Putting Valve Cover back on and some other Q's

[CivilPenny]

Follow up to my previous posts about under the valve cover, I found out my CC had not skipped teeth, bent valves, slipped off the sprocket, or done any damage. Timing with dots and arrows was spot on. That made me happy

While I'm under the hood i need to measure valve clearances. The problem I'm having is measuring them in proper increments. It is done in METRIC correct? If that is the case, I cant find feeler gauges that go up/down in increments of .001. Instead, they go from .038-.051-.063 and so on. Am I wrong? Should it be done in inches? They actually go in the proper increments, but in the manual i believe it states METRIC. HELP

Next, after all that is done, I have purchased a new gasket. Do i need to put anything on in addition to the gasket? Any kind of sealant? Or will simply just the gasket make do? Thanks.

[MaximPhil]

hi Civil penny.
I checked my feeler gauge. It has both metric & imperial on the blades. 0.51 mm = .002 inch
0.76 mm = .003 inch
because we live in North America I suspect the metric is simply a conversion and other parts of the world may have different gauges.
Some on here use the inch scale converted but that requires better math skill than I have.
read the manual carefully and follow the instructions.

The gasket does not need any sealant to do it's job. Some prefer to use a sealant instead of the gasket. either will work.

Phil

[bikerphil]

I would measure in inches, way easier that way IMHO, read the bottom part of post #1 in this thread and it is explained...

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35434

[CivilPenny]

So the correct valve clearances ( for my bike) are 0.21-0.24mm for exhaust and 0.16-0.20mm for intake valve. Even if I convert those numbers to inches, they aren't a round precise number. Even if I measured in inches, how would I knew what shimms to buy if they are sized by metric too? Sorry this is all new to me.

[bikerphil]

Say your target clearance is .008". Your measurement is .004" and you have a 260 shim installed. Each shim size is .002" so you would need to go down 2 shim sizes to get from 004" to your target of 008" which would be a 250 shim. Easy peazy. Measure with an inch feeler gauge.

[CivilPenny]

But my question is how do I know my target clearance if I only have them in Metric in the manual...(0.21mm=0.008267717") (0.24mm=0.00944882"). Those aren't spot on to a round " decimal...I'm sure im being too complicated

[bikerphil]

Which bike are you working on, I will give you the specs.

[bikerphil]

78-79 models, intake .006-.008, exhaust .008-.010

80-82 models, intake .004-.006, exhaust .008-.010

[skids]

Say your target clearance is .008". Your measurement is .004" and you have a 260 shim installed. Each shim size is .002" so you would need to go down 2 shim sizes to get from 004" to your target of 008" which would be a 250 shim. Easy peazy. Measure with an inch feeler gauge.

That IS EASY. Why have not done it that way forever? Hard-headed I guess.

[bikerphil]

That IS EASY. Why have not done it that way forever? Hard-headed I guess.

Yep, learned that way from those old skool guys like Prometheus and Crazy Steve.