TE449 valve clearance thoughts

Greetings:

Checked my valve clearances. Exhaust range is .25 - .3 mm. A .25 feeler gauge fit, but a .3 did not, so they're okay. Intakes are .05 - .1. A .05 gauge fit, but a .1 fit, too, somewhat semi-snug. They MAY be out; I didn't try a thicker gauge.

What are the implications of a too large clearance? I calculated it out - a gap that is .01 mm (a hundredth of a mm) extra is moving an extra 1.92 metres per hour at 6,400 RPM. Is it really that big a deal if they are out? The acceleration force difference encountered by the valve tip and the follower would be extremely low, therefore, so would increased stress/wear.

Something else I'm wondering is, let's say a person checks clearances for the first time, and they are out, so they get the parts to adjust them. Might it be, if they had left them alone, then checked 5,000 km later, that they'd still measure the same? Numerous individuals have commented that their valves haven't budged, and it makes me wonder if, due to manufacturing tolerance differences, it may be that a bike is out of spec from the factory, but doesn't move afterwards. This would mean that some people are adjusting their valves needlessly, perhaps. Maybe it would be better to do the first check, make note of the clearances, do nothing - even if they're out - then check them again 5,000 km later, and see if they moved. As I previously commented in another thread, if the thickness range for exhaust shims is .7 mm, and 1.1 mm for intake balls, is it really that big a deal, especially considering it is unlikely one would be at either end of the spectrum?

Slightly larger than standard clearance should not cause any great drama.
You loose a tiny amount of valve lift and may have extra noise.
Wear on the valve seats will cause the clearance to close up so it will be safe to leave.

Thanks, David. It appeared to me like it would go around in a circle.

Hi Marc,

You should measure again what your clearance is exactly.
On my '13 TE449 I checked clearance at 2000km the first time, the exhaust valves were a bit too tight (0,19 and 0,23) and the inlet valves way too loose (0,18 and 0,18). Finally I shimmed all to the near upper limit of each (0,30 and 0,10).
Regarding the too loose inlet valves: one of the Husqvarna documents was confusing (TE with TC clearance) so I double checked with the German importer.
In a German forum I also heard of people with too loose inlet valves. It seems that some Huskys were trimmed to the TC specs in the factory wrongly. My opinion is, that this error will not lead to hell, but I would adjust to actual specs (since the TC has also different camshafts so I would not rely that the TC spec is also fine in a TE).

Hope, this helps.
Best regards,
Florian

Florian:

Thanks for your input.