The OBSERVED Valve Clearance thread

[max]

Well the valves are adjusted, took a few days because i did not have one shim so i ordered 5 locally and got them today.
As it happens i did the camshaft removal twice and got familiar with the process after assuring myself how the markings should look like by rotating the engine over by hand several times.

Once you've done this it becomes simpler to do, i was very fussy with the feeler gauges and spent a lot of time getting the numbers correct, at this time we are in lockdown so i had plenty of time to do this.
Here is the authentic record of the clearances as measured at 18.000 and 55.000 km;


and some calculations to the shim sizes old and new, only two ex valves were out and 5 were on the limit, all exhaust valves, the intakes had not moved in 47.000 km exept one;


Some notes that may help;

and;


The camshaft lid came out on the right hand side after the throttle cables were pushed out of the way it was simple to remove;


Installing the camshafts was done by intake shaft first with sprocket, then exhaust shaft in the right position but let the shaft find it's own position, then align the sprockets with their markings correct, install the cam bearings and squarely bolt them down starting with the one over the downward pointing cams until the bolts are home, insert the tensioner, then rotate the sprockets to line up with the holes in the ex shaft, then install one bolt, rotate the sprocket and install the other one ( both with blue loctite ).


The camshafs must line up in the center of their sideways travel and fit under the center guide

The other parts were installed in the following order, the heatshield inserted from the right side;



So i took my time but it was worthwhile knowing what's going on in my engine



Any questions?

[tod.branko_imp]

Thank you for all the details max, yes I have a question about camshaft removal - any issues with the chain itself, tensioner etc. Was it straightforward?

'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

[dave]

Hi Max, great information, thank you (I copied your notes for future reference). In post #126 you stated "the cover has to come out at the left side", but in your follow-up post you state " the camshaft lid came out on the right hand side...". Are the cover and the camshaft lid you're referring to the same item? I removed my camshaft cover from the RH side (after struggling to get it out I discovered the throttle cables were causing the problem). Thank you for the clarification Max.

[max]

Hi Tod, i supported the chain with a piece of wire to prevent it from disappearing into the cavity, if this happens you can still fish it out with a magnet or so but better to prevent it.

The chain just hangs there with slack but positions itself once you pull it back into place, i have not had it come off the bottom sprocket but i guess that could happen, don't know.

Here is the chain support white wire, it is hanging from the ignition coil mounting support which is in the center of the engine, the sprockets are lined up but the ex shaft is not yet connected to the sprocket, i rotate the sprockets counter clockwise to position the sprocket to line up with the two bolt holes in the ex shaft and put the bolts back in, the intake sprocket stays on the shaft, no need to take it off since there is plenty of slack once the front shaft is removed;



I have a tool that winds the tensioner back into itself and it is very small, you take out the screw and aluminium washer, use the tool to decompress the tensioner by winding it in, locate the slots and push the tool into two of the four slots which now prevents the tensioner from extending itself and now it does not fight you when unbolting the tensioner and it is straightforward to undo the two bolts and take the tensioner out.

In this video ( at 5 minutes in ) you can see what these four slots look like, their function is to hold the tool by itself and keep the tensioner spring wound up whilst mounting/unmounting the tensioner;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSr6zD4iT2s



As you can see on the picture there is not an abundance of room to have a larger tool do the same job, this little piece of copper works just fine.



Take the top bolt out first and then remove the bottom one so there is no chance one of them could end up inside the hole for the tensioner



When you are rotating the shafts the tensioner needs to be applying tension to prevent the chain from skipping teeth which is easy to do.

When i put the shafts back in for the first time i forgot to put the chain over the ex shaft and found out when i bolted the bearing caps back on, so i had to undo them, pull the shaft out and route the chain as it should have been

When installing the camshafts the relationship between the marks has to be correct so that they line up when the chain is tensioned, when the shafts are put back in at the correct angle they land slightly out of alignment but this is fine as long as the relationship between the marks on the sprockets is correct you can always rotate them to line up with the marks and rotate the ex sprocket with the shaft counter clockwise to locate the two bolt holes and put the bolts back in with blue loctite.

And for Dave; i made a mistake the first time and reported what i had done, the best way to remove/install parts is on the right hand side of the bike, you live and learn and you are correct

Here is the work space.



Any more questions; feel free

[GoldOxide_imp]

Fascinating to view this max. Like slow-motion motorcycle heart surgery.

[dave]

Hi Max.
1. Are you stating that the sprocket on the intake cam does NOT have to be removed to remove the intake cam? I assume that this is possible because the sprocket on the exhaust cam and the exhaust cam have been removed first?
2. In your discussion you have described rotating the sprockets / shafts counter clockwise. Do you accomplish this by rotating the crankshaft?
3. I didn't see anywhere in your instructions where you talk about aligning the crankshaft marks simultaneously when you align the cams. Can you provide some insight to how you ensured the crankshaft was properly positioned, and the correct position maintained, when you aligned the cam shafts and installed the cam shaft gears?
4. I haven't read my Honda shop manual for some time now, but I don't remember it stating that the cam chain tensioner is to be removed. I thought that releasing the chain tension using the special tool was all that was required, although I agree removing the entire tensioner makes good sense.

Thank you Max.

PS - now we all know what a handsome devil you are! LOL!

[PowerDubs_imp]

I did not need to remove my tensioner when I installed my cams.

Pretty much everything else- I forget.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[max]

Thanks Dubs, i was not sure if retracting was enough but i appreciate the tip, i will leave it in next time, cheers.

Dave Josh may correct me, i just noted some things down as i went along, everybody has to make up how he wants to do the job and it was by no means a step-by-step thing, just some pointers, some useful some not.

#1 correct Dave.
#2 Yes.
#3 When i installed the shafts they landed easy but not exactly at the right angle, so i lined the ex-sprocket up with the
rest of the marks, put the tensioner in so the chain would not skip any teeth. ( see the pic,
The sprocket is in place but can rotate with respect to the ex-shaft );
then rotated the chain assembly counter clockwise to line up with the ex shaft, installed the bolts with blue loctite and
checked if all the marks lined up and proceeded with the job knowing the timing was correct.
#4 see josh's remarks, and he would know what he is talking about, mine was just the first time ever.

It was just easyer to land the shafts so they were at the lowest point for the bearing covers to install as i remember Josh remarked at the time that only one set of cams push on the valves, very convenient, easy to spot and i just picked the alignment of the ex-sprocket up and bolted the lot down.

[dave]

Thank you Max.

[pdedse]

10/15/21: 2017 CB1100EX
14k miles
First valve check, performed by Cycletune, Portland, Oregon
Clearances EX: .28 +/- .03; IN: .15 +/- .03

OBSERVED CLEARANCES:

Cylinder #1
EX: .28 mm .28 mm
IN: .15 mm .17 mm

Cylinder #2
EX: .28 mm .29 mm
IN: .15 mm .15 mm

Cylinder #3
EX: .28 mm .28 mm
IN: .16 mm .13 mm


Cylinder #4
EX: .25 mm .26 mm
IN: .15 mm .16 mm

No adjustments necessary