F800GS Valve Adjusting step by step.

Missed the link - got it... thanks guys. I'm done now

TheCowboy

I'm definitely not an expert but I have this small torque wrench that does 5 - 30 Nm

http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-23349-Torque-Wrench-4-Inch/dp/B000S7ZRYY/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

dc:
They are certainly harder to come by, but I have one that does 0 - 75 in-lbs / ( 0 - 6ft-lbs)
and another that does 0 - 250 in-lbs / (0 - 20 ft-lbs)
I'll be first to say that you don't see them often ... I use them mainly to impress my gearhead friends

7 foot pounds is when you take your pinky finger and put it on the middle part of the ratchet and pull until tight.
Use your ring finger and it will be 10.
7 foot pounds is really a light amount of torque.

Yeah
Those little torque wrenches are rare. I wouldn't trust one with a range from 0 to 250. But I should get one like that 1/4" 5 to 30. Too much range on one suggests too much inaccuracy.
But Mike is right. 7 pounds is very little force.
dc

Never mind if you set the torque wrench a little off...

That's how I came into possession of a 6mm helicoil kit

Since I got a few torque wrenches I'm amazed at how little torque most of the fasteners on 800 use. I think that more and more these days it is important to get it right since we screwing into aluminium threads and the fasteners on the 800 are quite small for their applications.

7 lbs...Really? maybe that is why the valve covers are leaking in the first place...

TheCowboy

10nm = 7.37562149 ft.lbs.: http://www.convertunits.com/from/newton+meters/to/foot+pounds

Then 12 X 7.37562149 = 88.50 inch pounds.

In a pinch I use 7.5 as the conversion from nm to ft. lbs. because it is easy math and close enough (12 x 7.5 = 90).

Your welcome.

I convert every nm to inch pounds. NM X 8.8507 = inch pounds. If you want to covert to foot pounds divide by 12.

Also most torque wrenches will have scale on them that shows nm to foot or inch pounds. Depends on which your using.

Does the oil need to be drained before removing the bolt that gets used to lock the crank?

No, the oil level is below the level of the bolt.

I realize that there is a lot going on in the top of the engine ...
valve & seat wear due to pounding and maybe dirty air, wear in the valve train components cam/rocker/...etc
So maintenance and riding style are certainly factors, but for an average rider using a good air filter, regular oil changes, and not making it a habit to buzz around at 8,000 RPM ....

"In general" would a rider expect clearances get tighter or looser over time?

I've heard tighter as seat and valve face wear are the dominant factors .... but :huh

I've been working on vehicles since before I could legally drive and automobile engines generally loosen due to cam/lifter/rocker/valve stem wear but bike valve trains seem to get tighter rather than looser. The valve faces and seats seem to wear faster than the above listed parts. It seems counter-intuitive as I can't think of any other mechanical system that tightens as it wears:huh

Thanks!
Yeah... ... I'm with you -- it kinda makes my head hurt.
That's why I asked... one of my first jobs in high school was "resurfacing" rocker arms ...
(that's a nice way of saying: grinding them down until the wear dimples were removed)
I was reading another forum and the comments seemed to run similar at least some other motorcycles...
i.e. they "use up" the clearance weird...

At my first valve check (12K miles), the intakes were in the middle of the range and the exhausts were closer to the high end of the clearance range. I was trying to guesstimate where they'd be this next time ...
I think I'll guess "less" ...

So does the sealant go on both or just one side of the valve cover gasket? Is Permatex ultra blue ok to use?

Ya know I never thought about the "both sides" part of your question..........
I've always "assumed" they meant both sides but the manual is not clear on that part.
They say to use "Bond 1209" found only in Germany I think ...
In terms of WHERE to put it the illustration shows the sealer on the bottom side of the gasket from about mid-way in the front around the side with the half-moons and around to mid-way in the back. The right side of f the gasket is UNsealed.

Opinion starts here:
I'll be doing my check this fall, and unless someone talks me out of it (and if anybody has a good reason to try to talk me out of it, I'm all ears!), I'll be using Permatex Hylomar as the sealant. It doesn't "harden" and thus should make things easier on valve-checks going forward. One guy I know has used it on our bikes without issue, and Permatex says it should be fine:

[FONT=&quot]http://www.permatex.com/documents/PX-0345%20Hylomar1A.pdf
http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/Automotive/85249.pdf[/FONT]

Doing my first check on this bike tonight. I noticed that this DIY and the DVD both make no mention of pulling the spark plugs. Is that correct? Don't they need to be out in order to stay at TDC?

Take the plugs out so you don't have to fight the engine compression as you are bumping the rear wheel around to position the pistons to TDC.