Motorcycle Repair: How to adjust the Valves or Valve Lash on a 1985 Honda XR600

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*Always follow the instructions in your repair manual when doing repair or maintenance work on a motorcycle. Manuals can be found at the dealer and online.*

In this video I show how to adjust the valves on a 1985 Honda XR600. Each valve and rocker arm is covered by a screw on cap called a valve adjustment cap. The caps should be removed to adjust the valves.The valves should be adjusted with the bike cold and the piston at TDC (top dead center) on the compression stroke. There are two small threaded covers on the left side of the crankcase. Behind the larger cover is a bolt attached to the crankshaft that can be used to rotate the crankshaft using a ratchet and socket. Behind the smaller cover you can see the outer edge of the rotor/flywheel. On the outer edge of the rotor is etched a line next to the letter 'T'. When the line is exactly in the center of the smaller cover hole, the piston is at top dead center. Use a ratchet and socket to rotate the crankshaft counter clockwise until the line next to the letter T is centered in the smaller cover hole. If the piston is at TDC, the rocker arms should be loose and you should be able to wiggle the rocker arms with your fingers. If you can't, than the piston is not at TDC on the compression stroke and the crankshaft should be rotated another 360 degrees counter clockwise. Once the piston is at TDC on the compression stroke the valves can be adjusted. On each rocker arm is a adjustment screw and a lock nut. After the lock nut is loosened, the adjustment screw can be turned to change the distance between the adjustment screw and the valve stem. The distance for the intake valves should be .004 inch and the exhaust valve should be .005 inch. After the adjustment screws are set to the correct setting, the lock nut should be tightened to 17-19 ft. lbs.

Tools Used:
.004" and .005" feeler gauge
24mm socket for valve adjustment caps
12mm closed end wrench and 12mm socket
Straight Screw Driver
Torque Wrench

Specifications:
Valve Adjusting screw lock nut should be tightened to 17-19 ft. lbs
Valves should be adjusted cold with the piston at top dead center on the compression stroke.