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Valve Adjustment Ruminations

J

jerrylking

Member
Member
I succeeded in adjusting my valves, and my bike runs great. However, I think it is ridiculous that a standard maintenance procedure takes as much time as this does. If there are 1,000 fasteners and connectors on this bike, 950 of them are hard to reach and difficult to remove and replace. I love riding my Connie, but it will not win any awards for maintainability. It is a Chinese puzzle in the form of a sport touring motorcycle. Having done this once, I know that it would be easier the second time, but I have no intention of doing this again. If I put enough miles on the bike to warrant a second valve adjustment, I'll sell it and let the next owner deal with it. My next bike, whatever it is, will have a naked or nearly naked motor that can easily be worked on.

That rant out of the way, here are a few observations for the benefit of those who are contemplating doing a valve adjustment for the first time:

1. Absolutely invest in Fred Harmon's instructional DVDs. I don't think that I could have done this job without them.
2. If I did this again, I would remove the radiator for easier access to the front of the motor. It would make for less frustration in working in very tight quarters.
3. One of the hardest individual steps is getting the cable guide back in place where it snaps into the air dam that bolts to the top of the valve cover. It is nearly impossible to reach. I realized that it can be done easily by taking the air dam apart. It has a plastic piece that is attached to a metal piece by two plastic rivets that can easily be removed. Separate the plastic piece from the metal piece, snap the cable guide into place in the plastic piece, and then reattach the plastic piece to the metal piece with the two plastic rivets.
4. I noticed one potentially serious error in the Harmon DVD instructions. In the video, he torques the lower bolt of the right engine brace to 18 foot-pounds. That is the specified torque for the upper two bolts, but not for the lower bolt, which should be torqued to 44 foot-pounds. It would not be good for this bolt to work loose. Anyone who torqued this bolt to only 18 foot-pounds following Fred's video should remove the right middle fairing and re-torque this bolt.

The COG store should sell merit badges. I want a valve adjusment merit badge and a throttle body balancing merit badge.
 
jerrylking said:
I succeeded in adjusting my valves, and my bike runs great. However, I think it is ridiculous that a standard maintenance procedure takes as much time as this does. If there are 1,000 fasteners and connectors on this bike, 950 of them are hard to reach and difficult to remove and replace. I love riding my Connie, but it will not win any awards for maintainability. It is a Chinese puzzle in the form of a sport touring motorcycle. Having done this once, I know that it would be easier the second time, but I have no intention of doing this again. If I put enough miles on the bike to warrant a second valve adjustment, I'll sell it and let the next owner deal with it. My next bike, whatever it is, will have a naked or nearly naked motor that can easily be worked on.

That rant out of the way, here are a few observations for the benefit of those who are contemplating doing a valve adjustment for the first time:

1. Absolutely invest in Fred Harmon's instructional DVDs. I don't think that I could have done this job without them.
2. If I did this again, I would remove the radiator for easier access to the front of the motor. It would make for less frustration in working in very tight quarters.
3. One of the hardest individual steps is getting the cable guide back in place where it snaps into the air dam that bolts to the top of the valve cover. It is nearly impossible to reach. I realized that it can be done easily by taking the air dam apart. It has a plastic piece that is attached to a metal piece by two plastic rivets that can easily be removed. Separate the plastic piece from the metal piece, snap the cable guide into place in the plastic piece, and then reattach the plastic piece to the metal piece with the two plastic rivets.
4. I noticed one potentially serious error in the Harmon DVD instructions. In the video, he torques the lower bolt of the right engine brace to 18 foot-pounds. That is the specified torque for the upper two bolts, but not for the lower bolt, which should be torqued to 44 foot-pounds. It would not be good for this bolt to work loose. Anyone who torqued this bolt to only 18 foot-pounds following Fred's video should remove the right middle fairing and re-torque this bolt.

The COG store should sell merit badges. I want a valve adjusment merit badge and a throttle body balancing merit badge.
Click to expand...
Something like the Connie Droppers Award? Lol

Harry could design some kooky patch (like the Rat fink cartoons but with kows, for kowasaki)..
 
