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[ST] Valve Clearance Check - Piece of Cake



I just finished the first valve clearance check on the ST (12,600 miles).
It took me a little over an hour or so to complete the check (not including
re-assembling, which should take about 45 minutes or so.

The only one out of spec is the first intake valve on the middle cylinder,
and I measured it at around .08 or .09 mm.  The second intake valve on the
second cylinder measured at about .10 or .11.  For reference, the range is
.10-..15 mm.  With the Triumph tool specified in the manual, I was able to
remove the shim in about 5 minutes.  Tomorrow, I'll take it to my buddy who
has a micrometer, Monday I'll exchange it at the dealer (if I can explain
to the morons behind the parts counter what a valve shim is - I've had bad
luck with them in the past), and Monday night I should be able to button
her back up and run the throttle synch.

Couple of comments:

1. This job is freakin easy.  With the Triumph shim removal tool, it's a
hellova lot easier to work on than the other bikes I have.  No cam removal
like some, and it's even easier than the old screw and lock-nut method on
my old CBR1000F.  Kudos to Triumph for making this procedure so easy.

2. I noticed that for the intake valves, only the middle cylinder had
tightened up significantly.  The 1 and 3 cylinder measurements were in the
.12 to .15 range.  Has anyone else seen this?  Is this due to the engine
design and the fact that the middle cylinder runs hotter?  Comments?

3. The exhaust valves were consistently .17 or .18 across the board, right
in the middle of the specified range.  Only the intake valves on the middle
cylinder tightened up.

4. If anyone is thinking of doing this themselves, go for it.  Get the tool
(it's about $65, but worth it), especially if you do a lot of miles and the
check is a yearly or biyearly event.

If there's anyone in the Chicagoland area thinking of doing this, lemme
know.  You're welcome to use the tool.  Just buy me a beer in exchange -
not while we're riding of course.  I leave that to the Harley riders. :-)

- ------------------------------------------------------------
Tad Gralewski   tad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
01 Triumph Sprint ST - Allison
95 ST1100 - STress-Reliever  STOC #1539
77 GS750 - The Blue Dolphin
93 CBR1000F - The Black Whale - R.I.P. (rebuild in progress)
http://tad.gralewski.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------
The best things in life that you find are
those things you never went looking for. - RTG
- ------------------------------------------------------------


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