Valve clearance question

cityjack
Posts
194
Joined
6/9/2017
Location
Granite Falls, NC US
Evening guys,

This a theory/performance/spec question.

My exhaust spec is .005 - .0071 I am measuring .007 with the feeler gauge
My intake spec is .0031 - .0047 I am measuring between .004 - .005 with the feeler gauge

I am obviously right on the upper spec. Meaning by valves are on the verge of being a little loose. The bike starts right up, idles great, and no popping on deceleration either. Should I try to tighten the valves up a bit by bringing the clearance back to the middle of the spec or no?

Typically when the valve train wears under normal conditions, do the valves get tighter (smaller clearance) or looser (greater clearance)? Is it safe to say when the valves get tighter, is that when you get start issues and popping on deceleration? What are symptoms of loose valves?

Thanks guys

Sid
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Paw Paw 271
Posts
3632
Joined
4/3/2013
Location
Benton, LA US
6/9/2021 6:38pm
Stay right were you are. If you get too tight you will have starting issues.
Intake valve stems grow in length over time. They also beat and wear the valves seats in the head. Either way you loose valve clearance over time. Set to the loose side always.

Paw Paw
2
murph783
Posts
1355
Joined
3/2/2011
Location
CT US
6/9/2021 8:23pm
Like paw paw said, leave em loose. They’ll only tighten up over time, so any time you adjust them you want to set them to the high end of spec, essentially right where you have them.
cityjack
Posts
194
Joined
6/9/2017
Location
Granite Falls, NC US
6/10/2021 4:39am
Exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you so much guys.

Enjoy the week.

Sid
1
tzmike
Posts
449
Joined
2/22/2014
Location
Warwick, NY US
6/12/2021 4:56am
I use basic rule of thumb. .004-.006" intake
.008-.010" exhaust

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