I have awarded myself these adult merit badges

meritbadges.jpg


They are velcro attached to my computer bag. Hang gliding, bee sting, heart attack, and making coffee. I have others as well.
So far, The next best thing for bike maintenance is Nerd Merit Badge, but not close enough in my opinion.

I agree, working on the C14 takes a lot of patience, magnets, and miracles. Those fasteners make me think twice before diving in and doing anything. It seems many of them are way too hard to set free. Any amount of dirt can frustrate you into madness trying to get one loose. I often wonder what I can replace them with that is easier to use. I have some ideas, but have not had the time to research further. I have yet to do my first valve adjustment thanks to all the distractions, pandemic, and lack of riding. I just haven't racked up the miles yet. Life has gotten in the way. I suspect that this summer will bring the miles and reasons I need to get it done.

Them fasteners need to be quick release and stay put like those on fighter aircraft. They should pop loose but stay in place. Antigravity. Something like these or similar.

Dzsue-fasteners.jpg


But no screwdrivers that can slip and cause unwanted scratches. I'm still looking. I'm sure I'll find a solution when I put more effort into it. They gotta look pretty too. Some of the fasteners I have already decided to replace with clevis and safety pins because they are easy to get to. The rest will take more brain power. It will take time.
 
I had to psyche myself up before I dove into the valve adjust. The first time I watched Fred's video all I could think was Oh Hell No. Finding someone to do the adjust was next to impossible so I dove in and yea it was an adventure. Taking it step-by-step with Fred's videos got me through it. I had a little down time waiting for shims to come in and then buttoned it all back up. Putting things back together was easier. I have almost 30K on the bike since that valve adjust and don't have any plans to do another one anytime soon.
 
I seriously considered doing it myself, but after helping my son do the valve adjust on his CBR1000 I knew I didn't have the time or patience. I was lucky to find a private bike shop 2 miles from my house that did the job for under $800. I've put a little over 4K miles on it since the work was done and haven't had any issues.
 
Oh Boy! I am about to tackle my second C14 valve check at 67K. The first check at 30K did not require any shim replacements which was disappointing after all the work to get into the top end, maybe. Got the kit parts from Murph's (thanks Murph!) and will review the docs, errata and Phil's videos. I am amazed that after taking all the plastic off and on again 20 or more times in 5 years, things still go where they are supposed to and fit tight. Those little black push pins work pretty well for a bike that can top 150+.

Wish me luck!

Gilbysan, aka - Fat Ninja
 
My C-14’s first valve check at 30K 15 of 16 valves were below minimum clearance specification. I adjusted all 16 to the taller end of spec and now at 57K or 58K I will do it again after I get the current machines out of the garage.

I am expecting to see movement but nothing to same degree as initial, fairly typical.

I find the job rewarding, have performed a good number of valve clearance adjustments C-14’s and a couple on the C-10. Most first time checks I see have >3/4 of the valves out, either long on miles or high in RPMs (more closes = more initial movement).

I find the Kawasaki factory service manuals to be very easy to follow with clear, comprehensive step by step instructions.

And agreed the machine goes together very well, the plastics in a couple spots always make me jittery just because of the interference fit and flexing - but never a problem.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
jerrylking said:
I succeeded in adjusting my valves, and my bike runs great. However, I think it is ridiculous that a standard maintenance procedure takes as much time as this does. If there are 1,000 fasteners and connectors on this bike, 950 of them are hard to reach and difficult to remove and replace. I love riding my Connie, but it will not win any awards for maintainability. It is a Chinese puzzle in the form of a sport touring motorcycle. Having done this once, I know that it would be easier the second time, but I have no intention of doing this again. If I put enough miles on the bike to warrant a second valve adjustment, I'll sell it and let the next owner deal with it. My next bike, whatever it is, will have a naked or nearly naked motor that can easily be worked on.

