Tappet noise Virago xv750

I adjusted my tappets as they seemed a little noisy. Did it according
to both Clymer and Haynes manuals to double check everything done ok.
Stilll pretty noisy though bike running fine. Did the front again
nearer to the smaller gap size, still the same. They are quiet when
engine first starts, get noiser as it starts to warm up, then when
really warm are a little quieter. I have tried listening to other
viragos for comparison but it must be a subjective thing - they sound
quieter - but maybe it's just me being nuerotic. What I don't like
about the noise is that it sort of fades out then comes back a little
and isn't completely constant.

The bike has done an indicated 9600 miles, and is a 1994 model.

Is there any way to guess or check if the level of tappet noise is
normal or excessive, and if so, what might need doing?

 

A slack camchain can often sound exactly like excessive tappet clearance
noise.

Check the camchain(s) tension?

 

Thanks for the reply.

Do you know how easy or otherwise on this bike it is to check camchain
tension?

 

Like it or not, that's pretty much how it IS with solid lifters.
The clearances change as the various parts heat up.

The cam chain suggestion notwithstanding, I'd say you need to get used to
it.

 

Screw type adjusters will break through the surface hardening of the
valves and dig a shallow "dish" in the stem.

When the uninitiated home mechanic attempts to adjust the valve with
an ordinary flat feeler guage blade, the blade doesn't reveal the fact
the valves are "dished".

The home mechanic finishes up the job and has noisy valves.

The only way I can think of to prove whether are not your valve stems
are dished is to set them with the feeler gauge, then use a dial
indicator to measure what the valve lash *actually* is.

So far as cam chain adjustment is concerned, there are two *automatic*
cam chain adjusters, one for the front cylinder and one for the rear
cylinder.

http://webservices.motorsportdealers.com/parts/partImages/YAM/2/02/0188/0005.Gif

If you think the automatic adjuster isn't doing its thing, remove the
plug and insert something skinny into the whole and gently push the
plunger.

You'll hear one, or at most two clicks as the internal ratchet engages
the
notches on the side of the plunger.

 

No lifters. Adjustable rocker arms follow the cams.

 

Find a manual. I can't remember, off-hand, whether the camchain
tensioners are fully automatic or semi-automatic or even entirely
manual.

 

Indeed. Conventional rockers and tappets. The engine, and the 1100, is
basically two SR500 singles tied together and sleeved as appropriate.

 

Point IS that whatever the part is that does the lifting, it is a solid
piece of metal.......care to give us the composition, Krusty, so we can mold
one in our own blast furnace ??
In this case, the rocker arm is also the "lifter".

 

The term "lifter" comes from the days of flathead engines, when the
cam was in the side of the engine block and the camshift lifted an
adjustable cylindrical *tappet* to open the valve.

No, but the adjuster screw may be called a "tappet", because it
contacts the valve.

 

Much as it grieves me to say this, I'm with Krusty on this.

 

I found this site which was really useful in terms of photos and
descriptions even though it relates to a different engine:

http://www.ravensroads.com/xv1000-virago-timing-front-camshaft/

I'm not sure how you could check the 'lash' with a dial gauge? Would
that mean the amount of movement of the tappet arm when the engine
turns? How would you measure this? It would then require the settings
to know what the correct lash should be.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dial_indicator

Turn the engine to TDC on the cylinder whose valves you want to check.

The valve lash will be at maximum when both valves are closed at TDC.

Attach the dial indicator to the cylinder head with a bolt. Zero the
dial.

The dial indicator's push rod is against the top end of the screw
adjuster in the rocker arm.

Move the rocker up and down and read the lash directly off the dial.

The correct valve lash settings are in your manual. They are the
settings you've been trying to achieve by the crude means of sliding a
feeler gauge between valve stem and tappet.