The complexity of modern valve trains and maintenance costs

[RC4MAN]

I guess HD wants so much to do a V-Rod because you must do the following,
Place the front wheel in a chock to hold the bike upright
Remove the faux tank/airbox cover
Remove the airbox from the throttle bodies
Remove the breather lines from the cam covers
Place a floor jack beneath the engine raise to contact the sump
Disconnect the top front engine mount, engine pivots on the swingarm
Lower the front of the engine, necessary to remove the cam covers
Remove the coil packs and spark plugs
Remove the cam covers
Remove the stator cover to be able to rotate the engine
Rotate the engine to the proper spots to gage clearance and record it
If any need adjustment remove the cam sprockets and slide them off the cams
Remove the particular cam, change the shim and reassemble
Recheck clearances to verify and put everything back in reverse order

 

[jetmechmarty]

I guess HD wants so much to do a V-Rod because you must do the following,
Place the front wheel in a chock to hold the bike upright
Remove the faux tank/airbox cover
Remove the airbox from the throttle bodies
Remove the breather lines from the cam covers
Place a floor jack beneath the engine raise to contact the sump
Disconnect the top front engine mount, engine pivots on the swingarm
Lower the front of the engine, necessary to remove the cam covers
Remove the coil packs and spark plugs
Remove the cam covers
Remove the stator cover to be able to rotate the engine
Rotate the engine to the proper spots to gage clearance and record it
If any need adjustment remove the cam sprockets and slide them off the cams
Remove the particular cam, change the shim and reassemble
Recheck clearances to verify and put everything back in reverse order

Fun, fun!

 

[AUTOMAN]

Maserati 4v DOHC heads on a 2.2L Chrysler engine was a chore on a dyno!
Shims under buckets!
Out of spec? measure, calculate.
Remove cams.
Replace shims, buckets.
Replace cams and cross your fingers.
16 valves 2 cams and 23 shims.

Bloody Italian engineering lasted 1 year, if that.

Thanx Lido

cliff

p.s.
why a $400 head on a $220 engine?
Then, we do it again with multi-air 30 years later?
That time was $ 1400 head on a $310 POS engine

Hemis are $600 cost, long block hydraulic roller lifters and pushrods
Watch out for higher rpms as the hyd. lifters pump-up from rockers sliding a bit for/aft off their hard stop rocker shaft pedestals

 

[Ratranger]

I've done adjustments on a ducati 748, triumph tiger 800xc, drz400sm, and multiple old bikes. The tiger 800 had 2 valve adjustments done in 110k miles, the DRZ has had it once when it got cams and a ported head. The worst was by far the ducati. The tiger and DRZ are both shim under bucket, which takes more work but they are less likely to need adjustment than say the xs650.

 

[mike in idaho]

Friend of Mine had a E-type Jaguar, with the dohc six cylinder, told Me about adjusting valves. He` said" first thing you do is pull the valve covers and measure the clearances, and write it all down. Then you pull the cams to get to the shims, measure every one, write down the measurements. Then figure what you need to buy, put it all back together while you order parts and wait."

 

[Ratranger]

Friend of Mine had a E-type Jaguar, with the dohc six cylinder, told Me about adjusting valves. He` said" first thing you do is pull the valve covers and measure the clearances, and write it all down. Then you pull the cams to get to the shims, measure every one, write down the measurements. Then figure what you need to buy, put it all back together while you order parts and wait."

That's why you buy a shim kit before you get into it. I bought one from hotcams, and now I just have to pull it out when needed. It's cheaper to buy singles, but it's worth it for convenience.

The toyota 4age had shim over bucket, the toyota solara had adjusters similar to old hondas/yamahas, I think honda K series motors have screw adjusters. It's a mixed bag even on cars.

I'm pretty sure a lot of running issues on some cars comes from people not knowing they need valve adjustments. Americans got spoiled with hydraulic lifters, or hydralic adjusters.

 

[Grimly]

I'm pretty sure a lot of running issues on some cars comes from people not knowing they need valve adjustments. Americans got spoiled with hydraulic lifters, or hydralic adjusters.

Relatedly, one bike (or the engine) I always wanted was the Honda CBX750 with its hydraulic tappets.
https://www.classicbikeguide.com/honda-cbx-750/

 

[arcticXS]

Relatedly, one bike (or the engine) I always wanted was the Honda CBX750 with its hydraulic tappets.
https://www.classicbikeguide.com/honda-cbx-750/

Maybe a good bike, but hardly good looking.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Maybe a good bike, but hardly good looking.

 

[RC4MAN]

What is it they say about "a mud fence"

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

What a great topic! Love reading stuff like this. I must admit I didn't even think about valve adjustments and how to do them when I bought my DR650 new in 2020. Happily, it's just like our 650s. I did think about it when I bought my FJ1200, and was nervous about having to possibly replace shims, but to gggGary's point, it was within spec at only 31000 kms (if the odometer ia correct). I must say, a two valve Ducati still interest me. An early Monster?

 

[arcticXS]

What a great topic! Love reading stuff like this. I must admit I didn't even think about valve adjustments and how to do them when I bought my DR650 new in 2020. Happily, it's just like our 650s. I did think about it when I bought my FJ1200, and was nervous about having to possibly replace shims, but to gggGary's point, it was within spec at only 31000 kms (if the odometer ia correct). I must say, a two valve Ducati still interest me. An early Monster?

Test ride one! Just be aware that some 900 Monsters have the "small valve head" from the Cagiva Elefant 900, while other have the "larger valve head" from the 900SS. The power difference is somewhere between 10 and 15 hp, depending on year. Other than that, the early Monsters are really fun bikes to ride, although taller folks may find the riding position a bit cramped. I'd say anyone over 1.75-1.80 will, depending on body proportions...

 

[Paleomechanic]

I used to work on old AFVs for a local museum in my “spare time”
(Www.coldwarcollection.com)

At one point, we had two heavy Alvis vehicles, a Saracen and Stalwart, both fully restored by staff and volunteers

Both had Rolls Royce straight 8 engines with complex pre-select gearboxes ( engines had two set of points, one each fit 4 cylinders….ah, the set ups …

The “book time “ in the manual to pull the power pack of the Saracen, was 37 HOURS!

Yeah…bikes are a snap !