How much is too much

[whatscooking]

Hi all,i have my 79 opened up for a valve adjustment. Everything i have read on here says not to go below .003 and as close to .005 as possible. How much is too much loose. My bike will start up cold without any valve clatter but run it a mile and at idle i get a tic tic. Go 5 miles and warm her up good and no tic. I believe the thicker oil on cold startup takes up clearances and fully warm takes up the slack also.
I have found some tight .007 on exhaust and .006 on some intakes. The engine went through a complete top rebuild and i have put 3500miles on so i think it is time to set them but just curious how loose do some of you go?

[cross]

Always keep them within the factory specs.
Try to get all valves and especially exhaust valves at the widest range of the factory spec

Sasha

[whatscooking]

Then .006 is too loose on ither

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Are you positive it is a valve tick?
MAYBE an exhaust air leak at the head and when it heats up it expands enough to eliminate the leak?

I always aim for .004-.005 clearance.
Here is a sheet for keeping track of the shim sizing.
http://www.cbxclub.com/protect/valve.pdf

[whatscooking]

I went back over and over checking clearances and found two exhaust closer to .008 and some others in the .007 range.
I have checked the exhaust for leaks and do not believe i have a leak, it doesn't have that sound but i know a leak there can fool ya.
I have been shuffling what shims i have and have them set at least in the .006 range. I believe i will go ahead and check clearances again today and do some other maintenance since i have her opened up and put her back together.

[daves79x]

If you must leave a couple at a tight .006 inch, it's not going to hurt anything. But I'd go no looser than that. That said, I don't think your 'clatter' is valve clearance noise. It is much more likely the Oldham coupler wear causing the classic 'sewing machine' sound. Oversize couplers will quiet the top end considerably, no matter what your valve clearance is. Now is the time to install them if you are going to.

Dave

[whatscooking]

I was able to find shims at a resonable price so i ordered several. Went through and have clearances alot closer to the .005 . My question since i have things close would you set a exhaust a tight .006 or a loose .004?

[EMS]

For one thing, I would take a deep breath, sit back and let it all sink in. .006 is a large play, i.e.: it is loose.....004 is a smaller play, i.e.: it is tighter. Then, definitely, if the issue is between 1 or 2 thousands, I would get myself a metric feeler gauge and go by the numbers as Honda specified.

[whatscooking]

When i went looking for shims i already had the really far out valves tightened up with the collection of shims i already had but i had several in the loose .006 range. I am betting the two valves that were at .008 were my noise makers.
But since i have all these shims now and i have the procedure down i have chased those looser .006 valves and have them set where i want them. But as luck would have it the last one i have tried to set has me cought this way. Like i said i have a stack of shims and i have taken the time to measure them even though they might be close to the same they seem to all vary.
I have set it to a loose .004 and am waiting on Partzilla to get my rubbers here. Crazy weatherman says might be 60 here by Christmas and i will try her out. It was 13 here this morning.

[daves79x]

For sure, if you have the shims, take the .006 ones down to .004. But that WILL NOT get rid of your clatter! See my previous post.

Dave

[whatscooking]

For sure, if you have the shims, take the .006 ones down to .004. But that WILL NOT get rid of your clatter! See my previous post.

Dave

You really don't think the two i found at .008 are making the noise? It has that tic tic noise. Guess i will see when the new valve cover seals come in, i am hoping.
I have a R 1150. I found out on that one you have got to set the valves a tight drag on the feeler guage or they will tic.

[Larry Zimmer]

Not certain what you mean by "a tight drag". However, a little ticky is better than a burned valve.

[whatscooking]

Got her back together and have put 70 miles on. Noticeable difference so i was thrilled. Went over to friends house to slip in another ride. He was standing outside when i pulled up, said whats that noise . The noise i now hear if i get down in front on knees has went from a tick to a click, sorta like a double tick if you will.
So back here to read up and sure enough like Dave said it's pointing to the oldham connectors as the culprit. It's not bad enough for me to go right back in as she sounds so much better than before tightening my valves but i guess i will be reading up on the procedure.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

A rhythmic double "tic" could indeed be a cam chain noise.
I would make sure the tensioners are properly adjusted before attacking the oldham couplers.

[herdygerdy]

And the benefits of having your valve clearances set to the wider end of the range?

The valve spends more time at rest on the valve seat during every cycle. This gives more time for heat in the valve head to pass through the seat and into the cylinder head and away from the valve - particularly important for the exhaust valves that run MUCH hotter than the intakes.

The heat transfered into the cylinder head is then carried away by cooling air and oil circulating in and around the cylinder head fins and oil galleries. This prevents the buildup of latent heat in the head of the exhaust valve, leading to burnt valves fairly quickly, esp. when clearances are left unchecked and approaching 0.