Not looking forward to Maintenance

[bswasey]

So my 06 2006 has 5400 miles. To date, the valves haven't been adjusted or even checked, so I decided this weekend to check them. I noticed around 4-5K, the bike has a harmonic "woowoowoowoowoo" sound and some what could be valve train noise. I hope it also makes the bike sound like a...you know bike and not like weed wacker motor. I think the biggest reason I've put it off is I've torn the bike down so many times adjusting the jet kit, checking plugs, etc that its a pain in the butt at this point. I do know not to torque the valve cover bolts to their recommended torque as they break easily, but any thing else to look for? Anyone recommend any sealants or will reusing only the gasket be ok?

[monger]

Sure you can re-use the valve cover gasket, and no sealent is needed.

BTW,
Where in Maine are you located?

[bswasey]

Hollis. Its in York County about 20 miles west of Portland. I'm near all the big cities (if you can call them that) in southern Maine

[ronin]

get the valves adjusted, it really makes a difference!

[Uloset]

Re: Not looking forward to Maintenance

[quote="bswasey"] I do know not to torque the valve cover bolts to their recommended torque as they break easily[quote]

Why what do you torque them to. I've torqued them to 10 ft. lbs. and the unions to 11.5 without a problem.

[bswasey]

I haven't taken the cover off yet, but have heard of them snapping before 10ft lbs was reached.

[md86]

Reuse valve cover gasket . Put silicone on the protrusions . Hollow hex head bolts torque REALLY low , as they brake easy . I leave mine at like 6 ft/lbs , as I broke one before getting to HALF of what the book says . They don't leak there . And I REALLY just go by feel . It don't take much . And if the allens leak , not only will it not cause a ton of problems , but it's easy enough to tighten them up slightly until they DON'T leak anymore .

[bswasey]

I almost set the bike on fire last night. Thats how mad I got at it. It took 30 min to strip it down, then an additional 2 1/2 hours just to get one valve cover bolt out!!!!! Its the one facing the front of the bike right behind the cooler in the center of cover. I rounded out the hex hole! GRRR. I couldn't get an allen wrench to bite into it at all so I ground a slot in one side, got a BIG punch and put a 5 pound sledge hammer to it and it loosened. Now I need to go the dealer and get a new bolt. WHy didn't they just use normal hex heads? Also, 5 bolts total are just under a non-removable crossmember. How did you torque them? There isn't enough room for a socket and rachet. I think I'm also going to see if the dealer has the "valve adjusting tool" for sale. If they don't, can a normal socket or pliers/vice grip work safely? I do not want to have to order one because I want the bike back together today. Looking a picture, the top of the valves look square. I do know regular hex sockets -can- hold on to them and take a fair amount of torque. (I do that with GM's famously horrific reverse torx bolts). Also, when you take the signal generator cover off, its it normal for a small amount (maybe a table spoon) of oil to come out?

[md86]

When I adjust mine , I'll turn them with my fingers , hold them with pliers and tighten the locknut with a wrench . Works well for me .

[fixer]

IIRC, the tool is inexpensive and makes the job simplier/easier than trying to improvise. if your dealer doesn't have it, i think CyberPoet does.

[Uloset]

Also, 5 bolts total are just under a non-removable crossmember. How did you torque them? There isn't enough room for a socket and rachet.

If your talking about the bracket the cross directly over the engine it is removable. Just when you put it back use thread locker and I think you have to torque the bolts to 23 lb-ft..

[bswasey]

I took that member off. Its the one that supports the steering head and oil cooler. There was not quite enough room for a ratchet and allen head socket. I got it done last night. I used a 1/8" ignition wrench to hold the valves. What a pain. cylinders 1& 2 were at spec. .004" for the intake and .007" for the exhaust. Cylinders 3 & 4 were different. Intake was at .006" and exhaust was at .009". I adjusted them to be the same as 1 & 2. It was pretty easy but at first after I gapped the valves, they would close up as I tightened the lock nut. I eventually got them. Reassembly was very easy, with only a couple casulties: 1 valve cover bolt that had to be mutilated to be removed (a new one is on order but I safely reused the older one for now), 1 fairling bolt that got the head rounded from repeated removing for maintenance, 1 stripped thread on the frame for the fairing from again, repeated removing. Those 2 can be easily fixed. I had no problems at all with the valve cover bolts. The 10 cover bolts are at 10 ft lbs (except for the 4 under the frame) and the hollow bolts are at 8 ft lbs. No leaks to report of! I see why people take it to the dealer for readjusting the valves! I had to STRIP the bike to get to them. Glad they dont need to be touched again for 7500+ miles.

[The CyberPoet]

It really shouldn't be as hard as what you went through.

The Tricks:
Strip the bike down the night before. Makes it that much less you have to do at one shot.
Cross-brace bar comes off. I don't think it uses loctite from the factory, but rather a vibration-reducing rubber compound
Remove the oil cooler (towel over the fender and lay it forward) to get access to that allen-head bolt at the front of the valve cover. A lot easier to come in from that side than over the top of the valve cover.
Wobble-bit allen keys make stuff easier.
Two sets of feeler gauges -- one under each pair of valves, so they can't see-saw under the tappet. I adjust to middle-adjustment (i.e. - if valid range is .004 to .006, I adjust to .005).
how smooth the bike runs is directly based on two simple factors - how close in adjustment range each particular pair of valves is to each other, and the carb sync. The carb sync will compensate for cylinder 1 being a thousandth's off from cylinder 3, but nothing can compensate for the left valve being a thousandth's off of the right valve for the same cylinder (intake vs. intake or exhaust vs. exhaust).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[bswasey]

My cross member was actually the red locktite. I stripped the bike the night before. I also found it easier to pull the carbs to get the throttle cables out of the way.

[jgalar]

Thats what I do. Pull the carbs at the intake and flop them out of the way. It gives you plenty of room to work without the cables in the way.