So. I have to check my valves ASAP. no time to wait for Kerry's kit. Gotta make my own.

So far I have....
Feeler gauges from .03mm to .08mm $5
AutoZone

Shim tool $18
http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/partno/08-0017/

Shims
Local Shop

Micrometer $8
http://www.wttool.com/p/1243-0025

Am I missing anything? What size shims should I get? Also should I get any gaskets ahead of time? like the small o-rings on the valve cover or the valve cover gasket itself? Thanks.

depends on the year model you have to look at all the gaskets and go from there . if there starting to crack i would say yes. dont buy any shims yet . you need to find out what size is in there ( cuz there not all the same on every bike i was told this from the tech's at the dealer cuz i was gonna buy a few and he told me to wait tell i had to replace one because you never know what size they are gonna be rember you only go up or down .05mm . ) hope you did not get those feeler gauges . you might have some trouble getting them in there . you may not but who knows. other then that .. you pretty much have what you need . it dont show what that shim tool looks like .. but  it should no be an issue

I think your feelers are too expensive.  Also, you need a full metric set.  What if your clearance is more than .08mm?  A 2.15 shim would be good to have for determining the correct clearance for valves that are too tight to measure.

Edit: a very small screwdriver and a "pen magnet" are also handy for removing the shims.

That feeler gauge is no good.  There is not enough 'lip' to fit under the cam lobe.  I picked up a $5 set from AutoZone that's served its purpose well.

well .. not really .. beause if its over .08 when he checks it then he needs to go down .05 mm . if its under .03 he needs to go up . thats how i see it i guess .. i dont know .. mine have been floating at about .10. or so .. give or take a little . i have not seen any problems yet and i keep an eye on them . but if you change your oil every 2k and i use maximia 10w40 ( used it after the first oil change 600 miles ) i know have 12k on it . and have  not had to replace them yet . but one of these weekends i'm gonna check it again just to make sure

Quote from: FearedGS500 on August 21, 2006, 09:07:08 PM
well .. not really .. beause if its over .08 when he checks it then he needs to go down .05 mm . if its under .03 he needs to go up . thats how i see it i guess .. i dont know .. mine have been floating at about .10. or so .. give or take a little . i have not seen any problems yet and i keep an eye on them . but if you change your oil every 2k and i use maximia 10w40 ( used it after the first oil change 600 miles ) i know have 12k on it . and have  not had to replace them yet . but one of these weekends i'm gonna check it again just to make sure

But what if it's more than .05mm off?  It wouldn't be the first time....

Use standard feeler gauges and convert to metric!  There are precisely 2.54 centimeters to the inch.

$25 for a feeler gauge set is insane!

Try a machine shop supply:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm?KNC-T7L391316886

or:

http://www.victornet.com/cgi-bin/victor/index.html  (These guys have a $20 minimum)


Feeler gauge set:  http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1686184&PMT4NO=10909830

Micrometers from $8:  http://www.victornet.com/cgi-bin/victor/productlist.html

Quote from: GeeP on August 21, 2006, 09:54:51 PM
Use standard feeler gauges and convert to metric!  There are precisely 2.54 centimeters to the inch.

$25 for a feeler gauge set is insane!

Try a machine shop supply:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm?KNC-T7L391316886

or:

http://www.victornet.com/cgi-bin/victor/index.html  (These guys have a $20 minimum)


Feeler gauge set:  http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1686184&PMT4NO=10909830

Micrometers from $8:  http://www.victornet.com/cgi-bin/victor/productlist.html

The problem with that is that most standard sets don't have very good resolution at the low end.  I got a 0.04-1.00 mm set of metrics at Pep Boys for $5.

I heard that Bikebandit.com has a feeler guage set that goes down to .03 for something like $10. I paid twice that for mine, it's imported from Germany, seems pretty good, I'd bet it's fairly accurate at that end.

You need a good quality 6mm allen wrench. I had a folding set, but it couldn't get at all the cover bolts. They're awkward.

I didn't take any of my shims out. I tried one, didn't make much progress... but 3 were .05 and one .04, so I wasn't trying hard.

Get a set of these or something similar, middle of the road quality is all thats needed. All the required thicknesess are included and dont forget you can sandwich 2 or 3 blades together to make a size thats not included i.e 0.05 together with 0.06 will give you 0.11. Setting gaps with Feeler gauges is not precision engineering and unless you buy a very expensive calibrated set you may find the actual blade thickness may vary by more than 0.01mm, the average person with no experience of using them is unlikely to be able to notice any real differences of less than 0.05mm (Thats 5 0ne-hundreths of, or 1 twentieth of 1 mm). Thats one reason why Suzuki quote a minimum and maximum figure for the gaps, its very difficult to set them accurately to within 0.05mm using feelers as it all depends on the individual persons interpretation of whats tight and whats loose.

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?
PID=14102&MAN=Draper-32-Blade-Dual-Reading-Combination-Feeler-Gauge

small question, when you guys are referring to 0.03 - 0.08 is that mm or in, because the feeler gaugues a lot of you link to are in inches not metric.

That would be metric, because that's the range of admissible valve clearances on the GS

0.03 and 0.08 are quoted as mm. Thou` of an inch are always quoted to a min of 3 decimal places i.e 0.003` (3 thou) or 0.030` (30 thou). To convert mm to thou` divide by 25.4 and round off the figure to 3 decimal places, i.e 0.03 mm=0.001` 0.08mm=0.003` 0.12mm=0.005`

Following on and given that 0.03mm is min and 0.08mm is max for the valve gaps. The correct approach, as in anything with min/max values would be to aim for the mid value, in this case 0.055mm with a tolerence of +or- 0.025mm
(2x 0.025mm=0.05mm) which is the difference between the min and max figures. Some may notice that the max tolerance of 0.05mm is actually MORE than the minimum quoted gap of 0.03mm so trying to get the gap to within anything below about 0.025mm serves no purpose in my view. When I last set mine I got them all to
0.06mm.....bang on mid value, no point wasting time and money trying to improve on that.

Quote from: GeeP on August 21, 2006, 09:54:51 PM

Feeler gauge set:  http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1686184&PMT4NO=10909830

That  only goes up to .03mm don't I need a feeler for at least .08mm or .09mm?

I'm just gonna drop by AutoZone and get these

Quote from: tussey on August 22, 2006, 05:37:56 AM

Quote from: GeeP on August 21, 2006, 09:54:51 PM

Feeler gauge set: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=1686184&PMT4NO=10909830

That only goes up to .03mm don't I need a feeler for at least .08mm or .09mm?

I'm just gonna drop by AutoZone and get these

Nope, it goes up to 0.03", about 0.75 mm

Quote from: Egaeus on August 21, 2006, 08:05:06 PM
Edit: a very small screwdriver and a "pen magnet" are also handy for removing the shims.

+1 

Also, you need some patients.  It can get pretty frustrating when the shim tool slips off the valve for the 50th and you have to start over again...

+1 on the patience and on the pen magent, the magnet helps if you drop a shim into the motor and while getting them out.
a thin flat head screwdriver might be needed as well as an extra set of hands.

also make sure you recheck the clearance after you put all of the shims in.
i ran into having to run back to the dealership to get another shim becasue the one we put in was too tight even thou the measurement was exact the first time (GS luck)
you prolly want to have someone either get the shims for you or plan on doing this close to a "parts distributer" so that you dont have to run across town in rush hour traffic to get that one last shim (did that for mine).