That rant out of the way, here are a few observations for the benefit of those who are contemplating doing a valve adjustment for the first time:

1. Absolutely invest in Fred Harmon's instructional DVDs. I don't think that I could have done this job without them.
2. If I did this again, I would remove the radiator for easier access to the front of the motor. It would make for less frustration in working in very tight quarters.
3. One of the hardest individual steps is getting the cable guide back in place where it snaps into the air dam that bolts to the top of the valve cover. It is nearly impossible to reach. I realized that it can be done easily by taking the air dam apart. It has a plastic piece that is attached to a metal piece by two plastic rivets that can easily be removed. Separate the plastic piece from the metal piece, snap the cable guide into place in the plastic piece, and then reattach the plastic piece to the metal piece with the two plastic rivets.
4. I noticed one potentially serious error in the Harmon DVD instructions. In the video, he torques the lower bolt of the right engine brace to 18 foot-pounds. That is the specified torque for the upper two bolts, but not for the lower bolt, which should be torqued to 44 foot-pounds. It would not be good for this bolt to work loose. Anyone who torqued this bolt to only 18 foot-pounds following Fred's video should remove the right middle fairing and re-torque this bolt.

The COG store should sell merit badges. I want a valve adjusment merit badge and a throttle body balancing merit badge.
Click to expand...
To your points:

1. Yes, Freds videos are crucial!
2. Removing the radiator makes the job much easier. I also take it to a radiator shop and have it pressure tested while it is out ($15 bucks).
3. Invest in hemostats. They are cheap come in many lengths and shapes and make tasks like that easier.
4. Always read the manual for torque values. Some have a hand touched by god to feel the right torque, mine was cursed.

On another note. The job is not hard, but it takes alot of time. It gets faster the more you do it. For me the value is getting my eyes on some problems way before they develop.....and I use the opportunity to farkle.

Dan
 
danmcdermott@me.com said:
2. Removing the radiator makes the job much easier. I also take it to a radiator shop and have it pressure tested while it is out ($15 bucks).
Click to expand...
+1 on radiator removal. Also both front engine mounts (after all brute force items are undone).

Also unless you only got a lifter or two to adjust on the #1 cylinder side just fully remove the cams - don’t try and do the slip the lifter out by lifting the cam slightly. You’ll see a few YouTube garages doing this - just do it right. Seems to me this raises the possibility of losing a shim or bonking a journal 😳…!

There is a fear about getting the timing back, FSM lays out the process clearly and if you miss (just do it again).

Also replace your oil pipe o-rings, think there are many skipping this step. FSM makes it clear - replace, don’t inspect to reuse, replace.

I use a moly liquid assembly lube as well. After valve job you’ll be doing your oil anyhow so use the moly lube, it sticks to everything well and prevents any dry start damage until oil flow can be established. Just remember to change your oil after fully warming and burping your coolant etc. The moly could cause issues with your clutch, Kawasaki uses it and I doubt they flush but it’s a good idea in my book.

Last thing is tools - insist on investing in the right tools.

All the above make this job as always described, not difficult just time consuming.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
jerrylking :

Ya, the directions in Fred's video about installing the airdam is little mis-leading.
I did it differently and made it made the job much moe easier.
Also ditto on your remark about the torques - it's obvious the larger diameter bolts require more torque.

See the attachment. I also sent this to Fred shortly after I did my valve adjust a few years ago, BTW.
 

Attachments

  • 2008AirDamInstall.pdf
    63.5 KB · Views: 152
Last edited:
IBAJIM said:
jerrylking :

Ya, the directions in Fred's video about installing the airdam is little mis-leading.
I did it differently and made it made the job much moe easier.
Also ditto on your remark about the torques - it's obvious the larger diameter bolts require more torque.

See the attachment. I also sent this to Fred shortly after I did my valve adjust a few years ago, BTW.
Click to expand...
That's really interesting. We came to the same conclusions, independently. When trying to reinstall the lower engine brace bolt on the left side, I had a hard time getting it to go back in because the gunk that was originally on the bolt was now on the threads. If I had been smart, I would have stopped trying and cleaned out the gunk. However, I wasn't smart and ended up stripping the threads. Fortunately, that engine boss is one of the few easily accessible spots on the bike and it was easy to drill it out an install a helicoil. On the right side, I cleaned the gunk out first with brake cleaner and had no problem reinstalling the bolt.
 
