Hey Guys, so I'm attempting my first valve adjust ever. The plastics and valve cover we're super easy to get off (Must be the Canadian bike...)

So here's the problem, I don't think there is any clearance in the valves. Or at least I can't measure any. My smallest thickness won't even slide through.

I do see some pitting on the end of the cam lobes but there is also some grooves. 

Do you guys think my valves are shot?  I'm going to continue with the adjustments and put everything back together for now and see how it runs.

FYI... I have horrid fuel mileage and probably a lot less power but I can't say how much less as I don't have another Connie to compare it too.

I wouold say no your valves aren't shot, some pitting is common. Valves on the looser side of adjustment are better. If you can, synch the carbs afterwards. But I'd bet its going to run really good after you get it back together. Good luck and keep us posted.

The valves on the bike do tighten up over time.  How long have you had the bike? If the PO was bad on maintenance the valve could be excessively tight. 
Pitting on the cam lobes is normal, grooving isn't necessarily a bad thing (not good either). 

I've had the bike since April 2010 so not very long. The PO only had the bike for about a year so I really don't know the history, hence the valve adjust. Once I get it back together I'll get a compression and leakdown test.

I just took the spark plugs out that I put in this spring. All the threads looked wet with oil or gas... What's up with that? (sigh...) I also notice that one of the new wires I put on this spring was burnt where it joined the new spark plug resistor cap. I think I cut it too short...will replace before putting everything back together.

Also when I pulled the tank off I noticed that my fuel filter was full of crap. Kinda looked like white sand. So I guess I'll get into that with you guys now too...

I had a pin hole leak in the tank last year and had it welded cause I wanted to keep riding for the season. I just put the filter on and kept going. This past winter I put the KBS tank coating in. Followed the directions to the T. Let it cure for at least a week or 10 days I think. I did how ever loose a silicone plug down into the tank that I had cut to plug the petcock hole as I was finishing up and couldn't get it out as it was still wet. I just figured it was silicone and wouldn't hurt anything.  The last time I put gas in the tank it looked kinda cloudy but ran ok so I just shrugged it off. It hasn't been running great lately, it starts fine when it's cold with the enricher but after a bit of warm up it doesn't idle very well until I ride it for a while. When it's hot it won't start unless I open the throttle a little.  I imagine that crud in the gas is not doing great things for my carbs...

So... do you thing the crud is the silicone plug dissolving or was my epoxy coating not cured fully? My guess is the silicone.

I'm going to go continue with the valves... I'm still learnin' here folks!  but having a blast too 

Hey Guys, so I'm attempting my first valve adjust ever. The plastics and valve cover we're super easy to get off (Must be the Canadian bike...)

So here's the problem, I don't think there is any clearance in the valves. Or at least I can't measure any. My smallest thickness won't even slide through.

I do see some pitting on the end of the cam lobes but there is also some grooves. 

Do you guys think my valves are shot?  I'm going to continue with the adjustments and put everything back together for now and see how it runs.

FYI... I have horrid fuel mileage and probably a lot less power but I can't say how much less as I don't have another Connie to compare it too.

Just make sure that you have each lobe at it's lowest point. It would be very unusual to have every valve with 0 clearance. You would think you'd find some variation. Go ahead and set them where they should be and see what happens. If they were real bad you'd probably be having backfires.

Forget trying to "check" the valve gaps - undo every exhaust and intake and re-set the gaps to your satisfaction. That way you know that you've done the job and you're not relying or misreading the PO's valve adjust.

Forget trying to "check" the valve gaps - undo every exhaust and intake and re-set the gaps to your satisfaction. That way you know that you've done the job and you're not relying or misreading the PO's valve adjust.

+1

Just loosen the nut and then unscrew the follower until its clear.  Just make sure that you're on the low side of the lobe.  Tall side is when the valve is open. 

Also, make sure you aren't confusing the measurements....... make sure you are using either the metric  OR SAE on your feeler gauges. 

Two things, 1. as far as your plugs being wet; you Probably have a bad plug well gasket. Easy fix as long as you have the valve cover off.
2, get rid of those old school plug wires. Go to the 'for sale' section and look up T-Cro and get yourself a set of stick coils.

Also, make sure you aren't confusing the measurements....... make sure you are using either the metric  OR SAE on your feeler gauges.

Its either this above and/or motor not indexed properly while checking.  When you said first adjustment....... did you mean your first or bike's first.

Just waiting on some pins at they we're not there when I took the cover off.   This was my first valve adjustment on any bike! Hope to have it running by the weekend!

Just waiting on some pins at they we're not there when I took the cover off.   This was my first valve adjustment on any bike! Hope to have it running by the weekend!

Pins?
What is your procedure for getting camshaft in the proper position?

The 4 pins that center the valve cover on the engine; beside the spark plug wells.

The 4 pins that center the valve cover on the engine; beside the spark plug wells.

I don't clearly recall the details so I could be wrong here; but I seem to believe that if you have a Canadian model without the Reed Valve stuff in your valve cover then the "knock" pins as I think they are called are not needed or not used. It does not change a thing if you do install them though. You might contact MOB (AKA Man of Blues) and ask his opinion here as he is our resident OLD TIMER when it comes to the slight variances in the models.

.... 2, get rid of those old school plug wires. Go to the 'for sale' section and look up T-Cro and get yourself a set of stick coils.

You sure do know how to make a girl blush don't ya? 

You sure do know how to make a girl blush don't ya? 

It's about time I was able to return the favor.  I got your back 

I'd love to get a set of those stick coils but I'm heading back to school this fall and need to cut costs where possible