmc.com

Has the shims in .25 increments for less than $2 a pop. Killer deal imo.

Just finished a valve adjust on mine one thing i did different. Which made installing the valve cover a breeze was remive the whole wiring harness. Its a few plugs super easy and the valve cover goes on, no screwing around at all..
That is .025, which also allows finer tuning of the gap, compared to the shim kits (I see they do sell alternate size kits). How quick was their shipping?

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mran

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That is .025, which also allows finer tuning of the gap, compared to the shim kits (I see they do sell alternate size kits). How quick was their shipping?

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Yes .025mm. Typo. Shipping was very quick 2 days and it was at my front door actually came quicker than usps said. Think that may have been a fluke but i would expect under 2 weeks.

Definitely dont need to take the clutch cover off just did it to mark the crank sprocket and throw a zip tie on the chain. Its a 2 second deal with electric tools.

Heard stories of the valve cover being a pain which is why i removed the harness it only takes a few minutes. Valve cover fit with no hassle.
 

WJBertrand

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Definitely dont need to take the clutch cover off just did it to mark the crank sprocket and throw a zip tie on the chain. Its a 2 second deal with electric tools.
How did you re-deploy the CCT without removing the clutch cover?


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