Valve adjustment help

jgcable · July 21st, 2014, 03:21 PM

2003. 4800 miles on it. I don't know if the valves were ever adjusted. I have it all apart and i have a few questions...
#1. The instructions say to turn the motor until the cam lobes are facing up. Does that mean facing up in relation to the angle of the cylinder heads or facing straight up?
#2. When I point my cam lobes up there seems to be no clearance between the cam and the valve tappet on any of my intake or exhaust valves. Now.. keep in mind the thinnest feeler gauge I have is .005 so obviously all of my intake and exhaust valves are closer than .005. Is this normal for a motor that has never been adjusted?
#3. What clearance should I have for intake and exhaust valves.
I have read several different clearances.
The bent tip Craftsman feeler gauges I bought start at .005,.006., .007, .008 etc...
I want I am thinking .005 for the intake and .007 for the exhaust? I would like some suggestions from the people that know here.

jgcable · July 21st, 2014, 05:00 PM

Anybody? I have the bike all apart. I just need to know what lash to set the intake and exhaust valves at. One person told me to set the intake at .05 and the exhaust at .06
Another person told me to set the intake to .06 and the exhaust to .07
Which is the acceptable measurement for a street bike that spends alot of time on the highway.

jgcable · July 21st, 2014, 05:15 PM

I adjusted the intakes to .005 (.127mm) and the exhaust to .006 (.152mm)
Thats the looser end of the spectrum and I assume it will be fine.

M42 · July 21st, 2014, 05:19 PM

From the wiki,

"The factory clearance specifications are .08 - .13mm (0.003-0.005 inches) for the intake valves and .11 - .16mm (0.004-0.006 inches) for the exhaust valves."

Some people let out the valves twice as much to put off the next clearance check interval and that seems to work fine, so you should be OK.

SouthHalfrican · July 22nd, 2014, 02:37 AM

^ Little dangerous doing that though.

jgcable · July 22nd, 2014, 09:25 PM

Did the valves, cleaned the carbs and did a carb sync.
I immediately noticed the following...
No more lag at low RPMS
No more slight stumble from 5K to 6K rpms
Motor is a little noisier. It sounds totally normal now.
All the intake and exhaust valves were tight. Tight enough to not be able to fit a .002 feeler gauge in them. I did the intakes at .005 and the exhaust at .006.
Bike seems to have alot more power at the lower RPM range.

July 21st, 2014, 05:19 PM	#4
M42 Wrench wench Name: The Stigette Location: DC/MD/VA Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): TWO HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT CUBIC CENTIMETERS (R.I.P.), SIX HUNDRED FORTY FIVE CUBIC CENTIMETERS Posts: 415	From the wiki, "The factory clearance specifications are .08 - .13mm (0.003-0.005 inches) for the intake valves and .11 - .16mm (0.004-0.006 inches) for the exhaust valves." Some people let out the valves twice as much to put off the next clearance check interval and that seems to work fine, so you should be OK. __________________________________________________

July 22nd, 2014, 09:25 PM	#6
jgcable ninjette.org member Name: John Location: Milford, CT Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212	Did the valves, cleaned the carbs and did a carb sync. I immediately noticed the following... No more lag at low RPMS No more slight stumble from 5K to 6K rpms Motor is a little noisier. It sounds totally normal now. All the intake and exhaust valves were tight. Tight enough to not be able to fit a .002 feeler gauge in them. I did the intakes at .005 and the exhaust at .006. Bike seems to have alot more power at the lower RPM range.
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Would you do your valve adjustment?	Bigballsofpaint	2008 - 2012 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	30	July 24th, 2013 09:04 PM
Valve Adjustment	fredhsu	2008 - 2012 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	7	August 7th, 2012 03:57 PM
Valve Adjustment to Come Soon!	gilmorec61	2008 - 2012 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	54	June 22nd, 2012 03:43 PM
Valve Adjustment-Really Tight adjustment screw?	mikesova	1986 - 2007 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	5	May 2nd, 2010 04:57 AM
Valve adjustment	Apex	1986 - 2007 Ninja 250R Tech Talk	7	September 1st, 2009 05:53 PM

July 21st, 2014, 03:21 PM	#1
jgcable ninjette.org member Name: John Location: Milford, CT Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212	Valve adjustment help 2003. 4800 miles on it. I don't know if the valves were ever adjusted. I have it all apart and i have a few questions... #1. The instructions say to turn the motor until the cam lobes are facing up. Does that mean facing up in relation to the angle of the cylinder heads or facing straight up? #2. When I point my cam lobes up there seems to be no clearance between the cam and the valve tappet on any of my intake or exhaust valves. Now.. keep in mind the thinnest feeler gauge I have is .005 so obviously all of my intake and exhaust valves are closer than .005. Is this normal for a motor that has never been adjusted? #3. What clearance should I have for intake and exhaust valves. I have read several different clearances. The bent tip Craftsman feeler gauges I bought start at .005,.006., .007, .008 etc... I want I am thinking .005 for the intake and .007 for the exhaust? I would like some suggestions from the people that know here.

July 21st, 2014, 05:00 PM	#2
jgcable ninjette.org member Name: John Location: Milford, CT Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212	Anybody? I have the bike all apart. I just need to know what lash to set the intake and exhaust valves at. One person told me to set the intake at .05 and the exhaust at .06 Another person told me to set the intake to .06 and the exhaust to .07 Which is the acceptable measurement for a street bike that spends alot of time on the highway.

July 21st, 2014, 05:15 PM	#3
jgcable ninjette.org member Name: John Location: Milford, CT Join Date: Mar 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Ninja 250r Posts: 212	I adjusted the intakes to .005 (.127mm) and the exhaust to .006 (.152mm) Thats the looser end of the spectrum and I assume it will be fine.

July 22nd, 2014, 02:37 AM	#5
SouthHalfrican ninjette.org member Name: Elrich Location: Lynchburg - VA Join Date: Jul 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja '07 250, '03 500, Ducati '01 M750, '03 999 base, 1198S corse, Honda 77CB750F2 Posts: 14	^ Little dangerous doing that though.