question on how to measure the valve shims

[desmodoktor]

tell me about it. if you had 7mm shims id mail you my tool to borrow.

i hated the fact that i had to pay $6 shipping for a tool and then pay shipping again to buy the shims. maybe you can call mike up and see if he will ship first class to you.

he is a very nice guy.

got the tool today! i love it  !!
measured and ordered right the way! should be getting the new shims by the weekend...
lets see if my intake backfire problem will be solved.... :

[Cloner]

make sure you buy the right one, there are 2 sizes.

Actually, there are three sizes.   

[uclabiker06]

svp88 when I was doing my valves i was having a very hard time measuring the shims, cuz if I would squeeze a bit harder I would get a different reading and all that.  Anyways, so what I did is I would sand the shim a little bit then put it in and measure with the feeler gauges.  Then I would take it out sand some more and measure once again with the feelers.  I guess what I'm saying is I placed more of an emphasis on the feeler gauge measurement then I did on the caliper measurement.  My two cents.

[desmodoktor]

svp88 when I was doing my valves i was having a very hard time measuring the shims, cuz if I would squeeze a bit harder I would get a different reading and all that.  Anyways, so what I did is I would sand the shim a little bit then put it in and measure with the feeler gauges.  Then I would take it out sand some more and measure once again with the feelers.  I guess what I'm saying is I placed more of an emphasis on the feeler gauge measurement then I did on the caliper measurement.  My two cents.

yea i know what you are saying ... i made sure i pushed it all the way with a screwdriver masked with electrical take (didnt want to scratch the rocker arms lol ) and my father was measuring the spaces between .. and measured them more than once to make sure... well we ll see how accurate my measurements were when the shims come .. i ll let you know..

[uclabiker06]

I'm sure it will be fine.

[desmodoktor]

nothing is fine... i still have a backfire through the intake!! at this point IDK what else to do!!!! 
any tips? im really disappointed ... this season is ruined...

[uclabiker06]

well do you think it might just be your fuel/air settings? Have you tried tinkering with that issue?  U have aftermarket exhausts?

[desmodoktor]

yes i have full arrow exhaust. i built a manometer and tried to adjust the throttle bodies but that backfire is still there.. the only time it would disappear is if i close that screw almost all the way.. but there is no way to balance it after.. and it would run on low rpms .. any tips on how to adjust the throttle bodies? i dont have the money for a mechanic right now.. + i want to get it done asap so i start riding again .. now that the weather is good... thank you .

[uclabiker06]

Maybe installing your original stock exhaust will help?  To fiddle with the fuel/air correctly requires more than just fiddling with tthe throttle body screw; unfortunately you need this computer thing that only dealers have.  You got a full system so be responsible and finish what you started by adjusting your fuel/air to compensate or put your original exhaust back on.  Thats my two cents.

[desmodoktor]

Maybe installing your original stock exhaust will help?  To fiddle with the fuel/air correctly requires more than just fiddling with tthe throttle body screw; unfortunately you need this computer thing that only dealers have.  You got a full system so be responsible and finish what you started by adjusting your fuel/air to compensate or put your original exhaust back on.  Thats my two cents.

i dont have the stock exhaust . bought the bike with the after market exhaust. do u know how much the dealer will charge for a throttle body job?

[He Man]

what do u mena throttle body job? like to balance the TBs? its can run anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1 full hours work depending on the shop. some of them charge a flat rate.

[desmodoktor]

what do u mena throttle body job? like to balance the TBs? its can run anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1 full hours work depending on the shop. some of them charge a flat rate.

yeah.. i meant balancing the throttle bodies..
idk what to do .. believe me.. im so pissed off... everybody is riding outside im sitting there trying to figure out how to get rid of that intake backfire.. (which i think is the cause of the power loss that i get) i did the valves , tied the shims .. everything is good .. idk what else to check .. any ideas?

[Cloner]

If the bike was in my shop I'd do a quick compression test to make sure it's not a burnt intake valve, first.  Then I'd check fuel mixture (excessively lean can cause backfire through the intake).  Then I'd check valve clearances.

Has the bike been chipped since it received its new exhaust system, or does it still have the factory chip?  A full system plus a stock chip equals a high probability of backfires.  I just rode a customer's S4RS with the same symptoms your bike is displaying and it was all due to an extremely lean condition brought on by an arrow full system and a factory chip.  Maybe an adjustment to the fuel trim (which only affects the fuel settings at or near idle) would help some.

Poor TB balance can cause a myriad of poor performance issues at or near idle, but I've never seen it cause a proper backfire.  That said, I definitely haven't seen everything there is to see. 

Check the simple stuff first.  99 times out of 100 it's something simple.

Good luck.

[desmodoktor]

If the bike was in my shop I'd do a quick compression test to make sure it's not a burnt intake valve, first.  Then I'd check fuel mixture (excessively lean can cause backfire through the intake).  Then I'd check valve clearances.

Has the bike been chipped since it received its new exhaust system, or does it still have the factory chip?  A full system plus a stock chip equals a high probability of backfires.  I just rode a customer's S4RS with the same symptoms your bike is displaying and it was all due to an extremely lean condition brought on by an arrow full system and a factory chip.  Maybe an adjustment to the fuel trim (which only affects the fuel settings at or near idle) would help some.

Poor TB balance can cause a myriad of poor performance issues at or near idle, but I've never seen it cause a proper backfire.  That said, I definitely haven't seen everything there is to see. 

Check the simple stuff first.  99 times out of 100 it's something simple.

Good luck.

thank you !! from what you said i would def. bring the bike to you so u check it but i guess your far away from where i am ... 
and yes, whatever you said is right..  i dont think the ppl who had the bike before did smth with the stock chip bcoz it backfires a lot from the exhaust.
i just did a valve adjustment .. everything seemed good. (i ll upload a pic of the valves) check it , see if u can find smth wrong there..
i was playing with the idling scews today .. and it seemed like it went away for a while when i opened up the air a little more.. but then again came back..
i dont have any experience on these things .. but when i look at it .. smth tells me that the gas gets collected there and then it lights up creating the backfire on the intake.. but at the same time i was playing with the other heads idling screw and there was no backfire there... idk im confused .. i know the deal will rip me off!! cant trust these guys here ...

[desmodoktor]