Replacing valve seals, what else....

[psycoreefer]

Hey guys, yes I've searched but I wanted some fresh input...
I've got leaky valve seals - I get smoke when I shut the throttle and first thing on start up but no other time and I've got good compression = seals. I've read and everyone says the easiest way to do them is to pull the head so that is my plan.
My question is what else should I check and do while its off? And how long should I expect it to take. The bike is now my primary transportation so hopefully less then 2 days (saturday and sunday) otherwise I have to wait for a holiday. Last but not least I'm expecting a lot of carbon build up, last I checked my compression was around 155 - 160 on all cylinders which is considerably higher then new so I'm expecting a lot of carbon. Any tips for removing it?

[lee_dutcher]

pour some seafoam down your cylinders and hit the start a couple times so you coat the walls and valves and let it sit for a while...then pour the rest in the tank....this always works for me when it somes to carbon build up......the bikes smokes like it has blown a head gasket but thats a good thing...it meas its working sometimes if it is real bad you will see black pieces fly out.....some one else might a have a better method but seafoam is like 7 bux a can..u cant go wrong

[dbeardslee]

easiest way to do them is to pull the head

That's the only way I know to do it. Since you'll have it off, it's an opportune time to lap the valves. 'Course then you'll want to readjust/reshim the valves. Also a good time to replace the cam chain if it's getting close. Make sure you remove the cams before trying to pull the head. Don't know about yours but mine won't come off with the cams in place. Might also want to measure your valve springs and make sure they're still in spec. And be extra careful that you don't drop anything down the cam chain tunnel while you're working on it - rags stuffed in the hole help. And one other thing - if you see a big rubber seal around the cam chain tunnel when you pull the head, get rid of it. The new gaskets are designed to work without it, and using both will cause problems. My $.02

[TADracer]

Removing Carbon

Since the combustion chamber is a milti-hemispherical arrangement, removing carbon with hard tools or wire brushes might damage the finish and cause hot spots down the road. I use a tool easily made from a piece of 1/2" soft aluminum rod to remove carbon.

Take a piece about a foot long and place it in a vise then form the end into a slight mushroom shape with a hammer. Use the tool by pulling like a scraper and the edge of the mushroom shape will just pop the flakes of carbon right off. The round shape gets in everywhere and the soft aluminum rod will not damage the chamber surface or the valve seat. Does take a bit of elbow grease but if the head is on a bench it is not that hard to do.

Sorry I dont havee a pic.