Joined
·
1,842 Posts
The dealer is 150 kms away and I didn't want to spend $800+ for the service so I did the job myself. Do not attempt this if you don't have lots of proper tools and are not mechanically inclined. Here are some hints for doing the job:
-To do a careful and methodical service the job will take 3 days unless you have done this before (there is a lot of stuff to remove to get at the shims). You cannot do this job in a rush. Not really that difficult, just time-consuming.
-You will need a Haynes or shop manual.
-Must have tools; a telescoping antenna magnet (to remove the shim buckets, spark plugs, and to hold screws in position), quality torque wrench in Nm, digital calipers (to verify shim thickness), long Phillips screwdriver to reach the throttle cable holder.
-Disconnect the battery before starting.
-Stuff the throttle bodies and spark plug tunnels to prevent junk from falling in. Pack some little bits of paper toweling around the valves in case a shim slips out of your fingers.
-Only remove and re-shim one shim bucket at a time; do not mix them up.
-You need two stout tie-wraps through each cam gear to hold the cam chain down before tightening the cams holder.
-Not enough room to remove one screw in the plate above the cam gears so it comes off with the cams holder.
-Don't forget to re-connect the radiator fan connector and Manifold absolute pressure sensor connector and tube (on back of airbox).
-You will need a short 3/8 drive 8mm socket to torque the cams holder bolts (incrementally as per the sequence in the manual).
-You need to twist back and forth and pull hard to get those spark plug coils out.
-Although the manual says not to, I could only get the valve cover loose by carefully prying with a slot screwdriver, (using a piece of wood as a pivot) at the corner of the cover.
-Make sure the o-rings and dowels are positioned correctly before installing the cams holder and valve cover.
-The middle exhaust valve clearances are most easily checked from above; the guages in mm must be bent about an inch from the end. I found that the valve lobe should be slightly past the perpendicular to get the max clearance.
-The intake valves on my bike were all ok at around 0.14 mm (ideal is 0.15) but all the exhaust valves were at the upper limit 0.33 mm (ideal is 0.30). Of course the dealers don't have the Triumph shims in .025mm increments but only .050 mm increments, and I didn't want to wait 2 wks . I managed to swap 3 of the shims and the closest ones I obtained gave clearances near the lower range of clearance(0.28-0.30), but the clearance seems to increase on the exhaust side anyway.
-Take this opportunity to properly adjust the throttle slack at the throttle bodies; I removed almost all of the play and adjusted the return cable for a slight amount of slack. The throttle now feels fantastic when revving the bike with no throttle slop.
-Basically you need to do about 20 little jobs before you get to the valves, and put it all back together again. IMO if the dealer will do it for $800 you are getting a bargain. I installed iridium plugs (the old plugs looked good with a light tan color), and cleaned and re-oiled the K&N airfilter, and carefully routed the wiring. I reconnected the battery and the bike started right up and ran beautifully. Still raining outside though so I will need to wait for a ride.
-Oh yeah, I HATE that tank fuel connector! lol - Wayne
-To do a careful and methodical service the job will take 3 days unless you have done this before (there is a lot of stuff to remove to get at the shims). You cannot do this job in a rush. Not really that difficult, just time-consuming.
-You will need a Haynes or shop manual.
-Must have tools; a telescoping antenna magnet (to remove the shim buckets, spark plugs, and to hold screws in position), quality torque wrench in Nm, digital calipers (to verify shim thickness), long Phillips screwdriver to reach the throttle cable holder.
-Disconnect the battery before starting.
-Stuff the throttle bodies and spark plug tunnels to prevent junk from falling in. Pack some little bits of paper toweling around the valves in case a shim slips out of your fingers.
-Only remove and re-shim one shim bucket at a time; do not mix them up.
-You need two stout tie-wraps through each cam gear to hold the cam chain down before tightening the cams holder.
-Not enough room to remove one screw in the plate above the cam gears so it comes off with the cams holder.
-Don't forget to re-connect the radiator fan connector and Manifold absolute pressure sensor connector and tube (on back of airbox).
-You will need a short 3/8 drive 8mm socket to torque the cams holder bolts (incrementally as per the sequence in the manual).
-You need to twist back and forth and pull hard to get those spark plug coils out.
-Although the manual says not to, I could only get the valve cover loose by carefully prying with a slot screwdriver, (using a piece of wood as a pivot) at the corner of the cover.
-Make sure the o-rings and dowels are positioned correctly before installing the cams holder and valve cover.
-The middle exhaust valve clearances are most easily checked from above; the guages in mm must be bent about an inch from the end. I found that the valve lobe should be slightly past the perpendicular to get the max clearance.
-The intake valves on my bike were all ok at around 0.14 mm (ideal is 0.15) but all the exhaust valves were at the upper limit 0.33 mm (ideal is 0.30). Of course the dealers don't have the Triumph shims in .025mm increments but only .050 mm increments, and I didn't want to wait 2 wks . I managed to swap 3 of the shims and the closest ones I obtained gave clearances near the lower range of clearance(0.28-0.30), but the clearance seems to increase on the exhaust side anyway.
-Take this opportunity to properly adjust the throttle slack at the throttle bodies; I removed almost all of the play and adjusted the return cable for a slight amount of slack. The throttle now feels fantastic when revving the bike with no throttle slop.
-Basically you need to do about 20 little jobs before you get to the valves, and put it all back together again. IMO if the dealer will do it for $800 you are getting a bargain. I installed iridium plugs (the old plugs looked good with a light tan color), and cleaned and re-oiled the K&N airfilter, and carefully routed the wiring. I reconnected the battery and the bike started right up and ran beautifully. Still raining outside though so I will need to wait for a ride.
-Oh yeah, I HATE that tank fuel connector! lol - Wayne
