My goodness, this is the sexiest motorcycle I have ever seen in my life! I'm building on a CX500 now and this is the gold standard. I can't achieve results like these, but it's nice to look at!
Remove the key from the ignition. (keeping it far away from the bike until your completely done) Remove the spark plug caps. Remove the cylinder head covers. Remove the spark plugs. Remove the crankshaft hole cap from the transmission cover. Choose a cylinder to start.(you can start on either one, it is recommended to start own the left side.) Turn the crank (clockwise) until you see the intake valves go down. (the intakes are the ones near the carbs or the back of the bike) Turn the crank slowly until you see the intake valves rise to their peak, then continue to turn the wrench (clockwise) one half-turn. (this will bring the motor past TDC) Install the Quick-Set Tool in the spark plug hole just by hand until it seats. Slowly turn the engine backwards (counter clockwise) until it comes to rest against the Quick-Set Tool and stops. Adjust the valves. (if you are working on the left cylinder, this would also be a good time to adjust the timing chain.) Loosen the cam chain tensioner lock bolt. When this is loosened, the cam chain tensioner should automatically position itself to the correct cam chain tension. In that these bikes are getting older it is a good practice to use a bit of wood and a dead blow hammer to give it a few taps to loosen the cam chain tensioner mechanism. Retighten the bolt to the correct torque settings. Adjusting the valve settings, by loosening the lock nut, and turning the screw until there is a slight drag on the feeler gauge. Hold the screw and tighten the lock nut. Recheck the valve clearance once again before moving on to the other side. Valve settings CX500 IN: 0.08mm (0.003in.) EX: 0.10mm (0.004in.) CX650 IN: 0.10mm (0.004in.) EX: 0.12mm (0.005in.) Turn the motor forward (clockwise) just a smidgen to relieve the pressure off the Quick-Set Tool, then unscrew it. Watch the valves on the other cylinder until the intakes go down. Turn the crank slowly until you see the intake valves rise to their apex, then continue to turn the wrench (clockwise) one half-turn. (this will bring the motor past TDC) Install the Quick-Set Tool in the spark plug orifice just by hand until it seats. Slowly turn the engine backwards (counter clockwise) until it comes to rest against the Quick-Set Tool and stops. Adjust the valves. Turn the motor forward (clockwise) just a fraction to relieve the pressure off the Quick-Set Tool, then unscrew it. Now it is time to put it all back together. Install the crankshaft hole cap on the transmission cover. Install the spark plugs. Install the cylinder head covers. (coat the cylinder head cover bolt rubbers with oil before tightening, make sure you did not lose the center round gasket) Install the spark plug caps. That is it Go for A Ride! Valve adjustments are much faster, following this procedure you cannot set the valves on wrong (exhaust) stroke. You no longer need to use the align the marks on the rotor. www.murrayscarbs.com
+Mike Meyers Thanks for the video and instructions. I wanted to get some input on the cam chain tensioner adjustment. The CX500 forum wiki states " If you previously arrived at the TL mark by even slightly rotating the engine backwards with the front bolt, go back and approach the TL mark from the clockwise direction... " Just want to know if adjusting the tensioner using the instructions here with a counter clockwise arrival at TDC is ok. Thanks.
Mike Meyers hi Sr...i have a 1983 cx650C I hope you can help me to set the valves gap right...your video it's great but I don't have the quick set tool and the way I did it was I turn the engine until gets to the mark TR or TL and I wanna know if that's correct and if you can tell me the spec for the timing chain please...I see on another tutorial that we need to get the mark F so I'm really confuse please help
I just acquired an '81 in decent shape and I'm going through the mechanicals. I own air cooled Volkswagens, so I understand the how to, but not the why for this motor. Because of the heat / cooling cycles of the air cooled motor I expect to adjust the rockers on my VWs. I would expect the heat / cooling cycle of a liquid motor to be less drastic and the period between adjustment longer. From what is described, the interval is the nearly the same as the VW. I was surprised to see that.
