Archive for the ‘Valve Repair’ Category

This bike was brought to me with the cases split and all parts in a boxes.  From the beginning, I had my doubts about being able to safely put it all back together since I was not present for the disassembly.  It took a long time and a lot of replacement parts, but it finally started to take shape.  I had to start with the service manual and follow it step by step while taking notes.  Fortunately, Suzuki service manuals are in my opinion some of the best manuals out there and fairly easy to follow.

The major parts replaced included:

• Cylinder
• Valves
• Cam Journal repair
• Crankshaft
• Crank Bearings
• Replacement 1st and 2nd gears
• Various thread repairs

The 07-09 RMZ 250 had problems with the transmisison, and this one was no exception.  There were worn gears that had to be replaced.  The gears were worn in the areas where the shift cog slides over to engage the gear.  It was concluded that without replacing the gears, the customer could experience false neutrals and jumping out of gear. Read more about it here:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/933894-07-rmz-250-worn-gears-pics/

All in all, it was a tremendously grueling rebuild to take on, but in the end I feel it was well worth the experience.  The owner has approximately 12 hrs on the bike since rebuild and everything seems to be holding up well.

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to buy this beauty.  Its a 97 Suzuki Savage with 29k miles and a clear title.  It needs a few things, but for the price I paid for it, I figured it will be a fun build.  I don’t normally have any interest in cruisers whatsoever, but this may be fun to ride around on for a while and then put it up for sale.

First things first, it needs a head gasket.  The previous owner made me aware of this before buying.  I didn’t think that would be a big deal, but when I got a service manual for it, I was disappointed to find out that the motor has to be removed from the frame in order to remove the head.

Also, I was told that it needs a clutch.  Well I assumed that meant it had “worn out” plates or a basket and not “the clutch assembly was stolen off the bike then the cover was put back on”  So I have sourced a used clutch assembly and a few other things that are on the way.

Other items it needs are:

• Gaskets for the clutch cover, stator cover, head, valve cover, and cylinder
• Speedometer cable
• Battery
• Starter solenoid

There are probably a few other things I am forgetting, but ill get to those later.

If anyone is interested in buying it when its complete and restored, contact me.

Edit:  I lost interest in the project and sold it to a friend.  He has finished it and you can see how it looks in the final picture.  I think I will stick to dirt bikes!

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I picked this bike up on Friday from my friend Mark.  It’s his nephew’s bike that he recently purchased.  Lately it has become difficult to start.  We suspected the valve shims are getting tight, so I offered to check it out for him.

Here it is prior to any work:

My girlfriend Sara likes to turn a wrench too!  I am fortunate to have someone who fully supports and helps me fulfill my hobbies.

Finding top dead center:

And here we are with the problem.  The intake valves only have .0025″ of clearance.  The recommended clearance is .005″ plus or minus 1 thousandth.  The exhaust valves had .006″ and .005″ of clearance.  Recommended is .011″

At this point, you can just pop in new valve shims from a kit, but to save the customer money, I ground/sanded the existing shims down using a piece of glass as a flat surface and 200 grit wet/dry sandpaper for the initial sand and then finishing off with a 500 grit for the final sanding.  I use larger sheets and run in a figure 8 pattern until I have achieved the desired thickness.  In this case, I removed .0025″ from each intake shim and .005″ and .006″ respectively from the exhaust shims.  To accurately measure this I use a micrometer and measure the shim prior to sanding, then adjust the micrometer for the desired amount removed and lock it.  Keep sanding until the shim fits into the micrometer.  Then you have successfully adjusted your valves without buying a $79.99 shim kit!

Its been a long time since an update, and I have been having a hard time finding any project bikes.  I think that may change soon, as I have plans to pick up a bike this Friday.

Since I loved the recent 06 yz 250f that I just rebuilt and sold, I decided to try to find one for myself.  I ran a Craigslist ad offering my RMz 450 for trade on a 250f or just as a cash sale.  I had little response for about a week, but I finally got a call from someone offering me a 2009 yz 25of as an even trade for my 450.  Since this was pretty much exactly what I was looking for, I jumped on it and bid farewell to el toro the elbow mangler (my 450).

After looking the bike over, it has some minor cosmetic blemishes, but mechanically its sound.  The chain, sprockets, brake pads and front tire are all original.  This tells me it has low hours.  I’m guessing around 30 since the drive train shows little wear.  This bike is completely stock from the ground up.  Even has the original bars and grips on it.  Here is the list of goodies that I have ordered so far:

• All new blue plastics plus white number plates. (polisport kit)
• 2 sets of one industries graphics.
• Custom printed name/number plates.
• lexx tunable exhaust slip-on with mid-pipe.
• 4.9kg/mm Titanium shock spring.  (standard on 09′s is a steel spring that is 1.5lbs heavier)
• #40 leak jet.  (helps eliminate the bog coming off idle that seems to be standard on 250f’s)
• SenDec hour meter/tach.

And here are the mods I have either done or am planning to do:

• Re-jetting carb to get better throttle response and to match new pipe.
• Re-shimmed valves since they were on the borderline of being too tight.
• Dropping bike off early next week with Dave @ fastbikeindustries.com to suspension serviced, re-sprung, sag set, and tuned.

Here is what it looked like when I brought it home:

More to come soon.  I am anxiously awaiting for my parts to arrive!

Update 2/7/10:

Over the weekend, I stripped the bike down and did some cleaning and installed the new leak jet, hour meter, cleaned the air filter, and just went over everything while doing some cleaning.  I got all new plastics and graphics but I am still waiting on my custom-printed name and number plates to arrive, so I will post up new pics when I get them installed.

That’s it for now.  I’m dropping it off tomorrow morning to get my suspension tuned so I’ll probably post pics of the final build on Tues or Wed.

Update 2/14/2010:

I picked up the bike last Wednesday from Dave @ Fast Bike Industries.  He replaced all the bushings and seals in the forks and also dialed in the suspension for my weight.  He set the static and rider sag for both the front and rear with me on the bike wearing my gear in order to get it as accurate as possible.  His work is top-notch and I recommend him to anyone looking for suspension work for either off-road or street.  His website is www.fastbikeindustries.com

I also got my graphics + custom-printed number plate graphics installed.  Here are a few pics:

I am ready to go ride this thing as soon as the weather gets better.