Valve lash too loose - compression issues

[JPG1911]

Greetings! I haven't had much time for anything besides work and Daddy duty lately, but I wanted to get some opinions on an issue I've been pondering.
A few weeks ago when I got my new CDI, i had the bike running... briefly. More on that in a moment. My battery is completely shot, but I have a HF battery charger, the charging functions don't work anymore, but it does have an engine cranking feature that works just fine. If I remove the spark plug, it is able to turn the engine over easily. With the plug in, I MIGHT get one revolution out of it before the starter relay starts whining. If I hold it down too long, the relay overheats and I have to wait 2-3 minutes for it to reset. Also, with the plug in, I can almost stand on the kickstarter before it starts to move the engine. It is extremely difficult to kick, one of my not so portly friends actually bruised his shin quite badly trying to kickstart my bike, his toe slipped off and the lever rebounded and smacked him <insert Peter Griffin teeth sucking noises here>

When I got the bike to crank, it was a total surprise. I had just replaced the CDI, and spark plug, hooked up the fuel to the brand new carb that I have made zero adjustments to, and started kicking it over. I thought I heard a sputter like it was backfiring through the carb, so I kept kicking it, after probably a few dozen kicks, it sprang to life and actually ideled. It caught me so totally off guard when it started, that I nearly had to change drawers and I almost fell off the bike. I was able to rev it a few times, and it seemed fairly responsive, but it was extremely loud, not the exhaust, but valve clacking like a diesel loud.

I theorize that the valve lash is so loose, the exhaust valve is still closed on the exhaust stroke, thus the super high compression and difficulty starting. My compression test kit is somewhere in storage, so I have not actually tested this, and I have never owned a bike with a kick starter, but it seems to me that it should not require so much force to operate it when I know the engine spins freely with no spark plug in it. I was going to check and adjust valve lash last night, but when I got to the shop, I realized that my smallest blade on the feeler gauge is 0.008" and I need a 0.005 for the intake valve, so now I'm on the hunt for a new set of feeler gauges before any adjustment can take place.

What are the expert opinions on this?

[stretch8668]

My guess is valves and don't know what motor u have but the push rod 200cc is .003 I believe on both valves

[JPG1911]

Forgot to add that subsequent attempts to start the engine have been unsuccessful

[JPG1911]

Thanks Stretch, it's an OHC 169fml. I believe I read that it's 0.008" exhaust and 0.005" intake for the hondoid motors

[stretch8668]

I'm still saying its the valves especially if there's a lot of noise

[humanbeing]

Originally Posted by JPG1911

Thanks Stretch, it's an OHC 169fml. I believe I read that it's 0.008" exhaust and 0.005" intake for the hondoid motors

http://www.ride-inc.net/file/32/data.pdf (authorized dealer in Japan)
It's 0.1mm ie. btw 0.003" - 0.004"

[JPG1911]

Thanks again Humanbeing! is that 0.1mm for both intake and exhaust?

[bogieboy]

i have always set the lash by feel... but i have a 163fml OHV not ohc... its a touch easier (in my opinion) to set the lash on the ohv...

[SpudRider]

I agree; you should check the valve lash as soon as possible. I use a set of feeler gauges I bought at Harbor Freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/32-piec...uge-32214.html

[Weldangrind]

I err more on the side of 0.040" for both valves, and I use bent feeler gauges if they're handy. The nice feature of the pushrod motors is that you can remove the entire valve cover for greater access, vs the OHC engines.

[JPG1911]

Progress report: I purchased this Motion Pro Feeler gauge and used it to check my valve lash. I must say that this feeler gauge works very well, it is just the right size and angle to work on these engines. My valves are both still set to 0.10mm and required no adjustment. I reassembled the bike and tried again, to get it started. It will occasionally backfire through the carb if the choke is on and the throttle is held partially open, but I couldn't get it to start. As stated previously, I took the carb(30mm mikuni) out of the box and bolted it right on with no adjustment whatsoever. I'm thinking I may need to adjust the float level. Thoughts on this? I'm at sea level, the Atlantic ocean is 2.8 miles thataway.

[Weldangrind]

Yes, the float level could require adjustment, but I tend to think the slow and main jets are a little small for sea level. The stock jets are 20 (slow) and 100 (main), and I'd jump to 25 and 110.

Check page 4 and 5 for jet and float level tips: http://www.chinariders.net/showthrea...s+beast&page=4