Hawk Valve Clearance

Torgo · 01-29-2016, 07:01 PM

I saw this on the TT250 thread and thought I'd copy this here, since for all intents and purposes, it's identical for the Hawk. I just did this myself last weekend and couldn't summarize the steps any better:

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=19832

I would suggest skipping the seat and gas tank removal on the Hawk. There's enough clearance after removing the front trim pieces to access and remove the valve cover as well as get to the gaps themselves.

I remember that someone else posted here that there was no valve clearance at all on his Hawk when he first opened it up - same for mine. Had to loosen and back off the adjuster to create it. Now it sounds like it should - got that soft, light clicking going on.

The article does a nice job explaining why too little gap is bad thing over time, so if these are shipping here with no gap to start, it's a good thing to check during break-in. It's recommended in the first round of maintenance in the owner's manual. Since CSC put together a really nice write-up for pretty much any 229cc engine, that helps to make it a pretty easy thing to check during that first oil change. It's a 30 minute to an hour job tops.

lanceallenr · 02-01-2016, 11:17 AM

Thanks Torgo,

After reading your post I decided to check my valve clearances. I ended up having zero clearance on both valves. I set mine to 3 thou of an inch (3 thou = 0.0762 mm) a tad outside of recommend my feeler gauges are in thou and couldnt decide 2 thou or 3 thou. After reading the article and what it said about wear make me go with 3 thou.

After performing the adjustment my bike started up with no choke and felt like it had more top end power. I put on 20 miles on the bike and plan to recheck before I ride it again. Before the adjustment it was making no valve ticking noise. Now after the adjustment it was making valve ticking noise.

SpudRider · 02-01-2016, 02:31 PM

Slappy valves are happy valves.

Keep up the good work. Other than frequently changing the engine oil, the best thing you can do to prolong the life of your engine is to maintain the proper valve lash.

fitze · 02-01-2016, 03:43 PM

If I remember, the RPS Hawk valve lash is 0.05mm

2LZ · 02-01-2016, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitze

If I remember, the RPS Hawk valve lash is 0.05mm

On the CG type (pushrod) motors I've been using .05 on the intake and .08 on the exhaust. Seems to work out ok. I'd imagine the exhaust valve runs hotter causing more expansion, would be my guess. Saw this online somewhere.....probably here! LOL!

Mudflap · 02-01-2016, 07:09 PM

On all 3 CG type engines I own, the lash grows as the engine gets warmer. They may not all be that way but I suspect they are.

Weldangrind · 02-02-2016, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2LZ

On the CG type (pushrod) motors I've been using .05 on the intake and .08 on the exhaust. Seems to work out ok. I'd imagine the exhaust valve runs hotter causing more expansion, would be my guess. Saw this online somewhere.....probably here! LOL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudflap

On all 3 CG type engines I own, the lash grows as the engine gets warmer. They may not all be that way but I suspect they are.

Makes perfect sense. I'll try to remember to set the exhaust a little on the looser side next time.

xposur · 05-22-2016, 10:33 PM

I just checked my clearance...
my exhaust side was gliding snugly with .002 inch(.051mm)
and the intake side was a little more loose with barely any friction on the .002 inch

Johnp · 05-23-2016, 12:11 AM

I just did mine yesterday. From the factory it came with ZERO. It was extremely tight... Took about 45 minutes to do it the first time. Probably take 15 next time now that I've done it once.

Sport Rider · 05-23-2016, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnp

I just did mine yesterday. From the factory it came with ZERO. It was extremely tight... Took about 45 minutes to do it the first time. Probably take 15 next time now that I've done it once.

good for you!!! it WILL be easier the next time. I had the tank off while putting the new digital speedo on and decided to go ahead and check them. I had one loose (probably my fault on the last adjustment). it really took me more time to get the feeler gauges and such out than to actually do the adjustment.

