Intake valves normally wear into the seat which reduces the gap over time so best setting at max gap 0.13, Exhaust valves coke up over time which increases the gap over time so best setting at min gap 0.07. KTM shims come in 0.05 increments which really swing you from min to max but if you use Harley Vrod shims they come in 0.025 increments so you can set them more accurately. Great video , well done.
Glad you followed up the valve clearances. It was well worth it. Your explanation, the way you wrote up your actuals and where you needed change was done very well. Great job! 👍😁
@@Shadower75 Like Robert, Y told you in a previous video to do the valve clearance after changing the rocker arm ... it's done ! ... very good explanations, perfect job like I do! :)
I successfully managed my first valve clearance check on my 2018 KTM 690 Enduro R. I found you video THE best. Excellent Part 1 and 2. Keep the great How To videos coming. Thanks.
I rode a KTM 690 from Portland to Ushuaia Argentina and my engine failed in Antofagasta Chile. I ended up tearing into the bike in a hotel parking lot and found the exhaust rocker bearing failed. I hear these top ends were weak and luckily had a spare rocker with me. I had it fixed the next day. Thanks for the vid! Oh, I’m on a Husqvarna 701 now.
Great video. Clear explanation & video. Lyndon Poskitt, who is quite famous for riding his 690 around the world, advises to use tighter valve clearances 0.04-0.09mm. His reasoning comes after lots of dyno testing but more importantly, he says that tighter clearances reduces the hammering effect on the cam follower bearing. This bearing failing and its pin falling out are the causes for so many rocker arm failures. If you check your valve clearances regularly, then running tighter clearances shouldn't be a problem.
Good day, could you pls give me the link to the Lyndon's article or video where he advices this, It's very interesting, would like to see it from the original source.
Good video, thanks! Mines done 55000km and the timing chain tensioner has failed, started to make a rattle so I found it just in time before it slipped timing
Hey Trevor, Thanks for the comment mate and info re the timing chain. I'll keep a close eye on it and will consider changing it soon. Thanks again mate.
Great Video. I'd be confident to give it a go myself now. Only question I have is why did you check the clearance before tightening the rocker arms down. I would have thought this would reduce your clearances? Any how, thanks for making the effort and having a go. I must investigate getting the rocker arms and replacing mine. Did you use kTM shims or did you get a harley kit. I hear the Harley kits have inbetween sizes.
Hey Andy, cheers for the comment mate. Now to try and answer your questions. Those rocker arm bolts tighten down onto the cylinder head and are independent to the rocker arms. The bolts are more to locate the rocker arm shafts. Having them nipped up tight is what I believe is enough (what i did). When you pull your bike apart you will see that the bolts run down through the rocker arm shafts and tighten on the head. I did check the clearance again after torquing the bolts and it was exactly the same as when I checked it before doing that. That's my take on it anyway. lol I used the 'Hotcam' shims, increments of 0.05. Did the job however I do believe those Harley ones have even less of a increment (0.025) so if you want to get super accurate you could I reckon. Anyway, hope this helps and again thanks for the comment dude, appreciate it.
@@Shadower75 Cheers for that. I'm at that stage where I think it's time to replace the rocker arms. I have a 2010 model with around 18000Km done so better now than letting it destroy the top end. Thanks for the effort of posting a good clear and easy to understand video. I'm out for a ride with a couple of guys who also have 690s on Sunday. they are great bikes, can't see myself getting rid of this one for a long time. It does everything I want it to.
@@valleygxl I agree with you mate. Better safe than sorry. I replaced mine at 16500 and the old felt pretty good still. Oh well I have some spares now. 690's are very cool. I've owned a few bikes now, big and small and this one certainly can do it all. Enjoy your Sunday ride mate and stay upright. Cheers
Great video. Many thanks. It’s given me the confidence to have a go. Question. Where did you get that magnet? And when you put the rocker cover back on did you grease the lip?
Cheers Rob. Its not a super hard job really. Just take your time and you'll be sweet. I think I got the magnet from ebay just search Telescopic Magnetic. I didn't grease the cover rather just clean and re oil the rubber gasket that is on there. There was no grease when it was taken off. Cheers again mate and good luck.
This might be a dumb question, but why did you change the gap from minimum to maximum? Wouldn't the shims/rockers/valves wear out over time increasing the gap anyway?
I actually got the answer from my local bike shop. The reason is that as the valve wears out the spring pulls it deeper into the seat, this make the valve stem lift higher, pushing the other side of the rocker lower, and that is why shims have to decrease in size over time. @@Shadower75
Im not too sure Rob. I didn't have oil pour out from mine. Maybe there was oil sitting in a little pocket or something. Thanks for watching and I hope the vid helped you out a little. Cheers
Thanks Crivo152, I bought a shim kit for my bike which has plenty of options however if you wanted to pull out the ones in the bike, measure them up and work out what size you need to replace them with you could only buy individual ones. The ones in the link below are the ones I bought however I didnt pay that price for them. Cheers www.ebay.com.au/itm/283984851958?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=283984851958&targetid=920055040453&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9071856&poi=&campaignid=10101785192&mkgroupid=102311926980&rlsatarget=aud-786643581286:pla-920055040453&abcId=9300368&merchantid=137596996&gclid=CjwKCAiAlNf-BRB_EiwA2osbxecG_Qj3KkyAKdW91ak7fToaJ_m8Rs7dfYI5Oh7qJYjbaKs0T-E1SBoCafcQAvD_BwE
I remove the shims to measure them with a micrometer or vernier calipers, but before doing that you need to check your value clearances so you know if you need to alter your shims etc. Cheers mate.
If you have excel on your computer this is a useful calculator for shims and it also provides Harley Vrod shim part numbers. www.dropbox.com/s/kpylr0p31jzt3xu/shim_calculator_DHM.xls?dl=0
The gaps that were 7 I don't understand why you adjusted them if anything they're going to wear down and the gaps are going to get bigger at 7 your engine was running at maximum performance
