Hi guys,

I did my valve adjustment recently and have since ridden less than 100 miles.

First question, do I need to ride gently till the engine settles in to the new wider valve lashes?

Second, my valves were very tight and made no noise the one year I have owned the bike. Now, however it seems to be noisy but I don't know what is too noisy (too tappy). Bike starts and runs very well. What damage could happen if the valves are slightly looser than the specs?

Thanks...

Damage? Likely none.... BUT how loose is too loose? That is a difficult question to answer. But look at it this way when a valve is too tight they can indeed cause burnt valve as the valve may not fully close. If a valve is too loose it will not open as much as it should and perhaps rob a small amount of performance; and unless seriously on the loose side I don't see it causing much by way of peening. BUT I have to say if the valve is not "WITHIN" spec then it needs adjustment...

INTAKE: 0.13 mm to 0.18 mm or .005" to .007" SAE
EXHAUST: 0.18 mm to 0.23 mm or .007" to .009" SAE

As to the "settling in" question.... NO....

"Sounds like a sewing machine" is what most people say it sounds like - although actually louder.  No waiting to flog it after an adjustment.

Make sure you are using the appropriate measurement in either inches or millimeters.  A few have mixed up their gauges in the past and got a less than accurate adjustment.  Most riders also tend to set to the higher side of the range for a little longer lasting job.  I always set to 7 and 9 myself using the "bump the starter" method to rotate the engine to set each pair when the cam lobe is pointing away from them.

I do what RFH87 does. To add to T-Cro, remember, "tappy noise is happy noise" if you've done it all correctly.

I do what RFH87 does. To add to T-Cro, remember, "tappy noise is happy noise" if you've done it all correctly.

Yeah that's it!  "Tappy valves are happy valves!"

With all the sudden (new to me) sewing machine noise I was concerned.

So I started reading and my confusion stems from the conflicting information I have read on how snug the feelers should be when adjusting the valve lashes.

When I watched a friend do his ex500 a few years back he made sure the feelers slid freely between the stem and the adjusting screw. However, now, in some places I have read says that the feeler gauge should be snug or slightly tight between the stem and screw??

I set my Intake: 0.007in, Exh: 0.009in. But since I made sure the feelers slid around freely with little or no friction I think I may be looser than 0.007 ad 0.009.

Should I crack everything open and redo or just ride till they tighten back up within specs. If no damage is expected from the valves being a little too loose, I just rather leave them alone. I can live with the sewing machine noise if you guys approve.

Ride on but check them again at 22k

I did the same thing and went a little too loose on my old 86 and after 200 miles i opened it back up and adjusted them again just because i could not take the noise, at the time my bike had 56k on it but if your bike has 12k then they should smooth out faster.

Don't forget that the valve timing chain that runs both of those cams makes a little noise too, especially when the bike is cold.  Some people convert the tensioner to manual adjust, but I put over 100K miles on 2 bikes and over 50K miles on a 3rd running the stock tensioner with no troubles. 

I also use the method where you use two feeler gauges and adjust both valves at the same time, to avoid any error due to rocker pivot wear letting things shift.

Thanks guys. I think with the low miles it should tighten up sooner than later. I just didn't want any damage if the valves are now 0.008" and 0.010" as they most likely are.

Thanks guys. I think with the low miles it should tighten up sooner than later. I just didn't want any damage if the valves are now 0.008" and 0.010" as they most likely are.

your specs are +.001" larger than the high side of stock. not a problem, not going to hurt anything, just will be a touch noisier. Steve

I was taught that the tension you feel on a feeler gauge when the adjustment is correct should be similar to dragging the gauge across a magnet.  If you're concerned about being too loose after adjustment, see if you can get a .001 larger gauge in there after your adjustments is complete and lock nut torque.  I think using 2 gauges simultaneously is a good idea.  Plus, it makes it easier to judge the tension on both set screws for each rocker since you can slide them at the same time.

I think I remember having a set of "go - no go" gauges. To me, that made a lot of sense.