jerrylking said:
That's really interesting. We came to the same conclusions, independently. When trying to reinstall the lower engine brace bolt on the left side, I had a hard time getting it to go back in because the gunk that was originally on the bolt was now on the threads. If I had been smart, I would have stopped trying and cleaned out the gunk. However, I wasn't smart and ended up stripping the threads. Fortunately, that engine boss is one of the few easily accessible spots on the bike and it was easy to drill it out an install a helicoil. On the right side, I cleaned the gunk out first with brake cleaner and had no problem reinstalling the bolt.
Click to expand...
One of the toolsets I use plenty and often on this machine: Taps and Dies. Clean the old thread locker off. First there’s no way to measure proper torque cannot be measured if all gummed up and second it’s easier to cross thread of the threads are not clean.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
That left front bracket doesn't need to be removed to do the job, but if both are removed it's a smart idea to put a jack under the eng beforehand so that it doesn't drop that mm or so. Quite a few folks have reported stripping that particular thread - and I don't believe it's due solely to gunk, but misalignment. The rear eng mounts are such that the front of the eng can drop that fraction if the front is unsupported.
 
2andblue said:
One of the toolsets I use plenty and often on this machine: Taps and Dies. Clean the old thread locker off. First there’s no way to measure proper torque cannot be measured if all gummed up and second it’s easier to cross thread of the threads are not clean.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
Click to expand...
Freddy said:
That left front bracket doesn't need to be removed to do the job, but if both are removed it's a smart idea to put a jack under the eng beforehand so that it doesn't drop that mm or so. Quite a few folks have reported stripping that particular thread - and I don't believe it's due solely to gunk, but misalignment. The rear eng mounts are such that the front of the eng can drop that fraction if the front is unsupported.
Click to expand...
I can attest on both accounts. Removing thread locking agents (OEM or otherwise) is a must. There are taps and dies or similar variants that focus on fixing/healing threads instead of cutting.

Factory original frame bolts have an orange substance (I don't know if it is a vibration dampener like vibratite or a thread locker like blue or red locktite). Factory original frame bolts are torque to yield and the FSM specifies replacing them each time.

I tried to reuse one of these bolts without cleaning out the orange gunk and stripped the threads.

Many on, including me, on this site reuse these bolts after cleaning and chasing them with great success and savings.

Removing the left front bracket may not need to be done, however it makes the job much easier. Now I always put a jack under the engine as removing both front left and right brackets encourages the engine to pivot on the one remaining rear mount.
 
There are 2 rear mounts actually Dan. It's extremely important that their critical adjustment is not disturbed when mounting crash bars there (as some folks have when attempting to remove that long, hollow, internal hex bolt).
 
Freddy said:
There are 2 rear mounts actually Dan. It's extremely important that their critical adjustment is not disturbed when mounting crash bars there (as some folks have when attempting to remove that long, hollow, internal hex bolt).
Click to expand...
Yep I forgot about the second rear one. I have to remove my canyon cages when doing a valve inspection and forgot the rear canyon cages mount is also one of two rear engine mounts. The first time I did it the engine rotated just a bit as you described and I had to use the combination of a jack to lift the engine and tie downs to prevent the bike from rising.....won't do that again.
 
Coggers, First Happy New Year!

I did the valve clearance check and did not have to do any shimming which, to me is pretty amazing after 64K miles of fun riding.

Aside from all the stuff that must be removed or moved out of the way just to get to the cam cover, (then replaced in the correct order and positions Arrrggggh!), the process of checking the valve clearances is very detailed relative to the cam positions and which valves are checked in which order; I get that and it makes sense. Having said this, cams are ground to a very high tolerance in terms of the lobes, ramps, profiles and whatnot. So, why not just position a cam lobe to a position where the lobes are pointed ~90 degrees from the tappet and make your measurements? (yes I know that the cylinder head is not 90 degrees to the earth) With every half turn of the crankshaft there are several lobes that are in positioned in this way, couldn't you get an accurate read on valve clearances this way?

Assumptions: Cams are precision ground or at least consistently ground and polished to a standard size and spec. Cam tower block holding the cams in place are torqued consistently. Any out of tolerance valves must be shimmed.

