Kips Valves

[goldman15]

What is the first noticeable sign the Kips valves are sticking? Is it lack of top end rev? My bike seems to have good throttle response but as it starts to rev in the lower gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd) it just seems to die out like it can't push any more exhasust out. This problem is not really noticable in gears 4 through 6. So the dealer said to bring in the cylinder and they will clean and polish the Kips. Will a clean and polish job on the Kips help performance(I know this depends largely on what state the kips valves are currently in)?
Thanks,
Shawn

 

[Canadian Dave]

There could be a number of things causing the problem including KIPS valves, poor compression etc. It not uncommon for the main exhaust port valve on 95+ KIPS to become so coated with carbon they wont ascend all the way and zap some of your top end power.

Have you rebuilt the top end recently? If so did you time the sub port valves properly? The shop manual wrongly IDs the left and right valves.

Polishing the valves will help them resist loading up with carbon, it’s harder for it to stick to a smooth surface. It may help performance in that the valves operation may be smoother.

You can pull your pipe and look up into the exhaust port to get a decent idea how coated the valves are.