Are you guys kidding me?

[JetdocX]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=467641

This poor sap is about to drop a buttload of cash on a Steamer with receeding intake valves and all you guys can say is, "YAY!"

 :roll:

[Stretch]

He said the valve cover had never been off.  Swapping some shims during the bike's first-ever valve service after 47,000 miles isn't unusual.

Now, if he's having to swap most of the shims each and every 12,000-mile valve service (or even more often), then yeah, there's a problem.

[aeronca]

well it is brg. :shock:   it might be an ok bike, or????  either way he's diggin it.

[JetdocX]

And how exactly does one tell if the valve cover has ever been off?  That shop is immediately suspect to me. :roll:

I think it's a problem, but it might not be.  

I thought he should know.  I've purchased my Steamer two times over now.  I wish someone had told me about this going into the tranaction.  He's even doing everything correct, unlike me, just no one is keying in on the tight intake valves.

[JetdocX]

AND a first service at 47,000 miles?  Doesn't that at least smell a tiny bit like neglect?  I think it's a problem.  Knowing what I know, I'd walk.

[Mustang]

I call on the valve cover never being off in 47 k !

I have worked on enuff T309/409 engines to KNOW that when purchased new and only using mobil 1 4t oil that you can safely go about 18-20 k b4 you WILL have a tight intake or two or three , and the exhausts usually never move .
After 20k the intakes (if they are typical 98 tiger intakes) are going to have a couple tighten up every 10 k for miles .

It is not uncommon for a 98 with 50 k on it to have exhaust valves that have never been touched .

My favorite tiger of my own is a 98 and I have 5 exhausts that are still running the OEM shims from the factory and the clearances have never moved .
The intakes , well that's another story , when #1 needs shims again it will be the end of the road for that cylinder head as there are no shims left small enuff to get any clearance . I figure by the way #1 has been moving on me that after this summers trip to Utah from NH , I'll be doing a head job on Tigger 2 at about the 65 k mark for miles . But you never know , last check showed that #1 had only moved .001 of an inch in 12 k miles it was #2 the last check that needed shims and even #3 got in on the act and wanted 1 shim on the intake

There is no way in hell that the valve cover on that particular steamer has never been off , unless the previous owner put 47k on it and kept the speed at 30 mph for the entire 47k .

Tigger #1 (1995)has 50 k on it and is babied by Mrs Mustang and even that one has had a few intakes shimmed at 25 k

Tigger 3 (1998)that I bought last summer had 37k on it when I bought it . did a check on the valves over the winter to see where it was and found that while it had clearance on the intakes they were all on the low side or some were even under by .001 on the spec of .004-.006 (.10-.15 mm) and I believe that tigger has had the valves adjusted at least once before I bought it

You can no way go 47k on a T409 motor and have never adjusted valves

[JetdocX]

No matter.  He must be getting it for free.   :lol: