| Author | Message | ||
     Raymondt |
I am thinking of moving from my Lightning to an 1125CR but do my own maintenance. Is the valve adjustment tough? The Duc like finger followers make for Duc like pain in the buttt adjustment? | ||
| Oldog |
Just looking at the documents for the adjustment last night (first time). the actual check and set of the followers shims looks strait forward. rotation of the engine is a little more involved than pulling a tank. It looks time consuming but not difficult on say a KTM you must remove the cams and reassemble more than once, same with most asian IL4s My 0.02$ its not an Xb or Tuber but it is reasonably well thought out, just more involved. | ||
| Chadhargis |
The finger followers make valve adjustments MUCH easier. You don't have to remove the cams. | ||
| Raymondt |
Thanks Guys, So far it sounds like a reasonable once a winter project. | ||
| Smoke |
the valve check isn't too bad but if the clearance is out you will have to measure each shim and order the one you need for each valve. i checked sat with the local shop to see about buying an assortment for when i do the race bike after the season and they had -0- in stock at $2.40 ea. there are 60+ possible sizes between 2&3 mm and i was thinking about buying 4 of ea size. no one price service kit from the parts guy perspective. crap, i think i'll buy the front fork kit instead. oh yeah, it took a day to take apart the street bike and another day to check and reassemble. i must have got it back together correctly because on the 3rd day i rode to the Indy MotoGp and then back with no issues this year  last year the water pump seal went out on the way back at my last gas stop 30 miles from the house.(warranty repaired) tim | ||
| Avc8130 |
What is the diameter of the shims? Will one of the $80 Hot Cams kits work? ac | ||
| Stevej |
thats what I want to know, I already have a shim kit for my ZRX 1100 Kaw I have and it has the finger follower set up too. | ||
| Crowley |
Valve adjustment on the Ducati is relatively easy. Apart from anything else, you don't have to rotate the motor. Why do you think it's a pain? | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
I think I remember reading somewhere that the 1125 uses the same shims as the V-Rod. R | ||
| Avc8130 |
It does use the same shims as the V-Rod (from what I have read), but what diameter are they? ac | ||
| Blake |
>>>Why do you think it's a pain? Because you have twice as many adjustments to make. | ||
| Crowley |
...........and takes how long?  | ||
| Avc8130 |
But what has to be done how often? | ||
| Crowley |
Ducati valve check at 7.5k miles. Simple to do with excellent access  | ||
| Chadhargis |
The 2 valve Ducati valve jobs are pretty easy. Changing the cam belts is what made me nervous. You have to be very careful to not screw that up. There are marks to line up, so it's not too hard, it's just that first start that makes you sign in relief when you don't hear (BANG!) and your engine grenades as it bends the valves. Thankfully, the 1125 doesn't require a cam chain replacement (that I'm aware of) and you don't have to remove the cams to adjust the valves. So there is really very little to screw up that would be major. Worst case, you forget to unplug something before you rotate the engine and break a wiring harness. | ||
| Avc8130 |
Crowley, How do you check belt tension? When I was talking with the factory tech at Indy he said the spec was given in harmonic resonance. ac | ||
| Chadhargis |
You can check cam belt tension on a Duc with the special Ducati tool, or just a fish scale. | ||
| Crowley |
Harmonics are the new easy and accurate way of doing it. The tone can easily be down loaded off the net. Belt service is now very easy too  | ||
| Blake |
"...........and takes how long?" More than twice as long, and as mentioned above the maintenance interval is a lot shorter. DucatiSuite.com says it takes six hours for an air-cooled 2-valve engine, so easily a two day affair for a liquid-cooled four valver. DucatiTech.com says... Ducati Valve ADjustment Procedure for Liquid-Cooled Engines (Message edited by blake on September 22, 2009) | ||
| Crowley |
I assume you've done this as well as valve checks on a 1125 rather than reading it off the net? I have and it's way faster on a Ducati. If you have I'll bow to your experience. I've seen John Hackett performance (premier Dealership in UK) check valves between races - on a production class bike. Maybe Buell factory mechanics could match this, I don't know? | ||
| Blake |
I guess if you have to check the valves so often like on the Ducati, it better be easy. I don't see it. I guess you are hanging your hat on the fact that the 1125 requires rotating the engine. That is a pain. I won't own a bike that has routine maintenance requirements like that. | ||
| Crowley |
The secret is to have stable of Buells Seriously though, I wouldn't really care if it did take 2 days to complete routine maintenance on any make of bike, I actually find a sort of Zen therapy getting the bike up on the bench and concentrating 100% on service after a hard day at work. It's quite enjoyable | ||
| Chadhargis |
Same here Crowley. That's what winter is for. I have been known to disassemble my bike for a good check over and cleaning during the winter. When I did an engine swap in my Gixxer, I cleaned everything (including the wiring harness), lubed the pivot points, and had it shining like a new dime. I cleaned the replacement engine, and when I put it all back together, it was beautiful. Even cleaned the inside of the fairings. A good tear down to check things is not just a maintenance issue, but a safety one too. I typically plan on working on it an hour or two at a time, and I take my time, be very meticulous, and double check everything. If it takes 2 weeks of winter to do it, so be it. It's winter. If there is a decent day to ride (as there sometimes is here in Tennessee) then I ride my other bike. Back when I only had one bike, I just missed the day. There will be others. | ||
| Dentguy |
Wow. 6 hours for an air cooled 2V? They must be including extra time for enjoying a few beverages.  No problem with that. I also get plenty of therapy from maintenance. It's nice alone time once in a while. And multiple bikes in the stable, even more therapy. (Message edited by dentguy on September 22, 2009) | ||
| Chadhargis |
Heck, it's not just good alone time. I like to recruit a friend for some things. Share a beer or two and spin a wrench. Ah, male bonding. | ||
| Dirty_john |
old bevel gear two valve Ducatis - used to take me a full working day to set up the desmo valvegear, the top hat shims had to be carefully ground within limits and parallel to the snap ring groove - the working day started with vacuuming the garage out to remove all traces of dust - but what a great way to spend a day. | ||
| Two_buells |
The Shims are the same used in the V-Rod and most dealers should stock them all. I just checked the parts manuals for the V-Rod and 1125R/CR. The 1125 has 31 different shims from 2.000 mm - 3.000 mm The V-Rod has 39 different shim sizes from 1.825 mm - 3.000 mm The part numbers are the same for each size, except for the 8 smaller shims the 1125 does not use. (Message edited by Two_Buells on September 29, 2009) | ||
| Avc8130 |
I realize they are the same as the V-Rod, but what diameter are they? Sure, a dealer might have them in stock but if I start a valve adjustment on a Saturday I may be dead in the water on Sunday with no open dealer and no shims. I would rather buy a Hot Cams complete kit and have everything I could need before I start. ac | ||
| Chadhargis |
When I attempt it, I'll plan on having the bike down for a few days. I'll take my time, and go slow. Clean everything while I've got it torn down and check cables, wires, and such for any issues. I love doing my own wrenching. | ||
| Smoke |
went to the dealer to stock up on shims prior to doing the racebike and found exactly -0- shims in stock. price is 2.40 each. they suggested that i measure each shim thickness that is out of tolerance and the order what i need. 4 of each is 300 bucks pre-ordered. i got lucky when i did the streetbike as all clearances were within spec at the loose end of the tolerance. i checked them the weekend prior to riding the bike to Indianapolis for the MotoGp. i see major downtime the next valve clearance check on that one waiting for shims. tim |
