Triumphrat

timwil · 06-10-2008

Greetings from Phuket
My 54 T100 has ramp cams as indicated by the peace sign in the engine number. The manual says that both intake and exhaust for these cams should be set at a wide clearance of .010". I went riding with some Thai friends the other day (3 T100's & a Speed Twin), all pre unit with ramp cams. They knew nothing about the .010" clearance and had set theirs much closer and were all quieter than mine. My question is can I close my clearance up a bit with no ill effects or burnt valves, or should I live with the clatter?

mike T150 · 06-11-2008

Hi timwil, My 1959 T100 has the ramp (high lift) cams fitted and I set the valve clearance at .004" inlet and .006" exhaust. Setting at the listed .010" on both inlet and exhaust makes for a noisy top end. I started with reducing the clearance to stop the noisy tappets and have found that running at .004" and .006" the bike ran fine without any ill effects.
The T100 is an all alloy engine so the valve clearance needs to be greater than those fitted with cast iron engines, speed twins have cast iron engines, so your friend with the speed twin, the setting is correct.

Regards MikeT150

timwil · 06-12-2008

Thanks for the reply MikeT150. I will try your settings. Do you have any idea why the factory called for such a wide gap?
Regards Tim