Is this a new to you bike? Has it always made these noises or is it a new problem?
The bike is new to me. When I got it I didn't hear much tappet noise when it was running but at that time I didn't even know what tappets were. When I started to ride the bike I was getting a lot more noise when the bike was under throttle at higher rpms (~4,000). If I let off the throttle or kept it at a coasting speed the noise would go away so I did some research and found others with a similar noise related to tappets so I assumed they were out of spec and they were.
Who knows what the previous owners have done... I know there has been some work done on the bike, my valve cover has a crack running along the ear where one of the mounting screws is so I'll probably have to replace the cover once it comes off. I can only assume someone cracked it and that it was taken off at some point.
Ya I set it to .002 when it was cold and it measured .004 when it was hot. I can't remember if the gap is supposed to increase with heat or decrease but my definitely increased.
It's my understanding they should decrease. Lengthening of the valve stem from heat expansion. That's why there's a larger gap on the exhaust side...more expansion shrinking the clearance.
Yes, the lash is designed to go to .000 nominal when the engine is hot.
Getting more gap hot is not logical, indicating something else is going on, up to and including mechanic error.
I'm going to readjust this evening and run it again to see what results I get. After viewing this thread:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=122627.0 I'm starting to wonder about wear more and more. That guys bike sounds pretty identical to mine.