However, if the exhaust valves on #4 cylinder are at 0.23mm and 0.21mm, (factory specs are 0.19-0.24mm) I am in the green and don't really need to do any shimming here unless I am being very AR about having them all exactly the same. Is my point of view realistic or is this a Concours faux pas? What is the impact of having valves whose clearances vary from .01-.05mm? Put another way, 0.05mm is 50microns, about the width of a human hair. So, in reality, I could have exhausts on #1 at 0.19mm and on #4 at 0.24 both of which are within spec and represent the extreme spread of still within tolerances according to momma kaw and both within a hair of each other.

Final question - this would vary from mechanic to mechanic but I cannot help but wonder if when checking clearances, they found all of them within spec range, do they do any shimming or call it good enough and button the bike up?

I am pretty sure that one or many of our experts will weigh in on this and I very much welcome your input.

Cheers!

Gilbysan, aka - Fat Ninja
 
Wow 64K miles and all valves in spec! Is your machine RED? ⬅️@connie_rider

Then to a couple of your questions. Why does Kawasaki FSM instruct to measure clearance not at the exact cam lobe heel? I remember asking myself this as well and measured both the heel and as instructed and found no demonstrable difference. May be for maintenance efficiency as given the lobe timings less turning of the engine to measure all valves.

Then for the microns difference between in / out of specification or differences between cylinders: The individual valves are opening and closing at a rate half that of the engine RPM which per second means 8 times at idle and at redline about 10x that at 80 times per second. This frequency of opening twinned with varying valve clearances can result in a significant difference of timing, air flow disruption, combustion efficiency and lack of full or smooth performance.

A valve that doesn’t close fully, soon enough of for the same duration as another will allow fuel / air mix to escape, lack of compression and combustion gasses to escape, which reduces that cylinders performance. These differences are more noticeable at lower RPM but can lead to buzzing in handlebars and overall not as smooth of a running engine.

Inconsistent cylinder head temperatures can result due to valves on tight side not transferring heat to the head consistently resulting in differences in combustion speed and patterns and in worst cases roasted valves or seats.

Valve clearance and differences thereof also affect timing of the durations of valve opening and closing. The valve’s duration (the time the valve is open) will therefore be greater if the clearance is tighter (it opens sooner and closes later), and reduced if it’s looser (opens later and closes sooner). This has a direct effect on engine performance and again smoothness of power delivery.

Each individual combustion does not seem to be impacted by such minute splitting of hairs differences differences but fast forward to the frequency described earlier and one can see how very little variances can grow to an impactful reduction in performance.

From my perspective I choose for clearances to be as closely matched cylinder to cylinder as practical and be within the middle higher end of spec. This (along with TB balancing) leads to the smoothest running engine, reduces stress on components ‘fighting each other’ and optimal efficiency.

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
Wayne, Carol & Blue, Funny, when I bought my current C14 it was a 2012 in that Root Beer Red color but I painted it Blue. Thanks much for your reasoning and the logic associated with the mechanics of the engine as it operates. The visual of the motor running along at high RPM with all 16 valves operating is sobering. It is early, so doing the calculations of the time difference between traveling plus or minus 0.05 more or less than the next 15 valves seems daunting to me, but you make a good point.

Consistency is important with things that have to work in unison. Since I made no adjustments to the valves and have experienced no vibes that seemed out of place to date; I will call it good enough. Maybe when Connie gets to the next anniversary at 90-100K...

I do think I will get it on the Dyno again and see what if anything has changed in the past 64K, I first had it dyno'd with 2K on it after the Flashing process so have a pretty good bench mark.

More interesting to me are any positive results from changing the fuel pump filter. That thing was absolutely filthy with gunk...

The plugs looked pretty clean but to be honest my eyeballs are not calibrated to judge a good plug from a worn one, when I compared them other than minor oxidation, seemed pretty close in appearance.

Thanks again, Safe Riding!

Gilbysan, aka - Fat Ninja
 
gilbysan said:
More interesting to me are any positive results from changing the fuel pump filter. That thing was absolutely filthy with gunk...

The plugs looked pretty clean but to be honest my eyeballs are not calibrated to judge a good plug from a worn one, when I compared them other than minor oxidation, seemed pretty close in appearance.

Thanks again, Safe Riding!

