what is a tappit

[Puunjob]

I am reading zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance and he is talking about pulling out his tappits and checking them what is a tappit

[JLKasper]

He was checking the valve clearances.  On Pirsig's bike, the camshaft sits in the cylinder head, and the valves sit alongside it.  A rocker arm that pivots in the middle rides on the surface of the cam at one end, and the tappet (a threaded adjustment bolt with a locknut) rides against the valve stem on the opposite end, and pushes the valve down.  On cars with pushrod  engines, they are hydraulically adjusted pistons commonly called "lifters".  The GS has "tappets", which are solid pistons that have "buckets" on the end which hold the adjustment shims.  

This site has a picture of Pirsig on his bike (a Honda 305 Superhawk):

http://www.honda305.com/zen/

My copy is the New Age edition paperback.  I like the chautauqua about gumption on that begins on page 272.

This book would make great reading for any motorcyclist, especially the tinkerers on this forum.  It gets a little deep in spots, but well worth it.

[litestuf]

In French, "Tappet" was a derogatory expression for a ghey person. In English, tappet is part of the valve train, not choo-choo train.  :mrgreen:

[Wrencher]

Tappet is also the name of NPR's Car Talk hosts. Click and Clack the Tappet brothers.

Useless trivia, but the actual definition was covered so well already this was all that was left.  

[CasiUSA]

It's also a commonly used phrase by scumbag guys such as myself..
i.e., "She's hot, I'll tappet"