Engine noise after valve adjustment

[DC Concours]

Hi guys,

I did my valve adjustment recently and have since ridden less than 100 miles.

First question, do I need to ride gently till the engine settles in to the new wider valve lashes?

Second, my valves were very tight and made no noise the one year I have owned the bike. Now, however it seems to be noisy but I don't know what is too noisy (too tappy). Bike starts and runs very well. What damage could happen if the valves are slightly looser than the specs?

Thanks...

[T Cro ®]

Damage? Likely none.... BUT how loose is too loose? That is a difficult question to answer. But look at it this way when a valve is too tight they can indeed cause burnt valve as the valve may not fully close. If a valve is too loose it will not open as much as it should and perhaps rob a small amount of performance; and unless seriously on the loose side I don't see it causing much by way of peening. BUT I have to say if the valve is not "WITHIN" spec then it needs adjustment...

INTAKE: 0.13 mm to 0.18 mm or .005" to .007" SAE
EXHAUST: 0.18 mm to 0.23 mm or .007" to .009" SAE

As to the "settling in" question.... NO....

[RFH87_Connie]

"Sounds like a sewing machine" is what most people say it sounds like - although actually louder.  No waiting to flog it after an adjustment.

Make sure you are using the appropriate measurement in either inches or millimeters.  A few have mixed up their gauges in the past and got a less than accurate adjustment.  Most riders also tend to set to the higher side of the range for a little longer lasting job.  I always set to 7 and 9 myself using the "bump the starter" method to rotate the engine to set each pair when the cam lobe is pointing away from them.

[Strawboss]

I do what RFH87 does. To add to T-Cro, remember, "tappy noise is happy noise" if you've done it all correctly.

[RFH87_Connie]

I do what RFH87 does. To add to T-Cro, remember, "tappy noise is happy noise" if you've done it all correctly.

Yeah that's it!  "Tappy valves are happy valves!"

[DC Concours]

With all the sudden (new to me) sewing machine noise I was concerned.

So I started reading and my confusion stems from the conflicting information I have read on how snug the feelers should be when adjusting the valve lashes.

When I watched a friend do his ex500 a few years back he made sure the feelers slid freely between the stem and the adjusting screw. However, now, in some places I have read says that the feeler gauge should be snug or slightly tight between the stem and screw??

I set my Intake: 0.007in, Exh: 0.009in. But since I made sure the feelers slid around freely with little or no friction I think I may be looser than 0.007 ad 0.009.

Should I crack everything open and redo or just ride till they tighten back up within specs. If no damage is expected from the valves being a little too loose, I just rather leave them alone. I can live with the sewing machine noise if you guys approve.

[Jet86]

Ride on but check them again at 22k

I did the same thing and went a little too loose on my old 86 and after 200 miles i opened it back up and adjusted them again just because i could not take the noise, at the time my bike had 56k on it but if your bike has 12k then they should smooth out faster.

[Leo]

Don't forget that the valve timing chain that runs both of those cams makes a little noise too, especially when the bike is cold.  Some people convert the tensioner to manual adjust, but I put over 100K miles on 2 bikes and over 50K miles on a 3rd running the stock tensioner with no troubles. 

I also use the method where you use two feeler gauges and adjust both valves at the same time, to avoid any error due to rocker pivot wear letting things shift.

[DC Concours]

Thanks guys. I think with the low miles it should tighten up sooner than later. I just didn't want any damage if the valves are now 0.008" and 0.010" as they most likely are.

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

Thanks guys. I think with the low miles it should tighten up sooner than later. I just didn't want any damage if the valves are now 0.008" and 0.010" as they most likely are.

your specs are +.001" larger than the high side of stock. not a problem, not going to hurt anything, just will be a touch noisier. Steve

[Jim __]

I was taught that the tension you feel on a feeler gauge when the adjustment is correct should be similar to dragging the gauge across a magnet.  If you're concerned about being too loose after adjustment, see if you can get a .001 larger gauge in there after your adjustments is complete and lock nut torque.  I think using 2 gauges simultaneously is a good idea.  Plus, it makes it easier to judge the tension on both set screws for each rocker since you can slide them at the same time.

[tweeter55]

I think I remember having a set of "go - no go" gauges. To me, that made a lot of sense.