K75 Valve Adjustment

[tjtraver]

I have a 1995 K75 with 16,000 miles on it , purchased by me at 10,000 miles. I like doing my own maintenance wherever possible and have now done everything but valve adjustment. The manual says to check / adjust the valves every 10,000 miles . My records don't indicate that it's ever been done , so want to check it .

Questions :

1) Is this a job to be tackled by a do-it-yourselfer ?
( it seems this job is one to farm out to the dealer )

2) In practice , how often do valves actually need adjustment ?
Is the 10,000 mi interval overkill ?
( my Volvo 240 with same valve system has 175k mi with no adj )


An Observation :

I just changed the fuel filter this weekend , using the 24,000 mi maintenance interval , thought I was doing it early but found that the element itself had begun deteriorating internally , which must be due to age rather than mileage . Glad a changed it ! Just a heads-up to others with a 9 year old bike and low miles .

[dbrick]

Valve clearances on K75s are quite stable, often going 40K-60K or more without adjustment required. Still, you should measure the clearances, as not all machines have stable clearances on all valves. Remove the cam cover on the left side, and you can measure the clearances with a feeler gauge.

Adjusting the clearance doesn't require camshaft removal, but does require compressing the valve spring and removing a shim. Clearances are changed by substituting a shim of different thickness. The factory says you have to use a specific spring compression tool, and another special tool to pry out the shim. I have seen an experienced shade-tree mechanic compressing the spring using a really big flat-bladed screwdriver, and popping out the shim with a thin awl (sort of like a dental pick)...but when I owned a K75, I didn't have enough mechanical confidence in myself to try it that way.

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by tjtraver
I have a 1995 K75 with 16,000 miles on it , purchased by me at 10,000 miles. I like doing my own maintenance wherever possible and have now done everything but valve adjustment. The manual says to check / adjust the valves every 10,000 miles . My records don't indicate that it's ever been done , so want to check it .

Questions :

1) Is this a job to be tackled by a do-it-yourselfer ?
( it seems this job is one to farm out to the dealer )

2) In practice , how often do valves actually need adjustment ?
Is the 10,000 mi interval overkill ?
( my Volvo 240 with same valve system has 175k mi with no adj )


An Observation :

I just changed the fuel filter this weekend , using the 24,000 mi maintenance interval , thought I was doing it early but found that the element itself had begun deteriorating internally , which must be due to age rather than mileage . Glad a changed it ! Just a heads-up to others with a 9 year old bike and low miles .

Love it when you do numbered paragraphs!

1. It could be done by someone experienced in setting the old fashioned valves (done with screw/nut) if they have the correct tools, and access to the shims needed (either by having a shim set, or by having the bike down until you get to a dealer who hopefully has the shims you need.)

I wouldn't try it without the correct tools. I've heard of people breaking a camshaft by trying it without the correct tools (by letting the follower snap back uncontrolled into the unsupported end of the camshaft.)

What you can easily do - check the clearances. Chances are good they will still be within specifications.

DO buy the two rubber gaskets for the valve cover, and consider buying the rubber donuts that go under the cover bolts. After this long - chances are good they could use replacement. These are what hold the cover tight to the head (do NOT overtighten the bolts - they are a shoulder bolt, once they touch on the shoulder they are as tight as they're gonna get.)

2. Rarely. It's worth checking the valves early on - about where you are in mileage. If they are OK - they should stay that way for
40-50,000 miles. If you have to adjust a few - these should also stay OK for 40-50,000 miles. I have heard of people having to do a few shims at 70-80,000 miles, so I'd set a 20,000 mile check interval.

Best,

[breyfogle]

Checking the clearances is very easy, simply remove the value cover, rotate the crank until both values on the cyl. being checked are unloaded and measure ! On a '95 I would certainly plan on replacing the inner and outer valve cover rubber gaskets and the two "eyebrow" rubber plugs.

If any of the valves need resetting, it is reasonably easy also (with the valve comressor widgets). FWIW: there are two tools invoved, one is kind of a screwdriver thingy used to compress the valve shim under the cam lobe and the second holds the compressed valve down so that the shim can be removed and replaced. IMHO the holder is the more useful tool.

My '88 K75S now has 100+ thousand miles and I simply do not remember when I actually had to replace a shim, likely 60,000 to 80,000 miles ago.

[bikerfish1100]

ditto on what has already been said- buy the 2 tools, do the job yourself. 1 or 2 checks and the tools are free (subtracting what you would have paid to dealer for the job). i used to check my K75 every 15K or so. no adjustments after ~40K, and only 2 or 3 shims prior to that. another easy K job (unlike the K11), about on a par with the fuel filter change (unlike my R11).