QuestionHi, I have a ticking which has been diagnosed as the valves needing adjusting, as I had expected. the suzuki bandit 600 is a 2002 model, and has done 5500 miles with no repairs or problems, just 2 services at the recommended milage and the last adjustments were done at 600 miles.
The ticking is around intake valves for cylinder 1 for now, though I intend on adjusting all the valves for peace of mind. I have both a suzuki dealer manual and a haynes manual telling me how to do this, and I can get to the point of adjusting the valves, but both manuals lack information after certain points. My problem comes when and after I need to position the camshaft notches for first adjustment. My camshafts have both dashes, notches, and arrow markings on them, each pointing in a different direction, so firstly could you confirm i need to use the cut out notches as reference for the correct cam shaft position?
2ndly and more majorly, if i adjust to this position as the manuals tell me to, the cam lobe positions are in the right place that the manuals say for adjusting cylinder 1 intake and exhaust valves, and both manuals then say to adjust cyl. 2 exhaust and cyl. 3 intake valves but they do not tell me if i need to rotate the engine 1 full turn again to adjust the camshaft notches or cam lobe positions to anywhere different.. which i believe i do as there is absolutely zero gap i can measure on other cylinders like there is on cylinder 1, unless i move the cam lobe positions to 'mirror' the positions they were at for adjusting cylinder 1 intake and exhaust valves.. am i right for thinking i need to rotate the engine 1 turn to reposition the cam lobes for each cylinders valve adjustment, or do i go with what the manual says and position it once and do as it says (adjust cyl. 1 intake & exhaust, cyl. 2 exhaust and cyl. 3 intake valves) without repositioning the cam lobes to be 'off' the valves so i cna measure clearance etc.. apologies if this is unclear, it's hard to get across what i mean! Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
AnswerHi Dave,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I've worked alot of overtime this week.
Follow the manual and try not to read too much into the text. I agree, some manuals lack intel.
The following is for the 1200 Bandit. I don't have the 600's info on hand. It should be similar if not the same. You may be able to get the idea from the following information.
Let me know how it turns out.
Remember, I return tech info files by email. There was no email address with your question as requested. Email makes my volunteer time possible.
Respectfully,
Mark Shively
1200 Bandit Valve Adjustment
Adjusting the valves is time consuming and sometimes frustrating because the service manual does a poor job of explaining the necessary steps (some omissions and editorial shortcomings in the manual). Set aside several hours because it involves removing the seat, tank, front body work, some items under the tank, spark plugs, valve cover, and signal generator cover. You must also adjust the valves when the engine is stone cold (at least 12 hrs. not run). There are some tricks to adjusting forked rockers and some omissions in the techniques in the shop manual. I highly recommend buying the $9 U.S. tool #09917-14920 valve adjuster driver. It's a small nut driver looking thing that mates with the tiny square head of the screw adjusters. It's extremely useful in holding the screw while you tighten the lock nut. If you don't have it, you'll have a hard time maintaining the proper lash as you tighten. You can also purchase these tools at good performance shops.
• Remove the seat
• Removing the tank is covered elsewhere on this page. Click on the "Back" arrow in your browser's tool bar to get back here.
• Remove the fairing by removing the four windscreen fasteners and lifting off the screen. Remove the four screws that secure the black inner panel and remove the panel. (Now may be a good time to cover all points of contact between the rest of the fairing/screen assembly and this cover with thin foam tape -- it will eliminate that buzzing we all have at 2k rpm.) Disconnect the front turn signals' harness connections inside the fairing. Remove the turn signals by removing the securing nut inside the fairing and pulling the signals out carefully. Remove the five fasteners on one side of the fairing (Three near the headlight, one that was behind the black panel and one at the lower rear corner of the fairing). Remove that side of the fairing and repeat for the other side.
• Remove the spark plugs with the wrench provided in the tool kit. Place clean shop rags in the spark plug tunnels to guard against dropping anything into the combustion chambers.
