valves out of adjustment

 

Hi,

I have a 06 kawasaki vulcan 500 with 6k miles.  On this bike you're
supposed to adjust the valves at 500 miles, and then every 6k
thereafter.  At 400 miles the valves were close to spec, and I
adjusted them loose (0.21 to 0.22 for the exhaust, with the range of
0.18-0.23mm) but when I just checked at 6k the exhaust valves were way
off (.10, 0.11mm) whereas the intake hadn't changed.  I here the
exhaust valves tend to tighten up over time but I figured they'd at
least be close to in range at this point.  I don't beat on the bike at
all, just long highway commutes daily.  Should I be concerned at how
much they tightened up, and should I adjust more often?  It's not
complicated but takes me all day to do the job (I'm slow!).  Anyone
else have a similar issue?

Thanks,
Greg

 



Yes, you should be concerned at how much they tightened up and go
ahead reset them to specifications before they burn and you have to do
a valve job.

 


Reset them, and next time check them at 4k, to be on the safe side.

 

te:

Yeah, I did reset them, on the loose end again, and will check them
again after 4K like you suggest.  It's alittle annoying to have to
check more frequently, most bikes don't require such frequent valve
adjusting to my knowledge.

 



You'd be surprised.

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