Adjusting Valve Clearances

Jim Van

Jim Van

Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
2,201
Location
West Michigan
Bike
'98 ST1100
I'm currently a ST1100 owner but know I probably will be getting another bike in a year or two.

The Gold Wing is a good bike, but it's size scares me. So, I'm thinking about a ST1300 or FJR1300.

It's ridiculously easy to remove the camshafts on my ST1100 to change the shims - but I never had to do it, yet. The clearances have been dead-nuts up to the present 75K miles I have on the bike.

And I have read on this ST1300 Forum that the clearances never hardly ever have to be adjusted on a ST1300, even at high mileages.

But regardless, how time consuming is it to remove the camshafts on a ST1300 to change the shims ?? I looked at the ST1300 parts fiche, and it looks to me like the camshaft chain needs to be loosened and the camshaft gear removed before the camshaft can be removed ...... maybe. Same question about the air & fuel filter ( time ). Thanks.
 
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Jim Van said:
I'm currently a ST1100 owner but know I probably will be getting another bike in a year or two.

The Gold Wing is a good bike, but it's size scares me. So, I'm thinking about a ST1300 or FJR1300.

It's ridiculously easy to remove the camshafts on my ST1100 to change the shims - but I never had to do it, yet. The clearances have been dead-nuts up to the present 75K miles I have on the bike.

And I have read on this ST1300 Forum that the clearances never hardly ever have to be adjusted on a ST1300, even at high mileages.

But regardless, how time consuming is it to remove the camshafts on a ST1300 to change the shims ?? I looked at the ST1300 parts fiche, and it looks to me like the camshaft chain needs to be loosened and the camshaft gear removed before the camshaft can be removed ...... maybe. Same question about the air & fuel filter ( time ). Thanks.
Click to expand...

5 hours for a valve clearance check - plastic off to plastic on
2 hours to change shims on both engine banks, if needed.

30 minutes to change an air filter.
 
To me it seems that Honda tends to make things a bit more effort to work on than other brands. But given that all bikes have gotten more complicated over time, I was wondering how the FJR1300 compares to the ST1300 for ease of maintenance.

Since the OP is considering the FJR as an option, he'd probably be interested in that too.

5 hours for a clearance check seems quite excessive. On the 1100 I've never timed myself, but it can't be more than an hour or so.
 
dwalby said:
5 hours for a clearance check seems quite excessive. On the 1100 I've never timed myself, but it can't be more than an hour or so.
Click to expand...

That time estimate is from completing 4 different valve clearance checks and shim changes on each. When I do my work I take a notebook and record the initial clearance and the final clearances after the shim changes and usually take 2 to 3 measures for each to ensure accuracy to the 100th of a mm. Plastic takes me 45 minutes to remove and 45 minutes to replace.

We recorded several videos of one of the valve clearance and shim change sessions. Those videos can be found on this site.
 
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Jim Van said:
I'm currently a ST1100 owner but know I probably will be getting another bike in a year or two.

The Gold Wing is a good bike, but it's size scares me. So, I'm thinking about a ST1300 or FJR1300.

It's ridiculously easy to remove the camshafts on my ST1100 to change the shims - but I never had to do it, yet. The clearances have been dead-nuts up to the present 75K miles I have on the bike.

And I have read on this ST1300 Forum that the clearances never hardly ever have to be adjusted on a ST1300, even at high mileages.

But regardless, how time consuming is it to remove the camshafts on a ST1300 to change the shims ?? I looked at the ST1300 parts fiche, and it looks to me like the camshaft chain needs to be loosened and the camshaft gear removed before the camshaft can be removed ...... maybe. Same question about the air & fuel filter ( time ). Thanks.
Click to expand...

I suggest you just find a low mileage 1100, like I recently did to replace my high mileage '95 ST. With half the miles that my '95 had on it, I'm confident I can keep this '96 for at least another 10 years. Honda really screwed the DIY'er when it made the 1300 much more complicated to work on than the 1100.
 