• Remove some items under the tank (not covered in the manual). Remove the braces on the frame that locate the left and right side fairing pieces. Remove the ignition coils (note the position, routing and connections of the wires). Disconnect breather hose from valve cover breather. Remove valve cover breather by removing its four bolts. The manual specifically states that this last step is unnecessary, but you'll bugger-up the valve cover and may not be able to get it out without removing the breather.
• Remove the valve cover by removing the 14 bolts holding it in place. Don't lose the small metal gaskets under each of these bolts. Don't forget the two near the timing chain bulge and the four (union bolts) near the spark plug towers. Pull it carefully out the right side of the bike. Look carefully under the cover as you guide the plug towers over the timing chain; you can easily lose one of the small gaskets at the bases of these towers. Remove and clean the valve cover gasket (strip off any silicone sealer) and the mating surfaces on the head and valve cover. You can reuse the head cover gasket as long as it's pliable.
• Remove the signal generator cover by removing the five bolts holding it in place. If you're careful in peeling the gasket off, you'll be able to reuse it (once) with a coating of Suzuki Bond gasket sealer.
• Note the two notches on the right ends of the cam shafts. These will be parallel with the head surface when the crank is rotated to the two positions where you adjust valves.
• Rotate the crank forward (clockwise) with a breaker bar or large wrench (19mm) on the signal generator nut (right end of crank under just-removed cover) until these marks on the cams line up with the head surface (horizontal) on the outside of each cam (the marks will be "pointing" away from each other).
• In this crank position, you can adjust:
o intake valves (0.004 - 0.006") for cylinders #1 and #3
o exhaust valves (0.007 - 0.009") for cylinders #1 and #2
o Adjustment Procedure:
Check the existing lash on each side of a rocker with one feeler gauge. If the two sides of one rocker differ from each other by 0.001" or more, or if either is out of spec, you must adjust one or both valves on that rocker.
To adjust, loosen the locknut and adjust the screw with the $9 driver you bought until the desired lash is there. Tighten the locknut gently as you hold the screw with the driver. Repeat on the other side of the rocker if necessary. Recheck the lash on each side as above ("Check the existing lash...).
Check the lash on both sides (simultaneously) of a rocker (with two separate feeler gauges) to make sure the lash is in spec when the rocker isn't rocking sideways on the rocker pivot shaft. If it is out of spec (probably too tight -- bad), start over with the step immediately above on both sides and use a little different lash as your goal (looser if the final lash was too tight, tighter if too loose).
Finally torque the locknuts with a torque wrench to 7.0 lb-ft. and recheck the lashes on both sides simultaneously as in step immediately above ("Check the lash on both sides...").
Repeat this procedure using the appropriate feeler gauges for intake (0.005") and exhaust (0.008") valves for all valves to be adjusted at this crank position.
Remember that it is better to have them slightly loose than even a little too tight. Loose = noise, slight wear; Tight = valve burn, seat burn, head machining, money, headache, etc.
• Rotate the crank forward (360 degrees) as above until the marks on the cams are horizontal but "pointing" toward each other (i.e., on the inside of the cam journals).
• In this crank position you can adjust:
o intake valves (0.004 - 0.006") for cylinders #2 and #4
o exhaust valves (0.007 - 0.009") for cylinders #3 and #4
o Use the same adjustment procedure as above.
• To preserve your peace of mind, rotate the engine through these check points and recheck the lash on each rocker (simultaneous method) until your sure doubt will not creep into your dreams or until your Luvox kicks in, whichever comes first (a little psyche humor there, sorry).
• Reassembly is largely the reverse of the removal of all the parts now lying around your work area. A few notable exceptions:
o Use a thin coating of Suzuki Bond sealer on the signal generator cover gasket (both sides). Even if you buy a new gasket, you still need to use sealer at the crankcase split points on the engine side.
o Put a small bead of gasket sealer on the head at the corners of the head cover gasket mating surface and at the cam journal "dips". Do the same on the valve cover.
o You may also want to put sealer between any of the spark plug tower bottoms and any of the circular gaskets that got scraped off when you removed the head cover. Let them dry because it is a big challenge not to scrape them off on the timing chain and not to have them shift as you position the valve cover.
o No sealer is required on the pseudo-gasket under the valve cover breather.
