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Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Jobs I hadn't expected to do again (2)! Tappets revisited.

Adjustment... Method 2
The manual suggests that the tappets should both be adjusted at the same time, i.e. when the piston reaches tdc. and both valves are therefore fully closed. This does give a noisy setting, although it's the sound that I personally am used to.

 However I have been recommended a second method that should give a quieter setup.


  • Set piston at tdc
  • Rotate both adjusters to vertical, with the flats facing one another.
  • Engage gear and turn the motor backward using the wheel until the inlet just tightens up- ie doesnt open but is about to!
  • Adjust exhaust clearance
  • Turn motor forwards until exhaust just tightens up
  • Adjust inlet valve clearance


No real pictures for this- nothing much to show but I took advantage of the need to remove the tank again for cleaning in order to get better access and perform this readjustment. I found it was necessary to turn the motor a surprisingly long way before the relevant tappet tightened up. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising as virtually a whole  piston stroke is required. Of course I cant start it up and tell whether this method has worked until I fit the new fuel taps.

Note added later- Bike runs and seems much quieter- so will definitely be using this method from now on!

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Usual disclaimers! I' m not a mechanic and these blogs are really just documenting my progress. They are neither a recommendation nor an instruction manual. Just my notes for what I did and how Id do it next time. Im always happy to receive suggestions and corrections to any of the processes described here- hey its a learning process for me too! Feel free to contribute...