Triumphrat

06-25-2006, 02:49 PM

My bike seems to have a bit of top end valve noise going on, so I'm going through the troubleshooting list starting with the timing. Timing seems a bit advanced (mark a degree or so to the left of the pointer mark), so I guess I need to dial it back a hair. Except I can't figure out how to loosen the nut to move the plate. With the bike in neutral, the plate just spins with the nut, and in gear the bike rolls forward (obviously). How do you loosen this nut? When I get it loose, does the plate go counter-clockwise to retard the timing? Any other tips? The bike has a Boyer ignition, so I assume that both cylinders are timed together (is that right?)

Before I started messing with my new timing gun, I tried checking the valve clearances with the engine cold. It seemed like I couldn't get a feeler through either of the intake valves and one of the exhaust valves. I could read .004 on one of the exhaust valves. I couldn't for the life of me get any of the locknuts loose to adjust the clearence. I just have standard wrenches and 7/16" would not fit and 1/2" was too big. Is this a case where I need a Whitworth 7/16" to unlock the nut? Will there be a very small window on the stroke to check the clearance? I was just turning the engine by hand to try to get TDC. Thanks for any and all advice. I have a mechanically inclined friend returning from vacation in a few days who hopefully can help, but I'd like to feel good about how the bike runs before that. I'm enjoying working on the bike and getting my hands (and the floor) dirty, but I'm a bit frustrated by my lack of baseline knowledge. I think the bike sounds like it's making valve noise, but I don't know what's acceptable and what's bad.
Mike

Bonnevillian · 06-25-2006, 03:01 PM

The valve clearance is the first thing I would check... May have to spring for a set of wrenches...

[ This message was edited by: Bonnevillian on 2006-06-25 13:03 ]

jimballard · 06-25-2006, 05:25 PM

A 7/16 box wrench is what I use to loosen the locknuts. An offset one is best as it'll drop down into the rocker box and fit on the nut a bit better than a flat one. I set the exhaust valves at 1/2 a flat of the square adjuster from lightly finger tight, and the intake by, as one old manual said, "the barest perceptible amount of felt movement, accompanied by a faint "clicking" sound. Start by giving the valve stem tops a quick cleaning with a quick shot of carb cleaner (Gumout, etc) so that you get a good feel and can hear the intake "click".

You'll get the feel for it, don't worry: Jim

06-29-2006, 11:31 PM

I spent 3 hours this evening getting all the valve clearances dialed in. Three of the four valves had no clearance, so I'm glad to have taken care of that. We definately spent some time bending and grinding wrenches to get an arrangement that would work. However, the bike sounds alot better, and I got a good bill of health from my buddy Jeff, quite mechanically inclined and the owner of a 77 Harley Cafe Racer (good intentions, but not a Triumph ; ) ). Anyway, I'm riding to work tomorrow, and I'll be smiling the whole way. Until the next crisis,
Mojo

GrandPaulZ · 06-30-2006, 08:38 AM

I recently purchased a set of feeler guages that have a "sandwich" handle of two thin strips of steel about 1/6" thick, with a sliver of a feeler guage in the middle, sticking out each end. Each end is a different size, and they are "pre-bent" to give you a good angle to insert into the tappet cavity.

VERY handy.

mike07 · 06-30-2006, 09:38 AM

GrandPaulZ, can you give some more details on these feeler guages. They sound like they might make life simpler. Mike

GrandPaulZ · 06-30-2006, 01:55 PM

I believe they came out of my dealer's counter parts book, Tucker/Rocky or one of those...