Valve noise?

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Good stuff

Good points Danny I feel the same way, had it happen on cars, but I drag raced them, went past intended MFG RPM and lots of abuse I treat my bike like I treat a woman (that is before we wed) Just reading the reports kind of make "every" noise make you say "WAZZZ UP NOW"

Well, I've never seen it, but I haven't been around these forums long, but I have known many who have owned an XS at one time or another. My brother in law had 3 at one point.

I was reading the thread you are talking about and it was a little concerning to me too, but the original poster almost certainly had a low/no oil situation. On Barnfresh's problem, the engine had evidently been sitting for 6 years, it was its first time back on the road, and he said he had clues that it was happening (thread is here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33395). From the backfire/carb issues it also sounds like he may have been running lean, and very hot, and that's all it takes to burn an exhaust valve and stick it open.

Not saying he could have prevented it, and it still absolutely sucks (been there several times with cars). But that is the chance you take with an old bike that has been sitting a lot of the time. Any old bike.

I don't think these bikes are prone to valve failures, but I'd be interested to hear from others. Definitely makes me want to stay on top of valvetrain maintenance for sure.

[Bonz]

Went to the Colorado Rally this summer in Durango, 1025 mile round trip from my home in Palmer Lake Colorado on my 80 SG. Fine running machine and quiet to my ear to say the least, as most XS's are.

Bike has always had a smoothness not only to the vibration and harmonics, but the motor sounds very smooth as well in the 3.5 years I've owned the bike.

Anyway, having just put 1,025 miles on the bike for the round trip to Durango, it was time to check the valves (at that point I had 5000 miles on the bike total since I bought it, and don't know when the valves may have been adjusted prior). And I had a really good feel for how the engine sounded from just spending all that time straddling it.

Capton Zap came down, we checked the clearances and all the exhaust clearances were on the minimum side of spec and the intakes were pretty good, can't remember if we adjusted one intake or not. Anyway...

After getting shims switched around within themselves and swapping with the dealer for the rest of them and back on the road, I have a lot more valve noise than I did before the check and adjustment. Ultimately, I set the clearance to the middle of spec, or as close as I could to that based on the shim sizes, so the valves aren't any too loose in my opinion.

I recall how Yamaha put a supplement in the shop manual that tightened the spec up on either the intake or exhasut valves to address the issue of valve noise. Can't remember which ones.

I'd say from my experience, that the exhaust valves are making the "new" noise I hear simply becuase I adjusted them as they were on the tight side vs. the intake's being pretty good in terms of clearance. Plus, the fact exhaust valves are at the front of the engine would it make sense that they would be more easily heard vs. the intake valves up under the bike at the rear of the head?

[Danny Crawdad]

Good points Danny I feel the same way, had it happen on cars, but I drag raced them, went past intended MFG RPM and lots of abuse I treat my bike like I treat a woman (that is before we wed) Just reading the reports kind of make "every" noise make you say "WAZZZ UP NOW"

Haha, same here, except most of my abuse took place offroad . When in doubt, throttle out applies to every vehicle I have ever driven. Unfortunately, in most cases .

I know what you mean, I got to reading posts about the cam chain tensioner on here today, and ended up getting concerned enough to buy two auto-adjusters from a V-max. Another project...