Valve adjustment on 03 and newer bikes

[Mike Stewart]

I wanted to adjust my valves before my trip to Arizona.

 

Last time, I removed the alternator cover so I could turn the engine over via the alt. nut. The cover is a pain to remove with the exhaust crossover getting in the way. I have also tried putting the bike in a tall gear (4th and 5th) and turning the rear wheel with the sparkplugs out. It was still pretty hard to get the engine to rotate to line up top dead center on each of the cylinders.

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Mike

[al_roethlisberger]

...you can't loosen the front crossover, rotate it forward a bit, and get the alternator cover off?

 

al

[Mike Stewart]

The front crossover is pinched pretty tightly together ever since I installed the Stuchi crossover. So no luck on loosening the front crossover pipe. The Stuchi crossover is slightly more narrow than the stock crossover. The good news is, there is no front crossover rattle cold.

 

I just finished checking the valve adjustments and they were right on. I ended up putting the trans in 6th gear and rotating the rear wheel (still a bitch). I watched the exhaust valve close and the intake valve open so I knew the compression stroke was coming up. Bumping it up slowly and then inserting a small screwdriver in the sparkplug hole, to find top dead center.

 

Mike

[Murray]

Good excuse for a termi slip together system, well you didn't say it had to be realistic.

[Guest Steve in VA]

Has anyone ever noticed the flywheel marks to be off on te Sport series?

[belfastguzzi]

Has anyone ever noticed the flywheel marks to be off on te Sport series?

and on the 2002 with lightened flywheel/single plate clutch there don't appear to be any marks at all.

 

I asked about this before – maybe if anyone knows different you could tell us what to look for? Otherwise the screwdriver on piston does the job.

[Janusz]

Please, do not use screwdrivers or any metal rods for this purpose; that's what God created chopstics for. If (or when rather) you jam it by some momentary lapse of care you might damage your piston ot cylinder wall.

 

I had a chopstick jammed last year it just cracked. All I had to do is reverse the engine slightly and pull a broken chopstick. If it was a screwdriver I would have a major problem to deal with, I am sure.

 

And yes, there are markings "D" and "S" on my flywheel. You just not always see them through a tiny inspection hole if you are even a liiitle off perfect TDC or/and they might be not 100% precisely on the spot.