valve adjustment Needed or not

[rprothero]

This may seem like a dumb question but do our boxers always require a valve adjustment at 6k miles? I have one with now almost 27k and she seems to ride the same as 6k ago. Is there a tell tale sign she is due for an adjustment?

[AZBMWRIDER]

Just my experience with my '02 R, I checked the valve clearances every 6,000 miles other than the first adjustment at 6,000 miles, hasn't needed any adjustment since, the bike has 49,000 miles on it now .

I'm a long time airhead rider, 33 years and just got into the routine of doing it on a regular basis, I think I'm going to let 12,000 miles go by before checking it again .

[CycleRob]

It's true that after the first 2 valve adjustments and you ride normally, without race track power and RPM levels, the valve clearances will not vary more than .001" in 6,000 miles. The one big reason to get the valve clearances equal between the two giant 565cc cylinders is so they produce the same amount of cylinder filling and extraction (essentially the power) at the same intake manifold vacuum (that you carefully adjust for) on each cylinder. If the valve clearances are different it will have one cylinder making slightly more power and very likely produce more perceived vibration when "on-throttle", which is almost all the time. Big displacement 2 cylinder engines need to have a near perfect tune to run "nice", as every little mismatch is amplified more than, say a 500cc twin. Unless your bike is BMW Dealer $erviced, is it really that much of a hassle for you to set the valve clearances every 2 to 15 months (or more)?

[rprothero]

No not too much trouble cycle rob..I guess the other question is if they are adjusted do I automatically need a throttle body sync as well

[CycleRob]

Because of the number of marginally/unlubricated parts in the throttle cable system it is advisable to check the TB synch at least as often as the valve adjustment. It plays an even bigger part to engine smoothness than the valve adjustment does. A homemade water manometer is not only the most accurate synch device, it is, at potentially less than $5, the least expensive one. Here's one 4 foot tall prototype, but future models should be 5 to 6 feet tall, using 20 to 22 feet of tubing.

[billbeemer]

any movement of valve adjustment will vary the air in and out of the cylinders, so , yes, a tb synch is critical. bite the bullett and get an $80 synch thingy from mike at the boneyard. money well spent. i don't even check valves except maybe at 15k. works for me.

[rprothero]

Last question..what is the easiest way to find TDC on the r1150r? Pics would be helpful..thanks much guys..going to pick up a twinmax and learn both of these procedures.

[Dr. Strangelove]

There are pix around, just do a search, but
room temp engine or nearly so--there was a thread about this recently and other than burning your fingers there wasn't much difference hot vs cold.
center stand
remove alt belt cover from front of engine
remove black oval plug from right front of engine-getting it back in without pushing it all the way is a little difficult, but the engine is fine if you push it all the way in and lose it in the nether regions, and will perform fine without--some have just put some elec tape over the hole.
turn alt belt center bolt clockwise and look into hole uncovered by oval black plug referenced earlier
watch for the TDC mark on the flywheel and voila, you're there. I thin there is a S that appears just before TDC???

I think you can also, put her in 6th and turn the rear wheel in lieu of turning the alt bolt, but you do need another set of eyes or elaborate mirrors.

If you have the Clymer's manual there will be pix in there. It's not hard. You will have to turn the engine another turn to open the valves on the other side.

I have found the cyclerob water manometer more accurate than the elec devices. I use transmission fluid because it is easier to see, it's red.
When you get her "just right" you will grin when you wind out 2nd and 3rd. And they are done together--valves and TBs. In that order. You do need the engine warmed for TBs so you'll have to rig fans to cool it while you're adjusting. Have good wrenches and maybe a needle nose pliers and do not over tighten the cable nuts, They will strip. The word "twerk" used to mean tightening a nut "just so and no more," so learn that feel both for the vlaves and the cable nuts. It's just beyond getting it tight, maybe an eighth of a turn. Your sphincters should start tightening as you twerk it.

It is a very satisfying bit of maintenance. One word of warning to avoid some frustration...have stiff hoses that connect to the engine for the TB sync. Aquarium tubing will fit, and it will collapse when warm. I have rigged some old fuel line to connect to the nipples on the TBs and they can withstand the engine heat and not collapse.

Hope this helps

John

[hawkdad]

Strange is right..
The first thing I did after getting my R (Her NAME is Mistress)... was to pay up for my life timer dues here and get the Clymer manual.. two best investments I've made!!

Tower's manometer is easy to use, and like Strange I put tranny fluid in it. I don't get so anxious about it.. the water column jumpiness (tried it first) made me crazy and somewhat manic about the process of syncing.

Once you've done it about three times you won't need the manual and it will become pretty much second nature. Plus, you'll love the way she responds to a fistful of throttle!!

These folks here are AMAZINGLY helpful. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!!

Good Luck!

[billbeemer]

finding TDC is easier than pie.........there is an arrow machined into the cam chain gear. rotate the rear wheel in sixth gear until the arrow points straight out(horizontal). with both valve covers off, feel which side has a bit of play and adjust that side first, then simply repeat other side. piece of cake............

[rprothero]

So just finished up a 500+ mile ride down to Clearwater from Atlanta . Used the Etymotic Ear phones with foam buds..worked great..have a little bit of ring but much better than not using at all..also for those that are looking at a microphone combo note wind noise cancels out the output of sound from music player so better off with just standard earphones without dual purpose use unless you can tuck the microphone into your helmet..great ride btw just need to get a pad to soften the sack area ..BMW stock seats are good for about 300 miles until the ache starts . Frequent stops helps but I think a softer front end would make all the difference.."keep the rubber side down guys"

[Dr. Strangelove]

finding TDC is easier than pie.........there is an arrow machined into the cam chain gear. rotate the rear wheel in sixth gear until the arrow points straight out(horizontal). with both valve covers off, feel which side has a bit of play and adjust that side first, then simply repeat other side. piece of cake............

yes there is an arrow, BUT on some copies it it REALLY REALLY REALLY HARD to see. If your's is easily visible that would be a very easy way of finding TDC. On my estranged 1150, I always did it by removing the plug. On my 1200, there is no plug and the arrow is almost invisible. It becomes a two person job to find it.
Of course you can always put a suitably sized dowel in the spark plug hole, touching the surface of the cylinder head and find TDC when the dowel has reached its farthest out travel.

[captaincable]

Last Sat CycleRob showed me how to adjust the valves which turned out were barely out of spec and also we filled the manometer I made modeled after Robs with rubbing alcohol, splash of water and food coloring and then tuned the throttle bodies which also needed practically no adjustment ( I think Rob tweeked it a little just to show my son how accurate the "stick" works)
I didn't get a chance to ride the bike until yesterday and at 60-65 mph it was much smoother, have always had a little more buzz in the grips than I liked at least 80-90% less.It pays to make the adjustments however slight.
BTW Its a 1997 r850 w/ 53k and it is still the smoothest boxer I have heard to date.
Thanks Rob and this forum for all the help and info.

Rob found TDC by feel turning the crank (16MM) we only pulled the plastic plug so I could see the mark then we drilled two small holes thru the plug and put a tie wrap thru it so it would not get pushed into the into the case, also showed me the horizontal line on the timing chain gear when it is at TDC.