valve clearance.
 

Hi All.


Having just had my valve clearances checked and adjusted today.
The bike is now more noisey from the engine. Almost like an old push rod ford fiesta rattle! ok not that loud but you know what i mean. I went straight back to the mechanic to complain and he asured its quite normal and the clearances are correct. Also the bike will get quieter after a few miles as. I did have them checked @ 16k rather than 12k miles. have i damaged it in any way? or is the mechanic talking nonsence?.
Or am i worrying about nothing?

He's probably talking poo. I checked mine myself at 6k because it was noisy - both set of valves were too loose, the exhaust side worse. Bike much quieter as a result. Checked them at 12k, both sets spot on in the middle of range (exactly as I set them at 6k). My suspicions are that they were set loose at the factory? I am about to check them again at 18k to see if that's the case - the motor is still quiet so I expect them to be within limits... the bottom line is, with correctly set valves the XT motor is a quiet one.

Thanks Pleiades.

As i thought, i think he's set them loose. He did say the exhaust ones were far too close. But, as you say the motor is a quiet one. Is it safe to ride untill i get them sorted? Also, how big a job is it to do? I change the oil and do minor things myself, i am considering aving a go myself.

Thanks.

Tell your mechanic he is giving us mechanic's a bad name & to reset them again correctly.

:violence::argue:

You are unlikely to do any damage, tight valves are much more of a concern than loose ones.

The job is a fairly easy one, as the valves are screw and locknut type adjusters. The radiator can make things awkward on the exhaust side, if you remove it's mounting bolts and let it fall away a little, you can buy yourself a bit more room without having to drain and remove it. There's a bit of a knack to removing the tank; watch the fuel pump/sender assembly its fragile and easily bust (chock it up on a block of wood at the back to create room to remove connectors) and watch the tank doesn't get caught on the radiator cap.

Get yourself a copy of the Haynes Manual - it'll be worth the investment. Or become a XT660.com supporter and download the Yamaha workshop manual. (See Kev's post above for link)

Read this with interest as I have just done the 12k service.
Inlet were in spec but exhaust were tight, reset them both mid range.

Bike is now a good bit noiser than before so interested to hear the above comments.

Am happy that the valves are set right.

I am not a mechanic but a good few years non destructive testing means I am happy with precision measurement.

Would like to know if you get this resolved?

For what this is worth: I've had a bit of experience with roller rockers in Husky singles. The TE570 clearances, for instance, were much greater than the TE610E. The latter was quiet until clearances opened up, whereupon it was as noisy as it's full-on cousin.

My point is that since the clearances in our bikes are even greater than a 570, it's not surprising that they are a bit rattly. I would be worried if mine went quiet! I set my clearances at about 7000km, as the inlets were too loose.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

I went back to the Yam dealer i bought it from (who didn't do the service). In fact he runs a Tenere too.
Both him and the mechanic agreed it was too noisy. As a result i called the shop who made it noisy- they were still pretty insistant that it was the correct setting and their mechanic worked for Yamaha for 7 years. Anyway they took it back and adjusted them again and now it sounds as it always has. Job done... happy man... and no more morning tube ride for me, thank god..