Valve Clearances - How 'Ard?

Hiya,

Thinking about checking the valve clearances on the SV tomorrow - just wondering how easy it is to do yourself?

I have the Suzuki service manual, and all the tools I need (I think) - just don't want to pay the garage £150 to check them if its something I can do myself.

Fair enough, if they do need adjusting, I'll book her in, cos it might be a job too far...

Cheers,

Billy.

Originally Posted by Biker_Billy

Hiya,

Thinking about checking the valve clearances on the SV tomorrow - just wondering how easy it is to do yourself?

I have the Suzuki service manual, and all the tools I need (I think) - just don't want to pay the garage £150 to check them if its something I can do myself.

Fair enough, if they do need adjusting, I'll book her in, cos it might be a job too far...

Cheers,

Billy.

Well if you can check the clearance you can set the clearance. You've then done 90% of the work (well 75%).

I haven't done this yet on mine but I plan too. If it's anything like my old 1993 gixer then it's just an adjusting tool basically a inversed allen key not too expensive and a spanner to tighten the locking nut the only thing is be carfull not to over tighten.

Just remember like any four stroke when in doubt about the clearence it's better the gap to be over than under. You don't want the valves to be floating and not seating as that will burn the exhaust ones up.

The good thing is you've only got eight to do not 16 like the fours.

I understand it's cams-out to change shims...

[rictus01]

Indeed it is a cams out job, unfortunatly most bike motors these days don't have rockers (the ones you can adjust with a spanner/screwdriver) and are of the bucket & shim type, under an inverted metal cover (bucket) is a small disc of metal (shim) which is changed to alter the gap.

Whilst it's a fairly easy process for checking the clearances (made even easier on the SV by having the second head as a guide if you need it), adjusting them will mean removing the cams to expose the buckets underneath, once that is done you have to lift them off and measure the thickness of the shim and replace it with one which will make the clearance correct, this needs doing for each valve, when all have been done the cams need re-installing and the timing set, then repeat for the other head.

Not brain surgery but perhaps a little more complex than an oil & filter change, don't get it wrong as it could turn very expensive very quickly, so check everything Twice

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

Not brain surgery but perhaps a little more complex than an oil & filter change, don't get it wrong as it could turn very expensive very quickly, so check everything Twice

Cheers Mark.

So, it's a 'no beer in the garage' job then?

[dizzyblonde]

you can have beer in the garage, just non alco. my blokes words at the prospect of buying an sv with 28000 on it were ' if you think i'm attemting to do those again you can @?"* off'. He did on suzy the first time and vowed not to do it again. The black one came with them already done fortunately for me, or is that him?

Originally Posted by chazzyb

I understand it's cams-out to change shims...

Oh how times have changed I like the old way best

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

you can have beer in the garage, just non alco. my blokes words at the prospect of buying an sv with 28000 on it were ' if you think i'm attemting to do those again you can @?"* off'. He did on suzy the first time and vowed not to do it again. The black one came with them already done fortunately for me, or is that him?

My SV's done 28000 now. It's time I checked the valves. I've, er, been procrastinating since, oooh, forever!

Valve Adjustment SV650
This might be of some help...
http://www.madisonsportbikes.com/for...ead.php?t=1097

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by toonyank

Oh how times have changed I like the old way best

The 'old way', that is; screw and locknut, was easy it's true, but needed a whole lot more adjustment - swings and roundabouts.

I know a 100,000+ mile SV upon which five of the eight valves have never needed adjustment, that's just never going to happen with screw and locknut adjustment for the valves.