I just went through all the numbers again and decided to post a more digestible version of my total costs (in US dollars):

 Pkg / Dest           Check        PayPal
==========================================
  CD to US:           $1.79        $2.15
 DVD to US:           $2.00        $2.37

  CD to Canada:       $2.08        $2.45
 DVD to Canada:       $2.29        $2.67



Any future changes will be posted to this thread.

Wow, thats awesome that you made the movies......i'm definately interested in getting a copy, let me know whenever you start mass-producing them and i'll definately be interested in purchasing a copy!!!  One other thought though, do you have any sort of server setup or anything like that where we could download it directly from you?  I know gmail accounts can have up to 1GB of space on them so you might be able to transfer it by gmail accounts, but im not sure how that would work.....just a thought, it might be easier(a than trying to send cd's out everywhere...

I can donate about 30 hard plastic cases, maybe more, I have to check at work.  They are leftovers from a project we did for a drug company.
I think I have some 6x9 envelopes also.
The cases are hard enough so you can just use a plain envelope.
Just PM me if you need them.
Mike

PM sent to you Kerry.

hey kerry, I'll be happy to buy a copy as it sits right now... (highly technical background, but relatively new to the GS)
I gotta say, I think you should charge a little more, just to cover your time and other expenses.  Let me know when your ready to sell, even the version as it sits, and then find a price that reflects how much time and money you've actually spent.   (I'm not a millionare, but valuable information is worth a bit more than a lousy 2 bucks to me)

I second cummuterguy's motion.  At least charge enough to buy a beer.

Yup!  At least charge 10 or 15 bucks.  Hell, I think 20 is a good deal.  It's gonna save us hundreds of dollars!!

I second 10 bucks tag price motion, he he... anyway, I'd have to pay a higher postage fee to Mexico City... damn border!

Sheesh - you guys are going to have PBS knocking on my door any minute now!  

For now I'd rather just recover my materials and shipping costs.  Any extra money will just make my bookkeeping more difficult.  I'll think about davipu's "shim fund" idea and let you know....

Meanwhile, I'm about to be incommunicado for 18 hours or so.  I've gotta get a little sleep before boarding a plane for home in the morning.  I expect to pull into my driveway at about 7:00 PM Mountain time tomorrow.  (But don't blame me if I take a long nap before I get online!)

Kerry, when the video is done...or not, I would be most interested in the DVD. Please notify me via PM or email when you are ready to send them out en-masse.

Kerry, notice John's pricing suggestion above -- the bookkeeping gets a lot easier when you drink your profits. Call it part of the production cost.

I'd happily donate $10 for such a video. In my first season riding and Gus's third (that's my bike, Gus) the odometer has gone from ~3500 to ~7500, and it's been acting just a little funny lately in the idle/warm-up department. I think a valve adjustment is in its future and I'd love to learn to do it myself.

Time to revive this thread!  

I've been looking for online sources of info that will help to explain the purpose of a valve adjustment.  You know, stuff like: "What's a valve?  And why would I want to adjust one?"

I have found some good stuff, which I would really like to include as introductory info on my "Suzuki GS500 Valve Adjustment" video.  However, since it's all copyrighted material I haven't come up with a good solution yet.

Meanwhile, I thought I would provide an overview HERE ... just in case it never makes it onto the video.

====================================

Before you can understand why it's important to keep your valves adjusted, you need to know a little about how our 4-stroke engines work.  Let's start with [an excellent animation and explanation of the 4-stroke cycle] from the pages of [HowStuffWorks].  Notice how the carefully timed valve movements control the flow of air/fuel and exhaust into and out of the cylinder.

After you watch that animation for a while, look more closely at the area above the main action - the items labeled A, I and J.  Although the animation is very good, the SOHC (Single OverHead Camshaft) arrangement of camshaft and rocker arms doesn't accurately represent the GS500 engine.  The "top end" of the GS500 engine has a DOHC (Dual OverHead Camshafts) arrangement rather than an SOHC arrangement.

What's the difference between SOHC and DOHC?  Well, in an SOHC engine, a single camshaft controls both the intake and the exhaust valves.  The trade-off is that, while only a single camshaft is needed, the design is complicated by the use of rocker arms (items J in the animation above).  A DOHC engine uses two camshafts, usually one for the intake valve(s) and one for the exhaust valve(s).  Instead of using rocker arms, the lobes on the camshaft exert force directly inline with the valve stem itself.   This reduces the number of parts needed to actuate a given valve AND does away with the "change in direction" of the force exerted by the camshaft lobe.

For a closer look at the GS500 valve design, check out [THIS DIAGRAM] from the Hillsboro parts fiche pages.  (Expand the image to full size for better clarity.)  The diagram only shows the valve assemblies for the left side of the bike.

The camshaft on the right side of the diagram controls the two intake valves.  [Imagine the carburetors as being just out-of-sight, to the RIGHT of the diagram.]  Item 17 is the left-side intake valve.  When the valve is pushed downward, it creates an opening which allows the fuel/air mixture from the left-side carburetor to be sucked into the left-side cylinder.

Item 18 is the left-side exhaust valve.  When the exhaust valve is pushed downward, it creates an opening which allows the combusted fuel/air mixture (the exhaust) to be pushed out of the left-side cylinder and into the left-side exhaust pipe.  [Imagine the exhaust headers as being just out-of-sight, to the LEFT of the diagram.]

How do the valves get pushed downward?  As the camshaft spins, the cam lobe (item 1/2 or 8/9) comes in contact with the valve shim (item 24) which is sitting in the "cam follower" or "bucket" (item 15 or 16).  For our purposes, pretend that items 21 all the way down to 22 don't exist, and that the "bucket" pushes directly on the end of the valve stem (item 17 or 18).

