R1150RT valve adjustment.

[kruuuzn]

When you check your valve clearance before adjusting them do you find them to be on the tight side or loose side?

I was surprised to find mine tight. I was expecting the opposite. Now I wish I would have measured the gap before setting it just as a reference.

[dirtrider]

22 minutes ago, kruuuzn said:

When you check your valve clearance before adjusting them do you find them to be on the tight side or loose side?

I was surprised to find mine tight. I was expecting the opposite. Now I wish I would have measured the gap before setting it just as a reference.

 

Afternoon kruuuzn

 

It depends on the motorcycle, amount of mileage, type of riding, etc-- To answer your question I have found both tight & loose with the majority not needing any adjustment at all. 

 

Just make sure that your 1150 is stone cold  for the adjustment.  (I like overnight cold).

 

Loose at adjustment usually points to wear in the valve train parts, tight at adjustment usually points to a little valve recession into the valve seats  (or they were adjusted a bit too tight at last adjustment). 

 

On my personal BMW 1100/1150 bikes I used to set the intake to specs but set the exhaust about .001" looser than BMW spec as I did a lot of high speed riding at fairly  heavy engine loading.

 

On the BMW 1200 hexhead bikes BMW actually specs a slightly looser exhaust valve setting on the exhaust valves for the police  bikes vs the civilian 1200 bikes   (.35 mm 1200 RT-P vs  .30 mm 1200 civilian RT).

 

Added: any time you get a different valve lash  reading than the last time you set the valves try rotating the elephants foot about 1/4 rotation then re-measure (do this for a full rotation of the elephants foot).

 

Sometimes those elephants feet will wear in one clocking location.  

 

 

[AndyS]

Valve to valve housing wear can cause gaps to close up. Also setting the valves at a different temperature can have an effect too.

[Craig G.]

25 minutes ago, AndyS said:

"valve housing"

The correct term is valve seat... just so not to confuse.

[kruuuzn]

45 minutes ago, AndyS said:

Also setting the valves at a different temperature can have an effect too.

 

Ya, this is one thing that's bothered me in the past.

I've had the dealer adjust the valves up until now at the 6,000 mile services. Since the dealer is 150 miles away I'd get there early on a Saturday morning. Then they would need to run cold water on the jugs out of a garden hose. That always made me nervous.

 

"Over night" cold has got to be much more accurate.

[dirtrider]

7 minutes ago, kruuuzn said:

 

Ya, this is one thing that's bothered me in the past.

I've had the dealer adjust the valves up until now at the 6,000 mile services. Since the dealer is 150 miles away I'd get there early on a Saturday morning. Then they would need to run cold water on the jugs out of a garden hose. That always made me nervous.

 

"Over night" cold has got to be much more accurate.

 

Afternoon kruuuzn

 

That's just plain wrong!

 

You can't really compare a sort of cool down valve adjustment with true overnight cool down valve adjustment. (no wonder they now show slightly tight)

[kruuuzn]

I'm thinking the same thing bud.

[dirtrider]

21 minutes ago, kruuuzn said:

I'm thinking the same thing bud.

 

Afternoon kruuuzn

 

Well, now that you have your own-adjustment baseline setting you will know at next valve adjustment if you get a change from YOUR baseline. 

[kruuuzn]

8 hours ago, dirtrider said:

Well, now that you have your own-adjustment baseline setting you will know at next valve adjustment if you get a change from YOUR baseline. 

 

Exactly!

 

Man, it’s kinda tough to set the proper gap when you need to torque the nut with a standard torque wrench.

When you use a socket on your torque wrench there’s no way to get at the set screw so you can counter torque it with an allen wrench. I found myself tightening the nut with a standard wrench then checking it for tightness with the torque wrench. I’m sure I’ve got them tighter than what they should be.

[AndyS]

There is nothing 'wrong' with your procedure. It is fine to get a good nip on those locknuts, check the clearances, readjust as necessary then if you feel the need, check /finish with a torque wrench. Unless you are a real gorilla, then the threads on those adjusters, nuts and housings can take an incredible amount of force (of course they don't need such high forces), but don't beat yourself up about it.

[RPG]

FWIW,

 

Once you get the baseline set, you can do 6000 mile checks. On my '04, I've rarely had to do an actual adjustment, once the motor settled in around the 10k mark.

 

Currently at 105k, and my clearances stay rock steady.

 

And don't forget to check the rocker arms axial (vertical) movement. That's where most of the noise comes into play, just like older Airhead's.

 

RPG

[kruuuzn]

I've come across some conflicting info on the 'ol interweb..........

 

When setting top dead center what to you line up with the middle of the viewing hole? The letters or the line BELOW the letters?

[Craig G.]

The line...

[kruuuzn]

Mine doesn’t look exactly like that but I DID use the line below the OT letters.

I guess I did it correctly eh?

[Craig G.]

Probably...

 

I don't mess with the marks.  I have the plugs pulled when I do the valves so that I can insert a large philips head screwdriver into the cylinder.  I then rotate the rear wheel with it in gear and watch for the intake valve to close... then wait for full travel of the screwdriver.  That's TDC (or close enough) for the cylinder I'm working on.  Got to make sure whatever you insert into the cyl remains perpendicular to the piston and does not bind in the spark plug hole.

[dirtrider]

10 hours ago, kruuuzn said:

Mine doesn’t look exactly like that but I DID use the line below the OT letters.

I guess I did it correctly eh?

 

Morning kruuuzn   

 

Yes, you did it correctly as the line at  OT is Top Dead Center through the timing hole,  when the service manual picture  refers to TDC it is referring holding the engine at TDC with the locating  pin. (kind of a misleading picture)--

Valves are fully closed anywhere between 0T (tdc) & the Z mark (full spark advance) as they have to be closed  as it can spark &  fire anywhere in that range.  

 

Seeing  as you have the  plastics removed then the timing hole (0T)  works as good as any.

 

In the future you can check/adjust your valves without removing the plastics by using a pencil or wooden chopstick (something soft) in through the spark plug hole then putting the trans in 6th gear & using the rear wheel to turn the engine until the pencil/chopstick  is out as far as it will move. (very easy to tell as bumping the rear wheel lightly forward & backward will slightly move the pencil  so you can easily tell TDC when the pencil moves away from all the way out as you bump the rear wheel)

 

Or just use the arrows on the cam sprockets   (when arrows point straight out you are at, or close enough to, TDC to check the valves).