Cables and valves (and seals and sealers)

Oiled all my cables today, and checked the state of the choke plungers, which look OK.

I borrowed a 'pressure' cable oiling gadget. Waste of time. couldn't get the ** thing to grip onto the cable ends properly so resorted to using a small syringe to apply cf50 until it appeared at the other end. That was OK. The result was that the whole thing took bl**dy ages and that meant I couldn't get round to checking the valve clearances.

So what're the tips for taking the valve covers off? Should I get new valve cover seals and sealant as a matter of course, or is very unlikely that the seals will have deteriorated? The bikes done 17k, and running like a dream.
I read that I need to take the radiator off - and I have only recently flushed through and changed the coolant(200 miles). Tips for saving the coolant? Or shouldn't I bother, and just use new coolant?

Should I get the Suzuki sealant or is there a generic(cheaper ) one I could use?

About balancing the carbs: When I do the valve clearances I want to take the opportunity to follow a suggestion I read on the org a while back about fitting extension vacuum hoses to make subsequent carb balancing less tricky. Where can I get the 5mm (ID) hose and connectors from?

Any?

Thanks,
John

[yorkie_chris]

You don't need any special connectors, just a bolt to plug the end of add-on cable, also a bit of tube of some sort to connect the gauge tube to.

If you're in no rush I can send you a chunk for price of postage, my mate has loads of the stuff.


Had a few valve covers off, and never known them need anything else they've always re-sealed fine.

Also to lube cables, I tie a small bag onto the cable, and fill it with grease and oil so it runs down the cable. 10 minutes to set up then forget about it for an hour or so.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

You don't need any special connectors, just a bolt to plug the end of add-on cable, also a bit of tube of some sort to connect the gauge tube to.

If you're in no rush I can send you a chunk for price of postage, my mate has loads of the stuff.


Had a few valve covers off, and never known them need anything else they've always re-sealed fine.

Also to lube cables, I tie a small bag onto the cable, and fill it with grease and oil so it runs down the cable. 10 minutes to set up then forget about it for an hour or so.

Thanks Yorkie.
By add on cable do you mean 5mm bore tube?. I'd appreciate some of that. If you got paypal I'll send the postage that way.
Cheers

[pmapp]

I did my valve clearences at the weekend.

I used a splurge of gasket sealer on the bits it says to do in the haynes book - no where else.