Old /5 and tune-ups...

[Mladen]

I'm new to BMW. I owned bikes most of my life and am about 75% wrench literate. I have never before gone past the engine head cover on a 4-stroke until this morning...

Well, the bike still works but there is excessive chatter and more vibrations than before.. By the way, nursing an elderly R60/5 back to health...

The valve adjustment procedure in a manual seems simple enough. After slightly loosening and re-torquing all 6 bolts and getting TDC mark right I proceeded to adjust the valve clearance... I could not tell what is "appropriate" drag on the feeler leaf and may have done it too loose after all checking and rechecking...

Does this make sense?

Cheers,

Mladen

[too old to care]

IMO it is hard to describe how much drag is correct, I just know what feels right for me. However, if you set a valve at .006, than a .007 should also go in with “light” force, but not an .008. If it does, than it is too loose. However, it is also better to be too loose than too tight and ticking after the valves are set is normal.

 

Next, check the points to see if they are set right and the timing mark is close then synch the carbs. That is about all there is to tune an old airhead.

 

Also, join Airheads. http://www.airheads.org/ A lot of valuable info there.

 

[Huzband]

Check your rocker arm end play. If you can move the arm up & down on the shaft, it's too loose, & that's where your noise is coming from.

[SinNH]

I find TDC on the compression stroke for the side I'm working on before re-torqueing the heads.

The Wurth feeler gauges,they are individual with a small plastic handles,have always worked great for me and my airheads. When I adjust the valves I make them just tight enough that the gauge doesn't slide out by itself from the weight of the handle. I also oil the gauge. As said from other posters it's better to have them a touch loose than too tight.

YMMV

 

Steve