1985 Vf500 valve adjustment

HI. I know the topic of valve adjustment has come up several times but, despite reading all the threads I could find, I still think I need help please. I'm restoring 2 1985 interceptors with my kids. It is now valve adjustment time. The motors have not run in about 14 years, but were running when they were stored, and appear to have been put into hibernation properly and they do turn freely. The previous owner sounds like he knew what he was doing when I discussed the bikes at length before getting them. here is my dilemma: The one I have opened up now doesn't seem to have any clearance in the valves; They are so tight that I had to quadruple check that they are at tdc, but the timing mark says so and the cams look like they are in the right place (not pushing on the valves). I assume they need to be loosened but the lock nuts are very tight and I'm afraid to yank too hard for fear of breaking them. I'm using an 8mm open wrench and tried both the open end and the closed, circular end. Does anyone have any words of wisdom? If I put a drop of two of WD40,will that contaminate the motor oil too badly later, or will it make the lock nuts loosen up later, after they have been adjusted?? This bike has about 40,000 km on the motor and this one belonged to the buddy of the guy I bought them from, and I think may have been run pretty hard without a lot of maintenance for part of its life. I don't really want to put everything back on first to hear it run to see if it sounds like a sewing machine, so today has been marked as valve adjustment day. I'd like to get it right the first time. Also, if anyone has any advise for anything I might encounter while trying to adjust the valves, I'm all ears...or in the case of this thread, all eyes. Thanks everyone. ::eagerness:

 

You're sure the cam lobe isn't touching the valve when you're measuring ?? Forget the timing marks:too confusing. Adjust clearance whenever cam lobe is generally pointing away from the valve. Use a 3/8"-drive 6-point 10mm socket on a 12" handle to loosen locknuts, never an open end wrench !!! Use boxend when tightening. Don't get fanatic: there is an accepted tolerance of + and- .001" allowable. Recheck clearance again after securing locknut as it might have changed. Turn the engine over my hand after each adjustment, and stop if any resistance is felt.

 

Thanks for your reply. I will give that a try. I wanted to ensure that you don't think that will be too much force. The nut is only 8mm and this is the 500 cc, but if you've done it before I'll put my faith in you. If I get a chance soon, I'll try to post a photo and you can see what I'm talking about and let me know if you notice anything that looks obviously wrong. Thank you again. Your advice is very much appreciated.

 

To properly tighten the locknut you'll need an educated arm or use a good torque wrench. Tight + 1/16th turn usually does it.

 

I would strongly suggest you get a good quality torque wrench and torque towards the upper limit of the 6-9 ft. lbs. the shop manual specifies. The adjustment screws are prone to disasterous loosening and 8 ft. Lbs. feels like you are over tightening those little 8mm lock nuts if you DON'T use a torque wrench. Good luck!