Adjusting Mirrors and Shims?

[captaincatfish]

Hey All,

I just picked up my first XS1100 (a 1980 Midnight Special) about a month ago and I've finally got it almost road worthy. I've changed all fluids, checked the brakes, got new tires on it, and replaced the fuse box (a previous owner had soldered several fuses in-place, along with a bare wire in place of the headlight fuse ).
One of the last things I want to do is properly shim the valves. I measured them and they are all about 2 sizes too large. Like, 280, but should be 270. Should I not ride the bike until I shim it to spec? Or could it wait a few hundred miles?
Also, any tips on where to get shims? From what I've come across online the best I can find is about $9 per shim. I tried contacting my Yamaha dealer but haven't heard back yet.

And as another hopefully simple question. How can I adjust the factory mirrors to actually be useful? They seem to not want to point anywhere that would actually help me see better. Am I missing something? I'm just trying to pivot the mirror glass on the end of the stalk and it doesn't do much.

Thanks!
Looking forward to many miles.

[motoman]

Hey All,

I just picked up my first XS1100 (a 1980 Midnight Special) about a month ago and I've finally got it almost road worthy. I've changed all fluids, checked the brakes, got new tires on it, and replaced the fuse box (a previous owner had soldered several fuses in-place, along with a bare wire in place of the headlight fuse ).
One of the last things I want to do is properly shim the valves. I measured them and they are all about 2 sizes too large. Like, 280, but should be 270. Should I not ride the bike until I shim it to spec? Or could it wait a few hundred miles?
Also, any tips on where to get shims? From what I've come across online the best I can find is about $9 per shim. I tried contacting my Yamaha dealer but haven't heard back yet.

And as another hopefully simple question. How can I adjust the factory mirrors to actually be useful? They seem to not want to point anywhere that would actually help me see better. Am I missing something? I'm just trying to pivot the mirror glass on the end of the stalk and it doesn't do much.

Thanks!
Looking forward to many miles.

...a better pic of mirrors, and if their stalks are OEM or not would be helpful before any legitement advice can be given.

[DiverRay]

The mirrors should be adjusted at the base first, to get the mirror out as far as possible. Then you can fine adjust the mirror for the best view. You should have rectangle mirrors on the MNS, NOT round. Sounds weird, but Yamaha put round mirrors on the Standard, with square gauges, and rectangle mirrors on the Specials, with round gauges.
Keep in mind Yamaha uses LEFT HAND THREADS on the right mirror mount!
Are you SURE you have the clearance checked? If you post all the measurements, in MM's, I can use my factory charts to let you know what is needed.intake is 0.16 to 0.20mm, or 0.006 to 0.008 inch. Exhaust is 0.21 to 0.25mm, or 0.008 to 0.010 inch. These are done COLD, and they will close up as they wear!

[BA80]

Kawasaki Z1 KZ900 KZ1000 KZ1100 KL600 KLR650 KLX650 KZ1300 ZN1300 and Yamaha XS400 XJ550 FJ600 FZ600 YX600 XJ650 XJ700 XJ750 XS750 XS850 XJ900 XJ1100 XS1100 all take the same 29mm shims. I believe BMW uses it too.

The old Ford Taurus SHO engines were made by Yamaha and also use the 29mm shim and were available in a wider variety of thicknesses.

FYI......

[BA80]

https://www.z1enterprises.com/product/KL13-7007

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kawasaki-BMW...-/371698653051

[BA80]

BTW, stock mirrors suck. Unless you must keep it OEM XV (Virago) mirrors are best IMHO.

[captaincatfish]

As far as I can tell, they're the stock MNS mirrors, black chrome, square and all. I don't need to keep them stock, but I'd like to use them if possible. I'd like to keep as many things OEM as I can, and get it out on the road soon I'll look into the base adjustment, I didn't know they could be adjusted from there, that's probably the issue then.

