First time valve adjust/ best manual?

[sloburban]

It's about time for me to check my valves. I only had the bike a year but I do tend to beat the shit out of it on and offroad.
 I guess my first question is what is the best manual to buy? I don't have any manual now. nor have I done any mantainance.

Also a question about the shims. Do I need to measure the valve clearance first then order the right sized shims? Or can you just buy a set of them?

I am also going to change my coils to the nyology thanks to the info I learned on this site.

Any other words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

[JetdocX]

I think the factory shop manual is very good and prefer it.

Measure your valve clearances first then go up or down in thickness for the desired result.  You may be able to swap some shims between valves if you get lucky.

You will need an air filter, or airbox depending on which method you prefer.  You will also need a throttle cable if it has 24,000 miles or more on it.

Consider replacing your coolant hoses if you are still using the ten year old rubber ones.  Also flush, replace coolant at this time for convenience.

How old are your brake lines?  When was the last time the brake system was flushed?

Take your time and do it right.  it's worth the time and effort.

[BR]

Yup, I hear the Triumph manual is the best but expensive I've heard (?). I've got a Haynes manual which is exactly what I expected... just so-so.  But I just needed something to reference the basics on like valve clearance specs, so it's better than nothing.  And yes, like JetDocX said, measure first, then exchange the shims.  The shims are the very common 25mm dia type and are shared with many of the older 80's Hondas (CB, CBX etc) and Yamaha (Seca, Maxim etc) street bikes.  I got a few batches off of flea-bay fairly cheap.  Some shops will exchange them for a minimal fee or you may need to just buy new.
DEFINITELY go with the new coils to eliminate those from being a problem down the road.  Then you won't go chasing carb problems because one of your cylinders decides to sign-off occasionally..... don't ask how I know that  :oops: . (My '06 Daytona coils working fine).
Next for me is getting my slightly warped tank back in place so I can put the body work back on; my Tiger has been "naked" for a year now.

Brendan
'98 BRG Tiger

[aeronca]

dude, i love the color - but then im bias  :D  nice bike.

[sloburban]

Thanks everybody for your input. I guess my first move will be to buy a Triumph manual then figure out a game plan. I'll take some pics if there is any interest.

[Dr. Mordo]

DISCLAIMER: I am just posting this for infomative purposes and have nothing whatsoever to gain by doing so.

Let me interject here that one of our own - Mustang - makes a tool that allows you to swap shims and adjust your valves pretty easily without removing the cams.  It comes with full directions and a spec sheet that shows what shims you need.  I bought one a week ago, got it a couple of days a go and tried it out tonight.  It worked great.  I highly recommend it.  If you know how to disassemble your bike down to the valve cover, you do not need either service book to adjust the valves if you buy Mustang's tool.

That said, if you aren't a pretty competent mechanic you may want to take it to the dealership.  It isn't hard by any means, but there is the potential to booger your cams, which I imagine would cost approximately 1 million dollars to replace.

[steammoto]

+1 for Mustangs valve tool. Quality plus detailed "how to" directions