Need some help [valve adjustment]

[ranger04]

I need some help from all you experts on valve adjustments
I noticed ticking noise coming from the rear exhaust valves, and knowing the dealer probably didnt check them and the 600mile serving i gave it a whirl-bike has about 4500 miles and is a 2006 M50B
I did a search to come up with some helpfull info-removing the throttle body was a good one who ever came up with that, i would never of thought of it, and went to it
Got the bike all apart and as suspected the rear valves, as well as all the rest of them, were almost touching. So i adjusted as required, with the setting a RT in the hole, i put valvles at .008 for the rear exhaust and .004 for the rear intake. Then rotated 1 1/2 turn to FT and adjusted front intake to .004 and front exhaust to .008. Double checked clearances, tightened every thing and checked again, put bike back together and now ticking in back is gone but really loud in the front exhaust.
so i shut it off, and do it all over agian-found the all clearances were almost tight, so i adjusted them all again, checked 1/2 dozen times and put it back together-same problem
Any Ideas anybody because im lost and i dont want to take it to a dealer-i may try agian tomorrow, its supposed to be nice all week and she doesnt want to sit in the garage in pieces
thanks

[NateHarris]

make sure you are doing this work when the engine is warm. The clearances will change when everything is cold.

[Cimco]

Mmmmmm...

I thought it was the other way round.
I mean, I understood the engine should be stone cold...

[d_m50]

yep should be "dead cold" as its put on the valve adjustment how-to.

and when you set the timing marks also check that the valves are in the "relaxed position" meaning there is some freeplay in the rockers. If you set it when it isn't in the relaxed position then it'll be too loose and you will get ALOT of clatter.

so basically if you're doing the rear cylinder....
set it to RT
check the valve rockers for free play by wiggling them up and down.
if they don't budge then turn it 360* to RT again and see if there's free play there. A bit from therusks.com valve howto

http://therusks.com/HowTos/Volusia%2...0Procedure.pdf

You will work on the rear cylinder first, so get to the RT mark first. Once
the RT mark is in the center of the sight glass and the line on the RT is aligned with the alignment arrow on the sight
window, you must check to see if there is free play at both the intake (on the rear part of the cylinder) and exhaust
(on the front part of the cylinder) valve rocker arms by jiggling them up and down. The movement is slight. If not,
rotate the crankshaft 360 degrees (counterclockwise) and check again until the valves reach the "relaxed" position.

[ranger04]

They should really mention that in the service manual-thanks guys you are like savors, i think all the rockers were tight when i adjusted them so that is probobly the answer-ill let ya know how it goes-hopefully i wont be throwing any tools-lol

[d_m50]

same thing happened to me when I did it the first time. I started 'er up and the clatter was so loud it hurt my ears. I went w/ similar clearance so you'll still hear them ticking but not as loud.

[ranger04]

Ok, she is back in one piece, cleaned up and running like a champ, thanks for all the help everybody, would have never thought to remove the throttle body and knew nothing about the rocker arms having to be free-thats where i messed up. I guess thats why im not a mechanic
Any ways after tearing it apart and reassembling 3 times you learn quick
But she is good to go now

[AJE777]

Another tip is to watch the rocker arms of the intake open(moving down) and then closing (returning up) the next stroke is the compression stroke. Then you can start watching for the proper marks in the window. That way you can be sure you are adjusting at tdc of the compression stroke. At least thats how I do it.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by ranger04

I need some help from all you experts on valve adjustments.
I noticed ticking noise coming from the rear exhaust valves,

OK, now that the problem is solved, I can't help but ask..........
How is it you are able to distinguish WHICH valve(s) it is making the noise just by listening?

[hammersfan]

Should be done after sitting over night. Not with a warm engine.

[Oldgoat]

Originally Posted by NateHarris

make sure you are doing this work when the engine is warm. The clearances will change when everything is cold.

Please don't be offended, but that is totally incorrect.

RTFM

As others have said it must be totally at room temperature.

[ranger04]

if the valves are out of adjustment enough you can hear them ticking loud enough, you know it when you hear it, its hard to explain other than it sounds like real loud ticking or hammering. The noise is real noticable over what it should be and if you put your ear next to the bike you can tell where its coming from, but if they are not to far out you really cant tell. im sure others who have done this before can agree-as i mentioned im no mechanic and even i noticed it ticking and where it was coming from