First valve adjust observations

[Bud]

My thoughts are that if I'm paying $700, they better have pulled the cams and adjusted all to the loosest end of the spec.  I called an independent shop yesterday in Clarksville, IN inquiring about the cost of a valve adjustment.  I told them I wanted all adjusted as stated above and that I wanted a shim map as well.  They said they had a third party that did valve adjustments for them and that they'd get back to me.  Still waiting.  I bet I scared them off with my requirements for the job.  We'll see.....It seems the only way to have any piece of mind about whether anything was done, is to check them yourself before and have them leave the cover unfastened so that you could verify the clearances after.  I feel good about doing everything involved except for pulling the cams.  I've done that before on my GS1100GK, but not on the C14.  It would be a costly mistake if I messed up on the timing of the cams.  Seems like we should be having more tech sessions to teach valve adjustments to those of us interested in doing them on their own.  If a knowledgeable member wants to teach C14 valve adjustments, I'd agree to host in Tell City, Indiana.  Have garage.  Will host.  We have some really nice county roads to experience afterwards!

[Deepsea]

If you pulled the cam's on your GS then you can do the same on your C14. It's not much different, just more plastic to remove first.

[Bud]

The Suzuki is mine.  The C14 belongs to my son.  Screwing up my bike is one thing, screwing up his is quite another.  I'm really on the fence about doing his.  Maybe the thing to do is just do a check so he knows where things stand and let him deal with it after that.  We'll see.

[Todd]

Thanks for the reponsde 4Bikes.   I checked the paperwork associated with the valve check and no, they didn't provide me any valve clearance measurements, just a bill.  :-(

[Roger B]

Can your son help you, would be a great father / son project.   I did my own...YOU CAN DO IT, sounds like an Adam Sandler movie.   The reason I did it myself was 2 fold just like your reasons.  I want to save money and to have it done correctly.   I think the latter was my biggest driver.  I set all of them toward the looser setting of the range and cleaned things up while all the bodywork was off and did other maintenance at the same time.    Was also concerned that they wouldn't put it back together with the correct fasteners in each spot.    The bodywork and fasteners require some pictures or documenting to make sure everything is routed per stock after assembly.    If you are a paid mechanic that has only so much time or hasn't done a C14 before might not be as particular.

Maybe someone on COG would do it for you for less $s and already has the experience.

[Deepsea]

Shims under buckets are pretty much universally the same. Just different "Stuff" to move out of the way. If you have the time to not hurry then just about anyone can do this. You'll need a camera/phone, a Good torque wrench and patience. Take photo's as it comes apart and pay attention to where Each fastner belongs. If you get stuck on something post the photo's here, you'll get lots of "Help". One thing I have found to help is when you get the cams aligned and see the "Marks" wipe them off with a Q tip and alcohol then use a dap of fingernail polish or whiteout to highlight the alignment marks and take a photo. Be sure to count the cam chain links between timing marks. Also tie a string or safety wire to the chain so it doesn't fall into the cases.

[Buzzard]

Bud, I did my valve adjustment this winter. Getting the cam timed isn't difficult, and it is very obvious when it is correct. My greatest problem came from letting the bike sit for a while when I had to order shims. Then the mental images of what went where, and in what order, faded. That is why I put hardware in gallon zip lock bags, an individual bag for each operation, and marked them well, then stacked them in the order that they were filled. That helped. Also, the videos from Fred Harmon can be an asset, just to refresh the memory while reassembling. A trip through Murph's Kits page is a good idea, deciding if you want to go with new cam cover gasket, spark plugs, the slightly oversize O Rings for the cam position sensors, and such.