Valve clearance question on a 450F

[skos]

Had some issues with my bike this weekend. It started burning oil and after a narly hill climb it died. It would not stay running at idle. I had to ride it back to the truck at super high idle. It starts but will not stay running once you let off on the gas. Got any ideas?

Got back to the truck and found my radiator was nearly empty. I am thinking that is why it was burning oil. Maybe my plug, something in the carb or Valve clearance

This is my 1st 4-strock in a long time. I remember something about checking the Valve clearance as you don't want to be too loose because you will lose power.

How often do you guys check valve clearance? And any tricks for doing it? My manual shows this:

 

[Ol'89r]

This is my 1st 4-strock in a long time. I remember something about checking the Valve clearance as you don't want to be too loose because you will lose power.
How often do you guys check valve clearance? And any tricks for doing it?
]

The problem with the newer fourstrokes is not loose valves but tight valves. When the valves tighten up, the bike will be hard to start when hot. Just go by the manual when you adjust your valves. I check mine every 6 trail rides or every two races. After checking them a few times you will get a feel for how much they move between checks. Then, you can establish your own schedule for checking them. Adding an hour meter to your bike will help you keep track of the actual time on the engine. There is no set schedule since everybody rides differently. It all depends on how hard you ride your bike.

You can buy a set of digital calipers at Harbor Freight that will switch from metric to inches at the press of a button. I find those handy for determining what shim you will need.

If you havn't done so in a while, you may want to check your piston and rings too. If the piston has too much time or too much clearance, it can break at the skirt and cause serious damage to your engine.

Good luck. :cool:

 

[skos]

Updated

Prior to disassembly, I have found marking the chain and brightening the case and gear marks with dots of white touch-up paint or White-Out is very helpful for reassembly.

If you are simply trying to check valve clearance, throw away those silly directions that run you in circles with marks and degrees. Turn the engine over and check each valve when the camshaft lobe is pointing straight up, 12:00 from the valve (bucket).

Of course, you will need to have your alignment marks in order to remove and replace the cams come time for actual adjustment. But to measure and record individual clearances, it is way faster to just turn the crank until that lobe points up, take your measurement, then turn the crank until the next one is pointing up.

Avoid turning the crank backward.

 

[Griffdog]

maybe a blown head gasket? if it is losing coolant that quickly that could possibly be part of the problem. Start it with the radiator cap off and check and see if you have bubbles in the coolant, if so, then the head gasket needs replacing. Just a thought.

 

[skos]

Not a head gasket, you would see that.

It was the valves out of adjust. As for the coolent. It was just over heating.