Hey guys. I know this has probably been posted before and I'm not really finding a straight answer.. All my shims are in spec except for left exhaust. All the feeler guages I have will not slide in. So does this mean I need to remove that shim.. Measure it.. And get the next size down that I can find.. And cross my fingers that it will be in spec after that? How exactly will I know the size I need?  Thank you

Ok I figured it out.. But here's my other issue.. I do not know the clearance for that shim though.. The bucket still spins so I'm assuming its at least a .01. And I know shims go by .05 increments.. So I have to get the next size down but I'll still be pretty low. I would like to be around the .08 side

Really u guys are going above the .08? I would like to go 2 sizes smaller but is that harmful at all? And would it make a difference having that one be high and the other exhaust shim around .03-.04

Quote from: bsturman92 on January 31, 2015, 10:34:23 AM
Really u guys are going above the .08? I would like to go 2 sizes smaller but is that harmful at all? And would it make a difference having that one be high and the other exhaust shim around .03-.04

A lot of people run the exhaust valves a little looser. If you're interested in maxing out horsepower keep them on the high end of in-spec. If you want your valve seats to last 800,000 miles, run them a little looser. Yes, ultra loose is bad, but .08 is in spec, .1 might throw a shim if you red line the bike all the time. If you keep it pretty tame, you'll be fine.

.03 - .04 is a little too tight for any valve. You'll be changing those in the next 10k miles anyway. Just get them back into high-spec now while you have the bike apart.

GS jack gave you some good info below...
I'm not a believer in in" too loose"...

In your case, you gotta remove the shim you have in there...

You could assume the gap is .01...but you might be assuming wrong...

Measure the old shim...the factory original shims on the GS 500 are NOT in standard increments...they are sometimes like 273 (instead of 270 or 275)....

You want to add at .05 to the gap...so either  go one smaller on the shim...or .05 smaller...

Example:

if the existing shim is 275....and you assume the gap at .01...then go with a 270 shim, and the gap should be .06...this is a good gap for exhaust....You could go to 265 shim, but then gap would be .11      Probably OK and some would recommend this ..but I'd stay with the .06.

Now let's say you have a factory shim at 272..and the gap is now .01

Now if you go to next smaller shim...270.....the new gap would only be .03...too tight
So in this case I would go to the 265...and the new gap would be .08...top of the spec...

BUT!!!!!

You can measure the shim all you want, and do it mathematically all you want...

you MUST measure the final gap to be sure....sometimes the actual measurement comes out different than the math...I don't know why, but it does....maybe oil film build up or whatever...

But rotate the engine a couple times to squeeze out the oil and measure...

For me..   .03 and .04 is too tight....
05, .06, .0,7 .08, are just fine...

.09, .10, .11, OK...

.12, .13 ehhh (don't like it)

More than that... too loose

just my 2c

Cookie

Quote from: bsturman92 on January 31, 2015, 09:41:11 AM
Ok I figured it out.. But here's my other issue.. I do not know the clearance for that shim though.. The bucket still spins so I'm assuming its at least a .01. And I know shims go by .05 increments.. So I have to get the next size down but I'll still be pretty low. I would like to be around the .08 side

awesome thank you that made it very clear. i removed the shim and it has 2.35 stamped on it. i do not have a guage to accurately measure the shim. but assuming its the same as the stamp should i just go with a 2.30 maybe 2.25?

Ok...if the shim you removed is stamped 235...it PROBABLY is 235.....

And if you have a replacement which is marked 230...it Probably is...

You can buy a decent Chinese made dial caliper at the Auto store for not too much $$$...it is useful for all kinds of other jobs too..

Without a caliper to actually measure..I would go ahead in put in the 230..

Turn over the engine a bunch of times to squeeze out any oil...(remember to oil up the shim before you install it)...then measure the gap with your feeler...

If your original assumption is true , that the initial gap was .01 (because it was too small to measure, but the bucket was free) ..then the new gap should be .06...if it measures this you're done....don't be surprised if it measures something else though...

If it measures .05 leave it...

if it measures .04 or less...probably better to repeat the procedure and put in the 225 shim...

If it measures .07, .08, 09, .10 ..leave it

If it measures .10 its borderline...more than that you gotta go for smaller gap...

Frankly, measuring such a small gap can be problematic...because of the sizes of feelers that you may have available...

I use the "go-no go method"..my smallest feeler is .038mm

So I sometimes open  the valve with the motion pro tool, and slide this feeler in..then release the valve...it it grabs tight...I know the gap is less than .038.  Sometimes you can't get this feeler in, if you don't open the valve, yet once you do get it in, if slides around easily...

But basically...if my .038 feeler slides around easily in the gap...and my .08 doesn't...I figure I'm done...(I don't really care what the ACTUAL gap is...as long as it's more than .038 and less than .08)

Cookie

Quote from: bsturman92 on January 31, 2015, 05:29:17 PM
awesome thank you that made it very clear. i removed the shim and it has 2.35 stamped on it. i do not have a guage to accurately measure the shim. but assuming its the same as the stamp should i just go with a 2.30 maybe 2.25?

ok cool. the local suzuki here in seattle just closed down withing the last couple months so im wondering where i can buy em besides ordering online. should any motorcycle shops i find carry shims to sell individually? im going to do some calling around tomorow but didnt know if theres a popular store people get em from local

Yeah...there's the rub.  The GS500 size shims can be hard to find locally.  Even at the dealerships too.

I guess the telephone is your best tool, if you want to just drive somewhere and pick up an individual shim.   I hate to wait for stuff in the mail, and I hate to have my bike "down" for more than a day, and I hate to pay shipping charges.   But really the Internet is probably the best way to go for shims.  It's cheaper to pay a few bucks for shipping than to have to drive around for hours..

Couple things to remember:

It is the general consensus of this group that you should only buy OEM Suzuki shims...not aftermarket brands.  The aftermarket ones are very hard and brittle and there have been several cases of them cracking and the broken pieces ruining the engine!

Also...since you're gonna pay shipping...it makes sense to try to predict what shims you will need in the future and order now...you will have them later when you need them...

Do not buy the "kit" with all the sizes..because you will have too many sizes you will never use, and not enough of the sizes you will need.  Also the kit is aftermarket and too hard and brittle..


I order my OEM parts form here:

http://www.shspowersports.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=1044538&category=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=2009&fveh=28479

List on a Suzuki shim is $13.90 each...they sell for $10.29

Remember that any shims which you remove, may be used in another spot in the future...

After 48,000 miles and a bunch of valve checks, I now have maybe 12 shims in my collection....So I usually don't have to order any when I do a valve check now.

Cookie

Quote from: bsturman92 on January 31, 2015, 09:03:51 PM
ok cool. the local suzuki here in seattle just closed down withing the last couple months so im wondering where i can buy em besides ordering online. should any motorcycle shops i find carry shims to sell individually? im going to do some calling around tomorow but didnt know if theres a popular store people get em from local

Quote from: twocool on February 01, 2015, 07:04:10 AM

Couple things to remember:

It is the general consensus of this group that you should only buy OEM Suzuki shims...not aftermarket brands.  The aftermarket ones are very hard and brittle and there have been several cases of them cracking and the broken pieces ruining the engine!

I'll second that notion.. From First hand experience!

I can't remember what mine where at spec wise, I think each one was a little above spec, but I just rebuilt the engine, and figured that was some break-in room since I wouldn't push the bike much. it wasn't .1 over though. lol ill re-check them on its first oil change.