oldhack62
Well-known member
...that is: 1) covered elsewhere on this forum; and 2) repeated often anyway.
I checked and adjusted valve clearances on my '83 GL1100 Interstate last week, and noted mild throttle improvement, but little else.
Thus, while draining the oil during an oil/filter change a couple of days ago, I went ahead and pulled the valve covers and re-checked the gaps, realizing I hadn't made sure that the next-larger gauge would NOT traverse the gap set in each case (.004-in. for intake, .005-in. for exhaust). Sure enough, in about half of cases, the respective .005-inch or .006-inch gauge fit in the interval, too. In other words, I'd gapped them too wide. I fixed that.
Today, I measured c. 50 mpg on my current fuel refill (I'd been getting c. 42 mpg). The engine simply sounds better, and the throttle response is fluid and easy. I can even manage to coordinate throttle/clutch to eliminate the low-rev rattle upon flat-start takeoff most of the time (and I'm probably at fault the other times).
We'll see if this lasts, or is an aberration -- but I doubt it's coincidental. Shoulda happened before now, you'd think, if it's random.
Anyway, when checking and setting valve clearances, double- and triple-check (even after tightening the lock not) that the clearance is good for your desired gap, but not the next bigger one! If you don't, chance are some of your gaps will be too wide (which is certainly better than too narrow, but NOT optimum!).
I checked and adjusted valve clearances on my '83 GL1100 Interstate last week, and noted mild throttle improvement, but little else.
Thus, while draining the oil during an oil/filter change a couple of days ago, I went ahead and pulled the valve covers and re-checked the gaps, realizing I hadn't made sure that the next-larger gauge would NOT traverse the gap set in each case (.004-in. for intake, .005-in. for exhaust). Sure enough, in about half of cases, the respective .005-inch or .006-inch gauge fit in the interval, too. In other words, I'd gapped them too wide. I fixed that.
Today, I measured c. 50 mpg on my current fuel refill (I'd been getting c. 42 mpg). The engine simply sounds better, and the throttle response is fluid and easy. I can even manage to coordinate throttle/clutch to eliminate the low-rev rattle upon flat-start takeoff most of the time (and I'm probably at fault the other times).
We'll see if this lasts, or is an aberration -- but I doubt it's coincidental. Shoulda happened before now, you'd think, if it's random.
Anyway, when checking and setting valve clearances, double- and triple-check (even after tightening the lock not) that the clearance is good for your desired gap, but not the next bigger one! If you don't, chance are some of your gaps will be too wide (which is certainly better than too narrow, but NOT optimum!).
