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2017 R1200RT Inspection


idbxs32

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Hello all, 

 

I was lucky to find a low mileage (3200 miles) 2017 R1200RT a few months back.  I have put about 2500 miles on it so far. I figured it was about

time to check the items mentioned in the forum, like lubed final drive status and cam lobe wear. Thanks to BoxFlyer and his detailed videos, all

went well. The videos are an amazing resource. I am still trying to track down the unavailable service manual. The final drive splines were well

lubed and there were no signs of rust or water. The cams do show some wear, it seems to be more like scoring. All cams past the fingernail

test. Here are a few pictures, please let me know what you think. Thank you, Don.

 

 

IMG_0702.jpeg

IMG_0701.jpeg

IMG_0693.jpeg

IMG_0700.jpeg

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Those cam lobes look perfectly fine. 
The only explanation I have for those light streaks on the cams is that some of the additives in our oils, like moly, boron, sodium, zinc and such, are smeared ever so slightly on the highly polished surfaces like the cams and can be seen unlike other load bearing parts that are fully encircled with bearing caps and such. 
As long as you have done a good evaluation of the high pressure points of the lobes, and find them smooth across the face, you can safely continue to run the engine and monitor every 12k. 
With the likelihood that the timing of the cams and the valve clearances are pretty stable after initial break-in, I still recommend a visual inspection of the cams every major service interval. 
Brad

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Brad....out of curiosity without naming the person's bike....what is the furthest out of spec you have seen valves and how many miles of cam lobe beyond useful life.  Curious how long these can go with proper maintenance.

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Hi David,

I checked my own 2016RT for cam timing and valve clearance about 30 times… starting at around 6k miles up until I was rear ended and the bike was totaled with 78k in Aug of 2021. 
The cam timing was adjusted at 6k, but that was too early in the break-in time frame, and again it needed adjusting at the 12k service. From that point on, the timing never needed adjustment up to 78k when the insurance company got the bike. 
The valve clearance was the same…some minor adjustments were made at 6k, and again at 12k.

At this early part of my experience with WetHeads, I had my clearance target as the mathematical midpoint of the published range, so 0.135mm for intake and 0.375mm for exhaust. This was a somewhat noisy setting that I lived with until 77k when I changed all my valve clearance targets to just a little tighter…0.12mm for the intake and 0.36mm for the exhaust and was MUCH happier with the quieter operation of the engine. 

Because I only had the 8.90mm shims from the starter shim kit with 0.04mm increments spacing, I had one of my intake valves set to 0.14mm and that was the first one that I tracked that INCREASED clearance finally to the tolerance limit of 0.17mm.  All of the other valves opened up slightly over that period of time, but none of them actually were at, or out of range. 
I now have over 250 of the 8.90mm shims in inventory and have set the last 50 or so WetHead and ShiftHead bikes I’ve worked on to as close to the slightly tighter targets of 0.12mm and 0.36mm…and find most of the riders really like the quieter engine. 
 

The real takeaway from this new, slightly tighter target for valves is that if I had originally set my own bike at 0.12mm instead of the 0.14mm that I had to accept because of the limited choice of shims to choose from, the valve clearance checks would have probably been in the acceptable range well beyond 100k.

 

As far as cam lobe wear, I think the “DLC” (diamond like coating) that is what makes the cam followers black, is one of the first indications that cam lobe wear is starting. When the cams are removed, the contact patch on the followers can show that the DLC is getting worn away, or is just shiny metal and is already worn away, and then that lobe will begin to develop small grooves that soon will wear through the thin case hardened layer on the lobe and lead to the replacement of the cam and followers as a set. 

Other than the obvious expense of buying the new cam and the upgraded followers, an engine should be as good as any other new engine off the assembly line with regards to the life expectancy of those parts. I would not hesitate to own an engine that has received new cams and followers…it might even be better than what some folks think are the problematic early years of the WetHead.  I think the model years that we hear about cam lobe wear is pretty random, and don’t group any specific year/years as something to stay away from just because of the cams. (Alternator windings are another thing).


Regarding the most out of spec for valve clearance, I would say I’ve seen less than 8 actually outside the published specifications…mostly because I get to do the “first look” 12k service on bikes. Some people have brought me bikes with around 24-30k that have not been checked and they also don’t appear grossly out of spec. When they come back from the first ride after the cams have been timed properly and the valves have been set to the slightly tighter target, they almost all wish they had taken care of this earlier in the ownership of their bikes. To date I think I’ve done cam and valve service on about 125 bikes and my sample size is getting bigger all the time. 

David, I’d love to do a full 12k service on your bike since it’s in the first 10 bikes to be sold in the USA if I read your signature correctly…are you coming to START in Elijah, GA?

Brad

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Thanks Brad....great info as always.  My bike is right at 30k.  It was number 8 in the USA of RT wetheads.  Last service was 24k at the dealer.  They said they made valve adjustments, but honestly I didn't believe them.  When I asked them for the before and after, it took a couple of days to get the results.

 

I don't know about Elijah.  I sure would love to make it and meet a bunch of you guys, but it's still such a long way round trip not counting the local riding.  It's 900 miles and 13 hours via google maps just one way.  That is a couple of days on the road each way so 4 days of travel plus the rally.  Riding solo that far doesn't excite me much.  If someone from my neck of the woods says they are going and I can ride with them, then I most likely will.

 

P.S... So far, the worst thing on my RT besides the recall is low beam out at about 12k and that rubber part that fell of you help me find the location.  Who knows what I am missing. Not sure my A&P translates too well to bikes.

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My round trip with my truck and trailer getting 12mpg is about 2100mi, so I know what you are looking at.

 

For me, it’s such a great event with great people that I don’t miss it unless I’m in the hospital… like last FART!

 

Hope you can work it out David…besides, you can also meet CAP, who’s helping me with maintenance at the event. 
Brad

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On 2/5/2023 at 5:02 PM, Boxflyer said:

Those cam lobes look perfectly fine. 
The only explanation I have for those light streaks on the cams is that some of the additives in our oils, like moly, boron, sodium, zinc and such, are smeared ever so slightly on the highly polished surfaces like the cams and can be seen unlike other load bearing parts that are fully encircled with bearing caps and such. 
As long as you have done a good evaluation of the high pressure points of the lobes, and find them smooth across the face, you can safely continue to run the engine and monitor every 12k. 
With the likelihood that the timing of the cams and the valve clearances are pretty stable after initial break-in, I still recommend a visual inspection of the cams every major service interval. 
Brad

 

I agree, my bike 2016 has almost 50K miles and the cams have looked like the ones in the OP's photo since I did my first 12K service on it.  They pass the fingernail test and the valves have not required any adjustment.

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