Gilbysan, aka - Fat Ninja
Click to expand...
That reminds me I need to change my fuel filter, still factory at 58K miles. No trouble, bogging or hesitation but it’s time, preventative…

The iridium plugs used in our machine probably do not need changing more than every 50K. I do though just change them at every valve check along with lubing cables and all the usual stuff. I’ve changed plugs with 20K - 45K miles on them and they all look good with no erosion of the electrodes - these are good spark plugs and you will pay for them. Crazy that Kawasaki states changing every 7,500 miles, big dealer money maker there. My guess is the extreme testing Kawasaki does they have to plan for the harshest use case and then there is also likely an EPA hand in there too…

@connie_rider Red to Blue!

Wayne, Carol & Blue
 
2&Blue,

For sure the plugs were the easiest part of the whole process, once all the skins are off and the many, many fasteners that hold stuff in the way of the top end. It was the first plug change since new, now at 654K, so I feel I got my money's worth out of them. And the old ones are now potential spares in the event of extreme shortages, which we never have in our modern technological age such as it is...:unsure:

The fuel filter change was interesting; filthy after so many miles but the new one remedied that. I had an ASM reassembling the pump I touched the whitish wire that connects to what looks like a small capacitor on the side housing and of course it broke off right at the mini connector. Almost gave up and started to go online to order a new pump but instead warmed up the ole soldering iron and was able to make a strong joint. Apparently, it works since the motor started up and runs fine based on my shakedown ride around Seattle.

Next thing is to pull the front wheel and replace the old battery in the TPMS unit. It seems to like to run batteries down much more quickly than the rear and gives me that LOWBATT warning until the tire or it warm up.

Always some new adventure when riding and owning motorcycles. I am just really glad that we mortals can still do many of the things that need doing on our bikes.

Cheers!

Gilbysan, aka Fat Ninja
 
gilbysan said:
2&Blue,

For sure the plugs were the easiest part of the whole process, once all the skins are off and the many, many fasteners that hold stuff in the way of the top end. It was the first plug change since new, now at 654K, so I feel I got my money's worth out of them. And the old ones are now potential spares in the event of extreme shortages, which we never have in our modern technological age such as it is...:unsure:

The fuel filter change was interesting; filthy after so many miles but the new one remedied that. I had an ASM reassembling the pump I touched the whitish wire that connects to what looks like a small capacitor on the side housing and of course it broke off right at the mini connector. Almost gave up and started to go online to order a new pump but instead warmed up the ole soldering iron and was able to make a strong joint. Apparently, it works since the motor started up and runs fine based on my shakedown ride around Seattle.

Next thing is to pull the front wheel and replace the old battery in the TPMS unit. It seems to like to run batteries down much more quickly than the rear and gives me that LOWBATT warning until the tire or it warm up.

Always some new adventure when riding and owning motorcycles. I am just really glad that we mortals can still do many of the things that need doing on our bikes.

Cheers!

Gilbysan, aka Fat Ninja
Click to expand...
At 25,000 miles, my plugs looked pristine. Changed them anyway, of course.
 
gilbysan said:
2&Blue,

It was the first plug change since new, now at 654K, so I feel I got my money's worth out of them.

The fuel filter change was interesting; filthy after so many miles but the new one remedied that. I had an ASM reassembling the pump I touched the whitish wire that connects to what looks like a small capacitor on the side housing and of course it broke off right at the mini connector. Almost gave up and started to go online to order a new pump but instead warmed up the ole soldering iron and was able to make a strong joint. Apparently, it works since the motor started up and runs fine based on my shakedown ride around Seattle.

Next thing is to pull the front wheel and replace the old battery in the TPMS unit. It seems to like to run batteries down much more quickly than the rear and gives me that LOWBATT warning until the tire or it warm up.

Always some new adventure when riding and owning motorcycles. I am just really glad that we mortals can still do many of the things that need doing on our bikes.

Cheers!

Gilbysan, aka Fat Ninja
Click to expand...
kzz1king said:
All this talk just makes me want to tear into mine again 😄
Click to expand...
Let’s do it!
 
LOL, 654K boy, what were my fingers thinking. A new universal record for C14s has been achieved by the press of a key...64K is much closer to the reality, sorry for the typo...

Gilbysan, aka - Fat Ninja
 
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