Installing cams

Ok let’s start over with a clean slate. I have degreed the cams a dozen times and squeezed solder between valves and pistons about 100 times now. So I have learned a few things since we last talked.
First off is that my valve to piston clearance is not .046” as I said .It seams I was putting the solder in too far and this # actually was the piston to cyl. head clearance.
Ok now the piston to valve clearance is .083” @ 104 L.C Intake. And the Exht is over .120” @ 105 L.C. So I should be good there.
Now I measured the valve to valve clearance and got .0195” @ 107 L.C. Int and 111 L.C. exht. Also at Int. L.C. 104 , Exht L.C. 105, V to V is .002”. The bike was running at 110 L.C.”s Int & Exht with .020” v to v.
Next I took the head off and measured .153” V to Valve clearance at the seat with feeler gauges (the prongs of my verniers are not long enough to reach).

Next I put in #1 & 4 pistons installed the block and torqued to 20ft.lbs. (Yes, I see now, I should have gone 40lb. right?) now I found that the piston edges were higher than the block. I measure with feeler gauges and found #1 to be .005” high and #4 was .014” high. Does this mean its, twisted sister?
So by looking at these #’ I see some discrepancies in my work. I got .044” to .046” on to solder when I measured the piston to head clearance at tdc. But if my piston on #1 is above the deck .005” and my head gasket is.045” ,this cant be. I must add I made the mistake of only torqueing the head to 30 lbs. I found that my base gasket shrank from .020” to .018”. (The old one was .030” so this must have kept things happy in there?)
So My #’s may be off a bit but they should tell a story. The way I read it, if I put in 2 base gaskets(.020”x 2) I should have ample piston to head clearance,right? My valve to piston should be fine. That leaves twisted crank ? and Valve to valve. I was getting by with .020” at 110 LC’s. and I want more torque and change L.C.”s to 107in ,111 exh .I’ll still have .0195” ,I should be ok right? I’m on a low budget and don’t want to resink the valves unless you guys say I should. I was thinking I would just turn down the valves diameter .007” to gain clearance.
1 more thing, I measured the depth of the combustion chamber and it was .385” deep. holds 34.25 ml.

Post edited by: mark1122, at: 2007/02/12 21:57

I think that with a rev limiter you'll be fine with what you are getting for clearances at 107-111. The only time the clearances change is when the valves bounce anyway, and you are aware of the minimums. I would make a jig for the block and use it to check the height of it on both ends (1-4) to satisfy the possibility of it having been decked uneven. That leaves only the fact that the crank is bent. I'd also measure the squished gaskets to see if one side squashed down more than the other. Doing these things should answer all elusive questions. I think if you hit it again with a fresh mind and all the information you've gathered, things will come together for you. All your evidence will present facts that make sense, and actually pinpoint the physical reasons for the discrepencies. Maybe someone else can chime in here and present some new information that will help also. Your almost there!

Your going to have to get a second opinion but it seems that .120 not typical clearance at 105lc. It seems to be alot more than should be there. You are aware that 105lc is 5deg. retarded from 110lc? .120 seems to be close to what you should have with 110ex. and should get less when the cam is retarded. Maybe your valves are sunk deeper into the head but I have no way of knowing. Hopefully someone will be familiar with the clearance that should be there.

Post edited by: nads.com, at: 2007/02/13 15:08

Index the crankshaft and see if it's twisted.

nads.com wrote:

Index the crankshaft and see if it's twisted.

How do you index the crank?

You have to get a piece of rod and run it through all the connecting rods. If it doesn't go, the crank is twisted. Steel knows the size rod and where it might be found.

Ok ,I know what you mean now ,It would be the same size as a rist pin.Thanks,I'll just have it checked when I take it in for the new end.