Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - January 2009 - (Page 60)

MONTHLY FEATURES BENCH RACING ness that will bring the gap back to specks. Problems with this method are 1) this can be costly, (a four valve, 4 cylinder engine has 16 shims and they can cost $10 each) 2) sometimes they are out of stock and have to be ordered. 3) You have to put the old shims back in until you get the replacements. I am a machinist by trade and I have a precision grinder in my garage. I take one shim out at a time, grind it to the correct thickness put it back in and go on to the next one. My question is; the manuals say not to grind them. Are they just covering their buts or is there a real reason I shouldn’t be doing this? I have had no problems so far. Gary Via e-mail The short answers are yes, and it depends. My guess is that the OEMs have two concerns. I’m not certain whether the shims in question are case hardened or through hardened, but, if you ground through the outer surface of a case hardened shim, you’d leave it too soft to survive, especially if it’s the type that fits between the cam and the bucket. The rapid wear that took place would fill the engine with grit, and there’s a real possibility that as the shim wore and clearance developed, the cam could pick it up and spit it clean through the head. The second consideration is that few people have the skills and equipment to properly grind things like valve shims. Hell, most guys can’t properly grind the mushroomed end off an old chisel. Trying to size a valve shim with a bench grinder is a scary thought, but Bench Racing #106 –January 2009 Royale Rumor Presents I’ve been reading Walneck‘s Cycle Trader for years and I’ve always enjoyed your column. My question is this: I’ve been told by several people that the older V4 Yamaha Venture Royale will usually need the stator replaced at about 50,000 miles. Mine has 65 and counting. 1. Is there any truth to this rumor, generally speaking? 2. Is this a big job, replacing the stator? 3. Is there any early warning signs. My bike has a slight rattle at idle after it’s all warmed up. The rattle seems to be coming from the lower right side. (I wish I could hold it up to the computer so you could listen to it.) Anyways, I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Thanks, Chris Arp Cheney WA Via e-mail In all honesty I’ve never heard of this one, and if anyone can bring me up to speed or shed a little light on the particulars I’d appreciate it. That being said, the fact that your bike has over 65,000 miles on it and is presumably running and charging just fine would seem to tell the tale. Stators are either Q Hi Mark. By: Mark Zimmerman good or bad, and when they do fail, they expire without a whimper so I doubt very much that the noise you’re hearing has anything to do with the stator. My guess is that the rattle is being caused by the carbs being slightly out of synch, or is coming from the primary drive or clutch hub. As far as replacing the stator, I’d cross that bridge when, or more accurately if, you come to it. But in the main it’s not terribly difficult job. It’s a crying shim! Bench Racing A A Most of my motorcycles and some of my cars have a shim and bucket arrangement to adjust the valve. Usually over time the clearance gets a little tight. According to the manuals, you are supposed to remove the shim from the out of tolerance valve bucket and go buy another one of a different thick- Q Hi Mark, 60 January 2009 | WALNECK’S CLASSIC CYCLE TRADER® I WALNECKS.COM http://www.WALNECKS.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - January 2009

Classic Cycle - January 2009 Contents American The Buzz with Buzz Walneck 1970 Harley Davidson FXS - Low Rider Motorcycle Tips with Mike Brown 1970 Harley Davidson Super Glide Cal Rayborn’s 1973 HD SRTT 1978 Harley Davidson XR 750 Bench Racing with Mark Zimmerman Events Listings & Advertisements British Chain Anyone? Barber Vintage Review Biker of the Month Parts, Accessories, Want Ads The Art of Dismantling Why Do We Do It, and When? Buffing Metal Old Blue, Deja Blue and the California Hot Rod A Fat Daddy I Call Friend 7th Annual Concours European Teacher Knows Best … Mike Brown The Midnight Whizzer … Mark Zimmerman Madman … Somer Hooker Buzz Japanese Motorbikes & Scooters Memorbilia Antique Cycle Clubs Competition How to Place a Word Ad How to Place a Photo Ad Area Code Directory How to Subscribe Let Us Help with Your Event

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - January 2009

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