I've worked on both the 1100 and 1300 ... neither is a clear winner or loser compared to the other, IMO. Both have deficiencies in ease of access, but make up for it in infrequency of needing service.
 
To me in comparing the ST1300 to other bikes It's easier. With The V4 The heads are out in the open instead of stuffed in the frame. But also compared to an inline 4 there are twice as many cams to deal with.

For the record CBR1100XX no shim changes for 80k miles. ST1300 no shim changes at 45k miles so far.
 
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Jim Van said:
I'm currently a ST1100 owner but know I probably will be getting another bike in a year or two.

SNIP...........SNIP

But regardless, how time consuming is it to remove the camshafts on a ST1300 to change the shims ?? I looked at the ST1300 parts fiche, and it looks to me like the camshaft chain needs to be loosened and the camshaft gear removed before the camshaft can be removed ...... maybe. Same question about the air & fuel filter ( time ). Thanks.
Click to expand...

Was my guess correct ?? How are the camshafts removed on the ST1300 ???
 
It's really easy. Turn the engine over until the appropriate timing marks are aligned. Then a small screwdriver or special tool is used to release timing chain tension. The valve cover is off of course then the camshaft cover bolts are removed and the necessary camshaft is free to be lifted off. The fairing is removed before hand. When I do a valve check it's usually part of the major service so the fairing is off and probably the radiator. I do all of it across three nights after work or a Friday night and a Saturday. Maybe 6-8 hours working slowly to do all of it (hydraulic fluids, air filter, spark plugs, valve check, coolant flush). In 152,000 miles mine needed only one valve shimmed.
 
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I changed 2 shims in mine on second check (they were nearing limits on first check), and a couple others to center them in range (not necessary, unless you are OCD like me). All clearances are good since then, with just over 60kmi now.
 
It should not take 5 hours to check the clearances on an ST1300. The procedure is the same as the ST1100. if you're pulling the middle farings, it's faster on the 1300 because you can leave the seat, side covers and bags alone. Also there is no top cover, so the tank remains undisturbed too. I can do it in less than 2 hours taking my time and having a beer!

Where the ST13 gets a little bit more involved is in changing the shims. The tensioner does need to be relaxed to loosen the timing chain so that you can loop it off the cam sprockets. There's no need to remove the sprocket from the cams however. The other bit that complicates the job a little is that the 1300 uses a common hold down for both the intake and exhaust cams, unlike the 1100 which uses separate ones. The hassle comes when you go to refit the cams as it takes a bit of fiddling to get the chain back on correctly and the timing correct. The hassle is mostly because you have to manage both cams at the same time rather than one or the other like the 1100.

The good news is as previously stated, they don't need adjusting very often. In 145,000 miles I've only just recently had to adjust the exhaust valves on the right side. All the intakes on both sides are still in spec since the factory. I've previously only changed 2 or 3 shims on the left side, just to bring them to center as they were tight at the low end of the spec - all exhausts.
 
It should not take 5 hours to check the clearances on an ST1300. The procedure is the same as the ST1100. if you're pulling the middle farings, it's faster on the 1300 because you can leave the seat, side covers and bags alone. Also there is no top cover, so the tank remains undisturbed too.

Where the ST13 gets a little bit more involved is in changing the shims. The tensioner does need to be relaxed to loosen the timing chain so that you can loop it off the cam sprockets. There's no need to remove the sprocket from the cams however. The other bit that complicates the job a little is that the 1300 uses a common hold down for both the intake and exhaust cams, unlike the 1100 which uses separate ones. The hassle comes when you go to refit the cams as it takes a bit of fiddling to get the chain back on correctly and the timing correct. The hassle is mostly because you have to manage both cams at the same time rather than one or the other like the 1100.

The good news is as previously stated, they don't need adjusting very often. In 145,000 miles I've only just recently had to adjust the exhaust valves on the right side. All the intakes on both sides are still in spec since the factory. I've previously only changed 2 or 3 shims on the left side, just to bring them to center as they were tight at the low end of the spec - all exhausts.
 
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