valve clearance

[twangin4u]

I've only owned my 84 1100 for about 3 weeks now. It's got 56k miles on it and so far I've had to clean the carbs and synch em. Which helped. Bike still seems weak. Especially on the low end. Any ideas. How do I check valve clearance on the over head cams? I'm a diesel mechanic, but I don't have much experience with over head cams

[movenon]

This will give you an idea.  Not hard at all to check clearances.  To change out shims you need a tool but not to expensive under 50.00. On ebay there are some good deals on service manuals which helps a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCa556ObEi8

Valve shim tool
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-FJ1100-FJ1200-XJR1200-XJR1300-VALVE-SHIM-TOOL-04110-/361250653045?hash=item541c378375&vxp=mtr

Manual
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-3-Yamaha-FJ1100-FJ1200-Service-Manuals-/141611384201?hash=item20f8b23d89&vxp=mtr

Intakes  .0043 - .0059 in
Ex         .0063- .0079 in

George

[twangin4u]

Thank you. That was a perfect answer to my question.

[twangin4u]

So basically you want the intake at about 5/1000 and the exhaust at about a tight 8/1000

I took the cover off and glance at the valves. Don't really have time to tear into it tonight. I looked for a cylinder that happened to be sitting with valves closed and they were tight. Again, I just glanced. I'm gonna park it until I can confirm. So, maybe I better grab a ticket for the shim kit line. Lol

[FJmonkey]

FYI, it is better to error on the loose side if you do not have the exact shim to meet nominal. They tend to tighten over time. And remember to balance your carbs after all valve adjustments.... 

[Keith]

remember to balance your carbs after all valve adjustments.... 

Always best practice to make sure valves are correctly adjusted, engine correctly timed  , and compression good before making carb adjustments on any engine

[twangin4u]

Here's the clearance s I got.

[Arnie]

Well, assuming those are thousandths of an inch and not hundredths of a mm,
they're not 'horrible', but you have at least 4 exh that need changing.

I'd advise that you try to get all of them on the loose side of the range.
Yam says acceptable lash is 4-6 on the intakes and 6-8 on the Exh.

These do tend to tighten up over time.

[movenon]

I agree with Arnie.  If you get into changing out shims you will need a Yamaha shim tool.

To start the learning curve here.  The shims are in mm's and are marked on the back side in .05mm increments, as an example 265-270-275 etc.  Each .05mm step = .002 inch.  Or you can do all the measurements in mm.  Not hard either way.

George

[twangin4u]

Thank you for the info. Yes, those measurements were in thousandths and the engine was slightly warm still. I was wondering how to make sense of those shim numbers and now it does. Thank you. I've also noticed that it has developed a 'tink' noise when it's cold and I start it. Like tapping on the exhaust (from the cylinders) with a pencil. But it seems to quiet down when it gets warm.

Thee reason I've been trying to learn as much as possible about this bike I just got is because I have a feeling I will become extremely well aquatinted with this bike. Lol

[copper]

I was under the impression that the valves must be checked when the engine is stone cold or else you will get a false reading. Aren't you the one that is close to RPM? Why haven't you stopped in there and asked them?

[twangin4u]

I was under the impression that the valves must be checked when the engine is stone cold or else you will get a false reading. Aren't you the one that is close to RPM? Why haven't you stopped in there and asked them?

** I stopped in there yesterday and got some exhaust gaskets, but I was in my work truck and he was busy so I figured I'd come back at a more appropriate time

[copper]

Also be sure that the header gaskets are tight as you have too crush those gaskets or they won't seal properly. I hear ya on the work part.

[FJmonkey]

If the engine was not cold, like overnight cold then you need to measure again. Randy and or his son Robert will likely tell you the same.

[twangin4u]

If the engine was not cold, like overnight cold then you need to measure again. Randy and or his son Robert will likely tell you the same.

** I kinda figured that, that's why I mentioned it. It guess I was kind of practicing for my future as an fj owner I was a little relieved there was at least that much clearance tho.