Hey guys... I'm doing the valve check on my 990 ADV and am trying to find the right feeler gauge for the job. Mainly trouble finding a metric gauge. Do you all just convert to mm? A link to one online would be awesome ! Thanks and Happy Holidays !
0.10mm=(.004") inch is rounded off, mm is true 0.13mm=(.005") inch is rounded off, mm is true 0.15mm=(.006") inch is rounded off, mm is true 0.18mm=(.007") inch is rounded off, mm is true 0.20mm=(.008") inch is rounded off, mm is true 0.23mm=(.009") inch is rounded off, mm is true Pulled this from somewhere long time ago for some reason, maybe helpful? Dunno, can also find metric gauges at pepboys, Here first place I looked, if non US, well I would check any auto repair place.
Thank you.. This helps. I found this in the right sizes. Do you think the handles would help or hurt? http://www.autotoolworld.com/product.asp?itemid=145820&gclid=CKOm3-7RmrQCFe5FMgodBkAAiA#
Until recently, I used inch gauges and converted. The precision involved in valve clearance checks is not that high and you can certainly get acceptable results doing this. But you will get a little bit of extra precision with metrics - the worst-case roundoff error can conspire to be significant - I think I computed once it can be as much as 50% or the increment in shim sizes. So I got a metric set recently. They're surprisingly hard to find at US stores, so I bought online (perhaps on Ebay) - they're made by KD. But one thing I don't like is that they start out at 0.04mm with 0.01mm increments, but go to 0.05mm increments abruptly at 0.10mm. This means doing something common like 0.12mm (a typical intake valve spec) requires stacking two gauges. - Mark
Thank you all for the help. I have the feeler gauge issue worked out now. I have everything apart and have checked the valves. I have one intake on the front cylinder that is right at .10 (i can get the .004 feeler gauge in but not the .005) This being in spec but at the low end should I re-shim it to the other end of the spec? Thanks again... This has only taken me a week to get this far. :eek1
You'll get lots of opinions on this... mine is that if a valve is within spec, then leave it alone, especially if it involves pulling cams that otherwise can remain undisturbed. - Mark
and it's worth about that much. Few blades so hard to nail down clearances with the possible combinations. DAMHIK Google-up your local MAC or Snap-On Tools dealer and find out his schedule in your area so you can meet his truck somewhere. You can usually find them at all the major shops in town at least once a week depending on where you live. They have feeler guage sets like you won't believe- and they don't cost as much as you'd think. There are metric sets that go down to very small thicknesses so adding blades to get a good read is easy. Get some with long tapered blades as they fit in between the cam bridges easily. Furthermore they actually sell replacement blades if you ever damage any in your set.
Thanks for the input here guys. I left the valves alone this time even though the urge to take the cams out and mess with it was high. But I will save that till next time. I'm looking at the shock now but will start a new thread.
Its worth recording everything and what you have changed. It will be useful to refer to your record at the next valve check. You will know which valve is getting tighter or looser and will be able to make these decisions easier. Having said that, once I changed several shims all the way to the other end of their specs depending on which way they were travailing. (if they showed they were getting tighter comparing to the last valve check, I shimmed them to max loose limit or the other way around)....that actually made a big difference in how the bike ran (not good), I had to change the jets on the carbs,....so I opened a can of worms. My advise, don't change the clearances significantly. Regarding the feelers, if you do not get a complete range, you can put two feeler on top of each other to make up of for the ones you don't have. I like the those sets that I can take apart, no handles, I can always pull them out with a set of pliers if I have to.
I have a mechanic/riding buddy who sands down the shims on a glass surface plate to a polish finish to get the valve clearance in spec . Claims that because the shim is just solid metal billet and not hardfaced it works just fine
I've heard differing opinions about this. And there is some risk that you won't get the shim perfectly flat but I'm sure this depends on technique and equipment. Personally, I don't grind shims, but for shim-under-bucket, I would think the risk of a problem is slight. For shim-over-bucket, I wouldn't chance it. - Mark