When I checked the valve clearances I followed the factory repair manual, the engine was dead cold (sitting for a week). I measured the following
I1 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I2 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I3 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I4 - 0.09 mm : 285 shim -> needs 275

E1 - 0.18 mm : 280 shim -> needs 280 (swap w/ intake)
E2 - 0.23 mm : 285 shim -> GOOD
E3 - 0.2 mm : 290 shim -> needs 285 (swap w/ intake)
E4 - 0.15 mm : 290 shim -> needs 280 (swap w/ intake)

So from my math I need to get ahold of 3x 270 shims and a 275.


Thanks for the quick replies,

[Prisoner6]

WELCOME, Cap'n!

You can buy individual 29mm valve shims here:

Engine Valve Shims for Japanese Motorcycles

[DiverRay]

Well, I don't have enough of the sizes you need, so it looks like you get to buy some. DO get Kawasaki or Yamaha shims ONLY! DO NOT BUY CHEAP SHIMS!! I had two break inside the engine of my Quail bike when I was working on it. I went cheap, and the shims were from China and looked a little different. They were so brittle that they both cracked in half after about one hour of running. I threw the rest of the ones I had bought away and got some locally, for more money.

[dbeardslee]

I had issues with mirrors several years ago. My bars were lower than the stockers, and when I used stock mirrors I was mostly looking at my shoulders. Picked up a set of True Vision mirrors from Mikes, and I would say I never looked back, except that was kind of the point. They're great mirrors, and provide an excellent view behind. I must confess, however, that I do subscribe to the first rule of Italian driving - what's behind me is not important.

[MarkD]

+1 on traffic behind you being important, esp. on a bike. Sorta like being on the autobahn, you'd be advised to pay as much attention to the rear view as you do to what's in front of you.

[jwhughes3]

I had issues with mirrors several years ago. My bars were lower than the stockers, and when I used stock mirrors I was mostly looking at my shoulders. Picked up a set of True Vision mirrors from Mikes, and I would say I never looked back, except that was kind of the point. They're great mirrors, and provide an excellent view behind. I must confess, however, that I do subscribe to the first rule of Italian driving - what's behind me is not important.

+1 on these mirrors - I have used them on several bikes - they extend far enough to see past my shoulder to actually see the road behind me.

John

[dbeardslee]

As far as I can tell, they're the stock MNS mirrors, black chrome, square and all. I don't need to keep them stock, but I'd like to use them if possible. I'd like to keep as many things OEM as I can, and get it out on the road soon I'll look into the base adjustment, I didn't know they could be adjusted from there, that's probably the issue then.

When I checked the valve clearances I followed the factory repair manual, the engine was dead cold (sitting for a week). I measured the following
I1 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I2 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I3 - 0.1 mm : 280 shim -> needs 270
I4 - 0.09 mm : 285 shim -> needs 275

E1 - 0.18 mm : 280 shim -> needs 280 (swap w/ intake)
E2 - 0.23 mm : 285 shim -> GOOD
E3 - 0.2 mm : 290 shim -> needs 285 (swap w/ intake)
E4 - 0.15 mm : 290 shim -> needs 280 (swap w/ intake)

So from my math I need to get ahold of 3x 270 shims and a 275.


Thanks for the quick replies,

If I'm reading this right, and your talking about shims for an '80, you might want to take a look at your inlet valve clearances - I don't think they're as far off as you think. The '80's use a slightly closer inlet valve clearance than the '78's and 79's. Looks to me like you're only one shim size off spec, but your showing an adjustment of two shim sizes.

[Rasputin]

I have 8- 270's and 5-275 shims available for swap. It is unfortunate that I live in Canada and it takes 7 to 14 days to get there by mail. If you need other sizes I have them as well, ranging from 245 to 305. In total I have 75 shims here.
If this of any help let me know and I can send them off to you.
If you actually send back your extra shims after you replace them, you will be the first! Not trying to disparage those I have sent shims to, but it seems they will pass them on "one day". My supply will not last if not replaced, but I would happily donate them to a Library keeper if we had one.