WEST coast-kerry's valve adjusting kit?

[Queso]

Hey queso...if mk1incali doesn't want to host a GS valve-adjusting party at his parents pad in beverly hills    you can meet up with me when i get it and see what a lovely "garage" our apartment has. i'd rather do this with someone anyway. But we both know mk1incali should invite us first. 

Sounds cool! A wrenching project isn't quite as fun alone, that's for sure. All ya need is a spot, garage or not, I do all my wrenching in a car port, using the apartment's washer and drier as my tool bench 

mk1, Shouldn't a good cool down only take a couple hours (maybe with fans on the engine or something)?

[12thmonkey]

Yeah, it seems like if we let your bike sit for a few hours, and then did mine...yours would be cool enough by then. And it also seems that if we pulled your tank, the engine would cool a lot faster too. Maybe i'm missing something.  Hopefully someone who knows such things will chime in...

[Queso]

I usually only wait an hour or two tops to start working on my bike after a ride. Though that never involved work directly on the engine, that seemed to let the carbs and stuff around cool off plenty enough. Doing one bike at a time should leave penty of cooling time, I would think.

[Kerry]

I don't have either manual here at work, but my understanding is that the engine needs to be stone cold when you check the valve clearances.

My guess is that heat in the engine expands several of the components in the "valve train".  The sum total of the deformations could easily result in "bad" readings.

[EDIT] Translation: Let the bike sit overnight if at all possible.

[veeref]

If you read back a page or two and note what Pablo says about complete cool-downs before checking clearances, you'll understand why a party at my parent's place would do no good for you guys, since my parents wouldn't be too receptive to the idea of 2 unknown bikes in their garage over night as it is shared with their landlord and he's pretty anal about who has access to the garage (rightfully so, I believe).

I'd be more than happy to ride up from SD and help you guys after veeref is done with the kit and it is back in SoCal...I just got a new digital camera, so I need some good long rides to give me some photo ops, and I'm always glad to meet more guys that don't fall for the whole bigger is necessarily better trap like most Americans do.

Just a thought..

If you SoCal guys want to combine working on your valves, you can send it to me AFTER you're done with it.  My valve clearance job can definitely wait, so that way you're not waiting for it to get to Colorado and back.  Just change the order if you guys are cool with that. I still have about another 1000 miles or so to put on (about a month of riding), before I"m officially due.

Randy

[Queso]

Hmm... Anyone have a truck that they could haul their bike to the garage of one who has no truck? My bike is my only transportation... Just a thought. Otherwise I guess I'll just have to wait, then.

[12thmonkey]

Hey Queso...where do you live? i don't have a truck...but there are ways we can work this out.

And veeref...you are a kind man. 

[Mk1inCali]

Yeah guys, no dice on the couple hour cool-down.  Queso-for almost everything else, an hour or two is just fine for a wait period.  It takes a long time to get parts that deep into the engine cooled off to ambient temp.

Thanks much Veeref!

One thought, if you guys can't get both of your bikes in one location and have them both cooled off, I could do mine at my parent's place early morning after letting it sit all night to cool, then ride over to one house with the kit in tow, do the bike there (whichever of you guys wanted to go 2nd), then both of us (or just me, if the 2nd guy wasn't into it) could roll over to the 3rd guy's house and do his bike.

I'd be cool with starting at one of your houses if you are pretty close to UCLA or Wilshire/Rodeo/La Cienega area as I could steal my parent's car and mob over there to help.

Neither of you have done this service, correct?

To veeref- Much thanks for the offer, hopefully we can get this ironed out and have a solid plan so we can at least get everybody's valves measured, if not back into spec, then into your hands.

Tuesday/Wednesdays are my only days off now, but I don't have to work until 11 on Thursday so an early morning thrash on my bike would be OK if we got your 2 bikes done Wednesday night, and I can possibly swap days to get a real weekend day off (that'd take some planning though).


What works for you two?

[Queso]

Nope, never done a valve job before. I watched Kerry's video a couple times, though 

I'm in La Mirada, just off Beach Blvd. That idea sounds cool, do yours, go to the next house, the two go to the next...

And thanks, veeref!!

[12thmonkey]

Mk1inCali - that sounds like a good plan. Is there any way you could manage a Saturday? That is the only morning i could work on it. Like Queso, my bike is my only means of transportation during the week. i live off Sawtelle and Palms, so i'm pretty close to your parents house. If it was a Saturday morning, i could borrow my wife's cage, drive over to your place help/observe/learn while you do your valve job, we could ride over to my place, do mine...and then head on down to the OC to do Queso's. And then we could terrorize the streets of La Mirada. 

[Mk1inCali]

At the job I have right now, I get off of work at ~3:30, so I could come up that way after work and get your two bikes done, and then head back down to San Diego and get my bike done that next Tuesday (I've slowly been accumulating tools of my own), and ship the kit off.

If I get another job here soon like I've been looking (fruitlessly thus far) for (exactly for the lack of weekend days off), that'll be wide open again and I have no idea what my schedule would look like.

[Straymonolith]

Hey, anyway I can get on the list? I'm in Houston, TX.
I'm way overdue on mine.

[Kerry]

Sure!  All you have to do is:

* Go backwards thorugh this thread till you find the most recent post with a list

* Copy the list

* Paste the list into a new post

* Add yourself at the bottom of the list

[pandy]

Mandres                 ?, TX - Presently Has Kit
My Name Is Dave    Portland, OR
mk1incali               San Diego/Beverly Hills, CA
veeref                   Denver, CO
12thmonkey           Los Angeles, CA
DPark14                Tuscon, AZ
Queso                   Los Angeles (area), CA - if a get together doesn't happen...
Straymonolith        Houston, TX

Kinda like this!  I know that veeref has let some Cali peeps jump up so they can do their carbs together, so anyone feel free to correct this latest incarnation of the list. 

[Mandres]

I'm finished with the kit now.  It will be on it's way to Dave in Oregon this afternoon.

-M

[Straymonolith]

Excellent. I'll be holding my breath 'till I get it.

[My Name Is Dave]

Wow, I haven't been here in a LONG time. School is kicking my ass. Anyways, I wanted to let you guys know I got the kit and I plan on doing the valves tomorrow. If something changes, I'll let you know.

I am shocked about Phae, by the way. Unreal. Ride safe, guys.

Dave 

[wyiel]

Saw Kerry's video right before bedtime last night.
Hopefully, I had plenty of practice in my dreams.  : )

Mandres                 ?, TX (Has sent off kit to Dave)
My Name Is Dave     Portland, OR (Should have the kit now)
mk1incali                San Diego/Beverly Hills, CA
veeref                    Denver, CO
12thmonkey           Los Angeles, CA
DPark14                Tuscon, AZ
Queso                   Los Angeles (area), CA - if a get together doesn't happen...
Straymonolith         Houston, TX
wyiel                    Sacramento, CA

[Mk1inCali]

This could work out yet, I still have Monday/Tuesday off, and I get off early on Saturdays, so I can get my bike done during the week, then ride up after work on Saturday and we can finish your two bikes.



Does that still work for either of you LA-based 'Twinners?

[Queso]

Saturday? That should work fine for me.