As you can see, the "Shim" is simply a metal wafer.  Its thickness affects when the valve stem gets pushed, and when the valve opens and closes.  If the shim is too thick then the valve will be pushed open too soon and will stay open too long.  If the shim is too thin then the valve will open too late and not stay open long enough.  A very small change in the shim thickness can have a very definite effect on engine performance.  For the GS500, the difference between one shim size and the next is 1/20 of a millimeter, or 1/500th of an inch.  

--------------------------------------------------------------

Just for fun, let's back up and examine the valve actuation mechanism in its simplest terms.  First look at this [Disc Cam With Flat Follower] animation.  Here the bucket and shim have been simplified to a flat disk at the end of a shaft.

Next, move up to this [Camshaft Animation].  You can see how the original mechanism has been coupled to a valve shaft.

Now put it all together with this [animation of a DOHC engine].

--------------------------------------------------------------

OK, one last gasp.

How does a valve get "out of adjustment"?
Believe it or not, it's usually NOT because the shim wears down.  Rather, the contact surface between the flared end of the valve and the top of the cylinder -- the valve seat -- may become worn (causing the valve to be TOO TIGHT), or the valve may not fully retract to the closed position because of "gunk" that builds up between it and the seat (TOO LOOSE).

How can I tell whether a valve needs adjustment?
By measuring the clearance between the cam lobe and the shim (when the lobe is pointing AWAY from the shim).  You do that by inserting thin metal "feeler blades" into the gap until you find a pair of blades where one fits into the gap and the next thicker one doesn't.  The acceptable gap for the GS500 valves is from .03mm to .08mm.

How do I actually adjust a valve?
By replacing the current shim with one that is thinner or thicker -- so that the clearance is brought within the acceptable range.

====================================

There!  With that much background, everything I show in the video should make perfect sense.  

Quote from: Kerry......................
How does a valve get "out of adjustment"?
Believe it or not, it's usually NOT because the shim wears down.  Rather, the contact surface between the flared end of the valve and the top of the cylinder -- the valve seat -- may become worn (causing the valve to be TOO TIGHT), or the valve may not fully retract to the closed position because of "gunk" that builds up between it and the seat (TOO LOOSE).
...........................

Excellent.  

Very comprehensive.

I'm sure you have thought of this.  There may be additional maintenance issues at the point where the clearances are found to be out of spec. that should be addressed prior to adjusting.
Like, what caused the valve clearance to be too great,

Possibly this should be covered elsewhere but could be referenced here?

Mabe you could charge $5. and use the excess to finance a complete tune-up video???

Like, other things that would be helpful to people would be,

-lifting/removing/replacing the gas tank
-cleaning/replacing the air filter
-cleaning and adjusting the chain
-checking spark plug condition and gap
-lubing the cables
-adjusting the clutch
-changing the oil
-etc.



THEN you'd be ready for PBS! :lol:

Thanks, Kerry, for the great work.

Quote from: ballyhooMabe you could charge $5. and use the excess to finance a complete tune-up video???

Like, other things that would be helpful to people would be,

-lifting/removing/replacing the gas tank
-cleaning/replacing the air filter
-cleaning and adjusting the chain
-checking spark plug condition and gap
-lubing the cables
-adjusting the clutch
-changing the oil
-etc. .

If Kerry made a tune-up video to those specifications including a carb cleaning section I would not even hesitate to purchase a dvd copy for $15-$25  excluding s/h. I am sure alot of people could benifit from a tune-up video like this aswell.

A "Small Jobs" DVD is in the plans.

But I was thinking about making a "Carb Cleaning" video next.  So many of the problems folks experience seem to be caused by dirty or poorly connected carbs.  Hmmm ... it shouldn't take 2 hours of video for that though.  Maybe I'll include a section on "Starting Problems" (mostly electrical).  :dunno:

I'm still looking for that good block of time to finish up the first DVD.  The initial edition may have to go out sans the introductory material in my previous post.  But it will move along better than the rough edit version, and it will be "chapter-ized".

Kerry, save yourself the hassle with those long-term equations.   I'll send you $10, if you need it that bad  :lol:

I actually put in an hour or two on the Valve Adjustment DVD a couple nights ago.    Still have a ways to go, but I'm shooting for a March 1 release.

Meanwhile, it finally occurred to me to include some additional files on the Rough Edit CD version.  Those of you who have already received a CD may want to browse these files at http://www.bbburma.net/Documents/ValveAdjustmentVideo/.

Three of the 4 files were already available elsewhere, but README.TXT was created from scratch last night.  It includes a description of the special tools used for the task, and hints for breaking into (simple) video production yourself.

Most importantly, the README.TXT file includes a VIDEO TIMELINE.    It lists where each major "chapter" begins, using an HH:MM:SS timestamp starting at 00:00:00.  This should help folks who don't want (or need) to watch the video from start to finish.  All CDs that I ship from now on will have a printed copy of this file stuffed in the mailer along with the CD.

PS - For some reason all of the files except README.TXT appear when I browse that directory.  The file is there, so I don't know why it doesn't show up.  Here is the direct link.

I'm very excited about the new vid!   Kerry, I am going to be the next recipient of your traveling valve tools kit.  If you want me to beta test the new video as I do the work I'd be more than happy to do another write up.  Let me know if I can lend any assistance.  Its the least I could do to give back to this community.

Is there any way to download the video and can we put this in the FAQ