Republic · 09-02-2016, 08:53 PM

Checked my clearance today, only about 15 miles on the bike so far and I had zero clearance. I adjusted them to .07 per the CSC guide and I think I overdid it because now its very loud, but it started easier than it ever has. I've lost my daylight so I'll start again tomorrow.

On the drag, should I be able to push the feeler without it bending? Or should I just be able slide it in like a knife and pull it out?

Ariel Red Hunter · 09-02-2016, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Republic

Checked my clearance today, only about 15 miles on the bike so far and I had zero clearance. I adjusted them to .07 per the CSC guide and I think I overdid it because now its very loud, but it started easier than it ever has. I've lost my daylight so I'll start again tomorrow.

On the drag, should I be able to push the feeler without it bending? Or should I just be able slide it in like a knife and pull it out?

I loosen the valve adjuster, slide the feeler guage all the way in, tighten the adjuster to where you can pull the feeler guage part way out, with 2 or 3 pounds of effort. Then tighten the lock nut, and see if it pulls out with the same pressure. Often, until you get the hang of doing this, the locknut tightens the valve to where it takes real effort to get the feeler guage out. So, guess what. You get to do it over again. A couple of times, and you'll know how to do this.

jimwildman · 09-03-2016, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Republic

Checked my clearance today, only about 15 miles on the bike so far and I had zero clearance. I adjusted them to .07 per the CSC guide and I think I overdid it because now its very loud, but it started easier than it ever has. I've lost my daylight so I'll start again tomorrow.

On the drag, should I be able to push the feeler without it bending? Or should I just be able slide it in like a knife and pull it out?

agreed, if the feeler guage just slips right out with no drag at all, your gap islikely bigger than .07.

ive heard alot of figures on the amt of lash needed, mine are set to .05.
its not loud at all.

anything is better than .00

Republic · 09-03-2016, 07:06 AM

As much as I had to turn that adjustment screw, I wonder if my valves were even closing all the way. Thank goodness I read this and checked them ASAP or I KNOW I would have ended up with burnt valves.

Mudflap · 09-03-2016, 07:46 AM

Probably would not have burned the valves because on these engines the valve lash increases as the engine warms up.

01-29-2016, 07:01 PM	#1
Torgo Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Texas Posts: 93	Hawk Valve Clearance I saw this on the TT250 thread and thought I'd copy this here, since for all intents and purposes, it's identical for the Hawk. I just did this myself last weekend and couldn't summarize the steps any better: http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=19832 I would suggest skipping the seat and gas tank removal on the Hawk. There's enough clearance after removing the front trim pieces to access and remove the valve cover as well as get to the gaps themselves. I remember that someone else posted here that there was no valve clearance at all on his Hawk when he first opened it up - same for mine. Had to loosen and back off the adjuster to create it. Now it sounds like it should - got that soft, light clicking going on. The article does a nice job explaining why too little gap is bad thing over time, so if these are shipping here with no gap to start, it's a good thing to check during break-in. It's recommended in the first round of maintenance in the owner's manual. Since CSC put together a really nice write-up for pretty much any 229cc engine, that helps to make it a pretty easy thing to check during that first oil change. It's a 30 minute to an hour job tops.
	1

02-01-2016, 02:31 PM	#3
SpudRider Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Idaho Posts: 25,054	Slappy valves are happy valves. Keep up the good work. Other than frequently changing the engine oil, the best thing you can do to prolong the life of your engine is to maintain the proper valve lash. __________________ Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894
	0

05-23-2016, 12:11 AM	#9
Johnp Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 65	I just did mine yesterday. From the factory it came with ZERO. It was extremely tight... Took about 45 minutes to do it the first time. Probably take 15 next time now that I've done it once. __________________ John P. 2016 Hawk 250 - Black All my mods are documented on my Blog! My Blog \| Google+ \| Twitter \| Facebook
	4

02-01-2016, 11:17 AM	#2
lanceallenr Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 7	Thanks Torgo, After reading your post I decided to check my valve clearances. I ended up having zero clearance on both valves. I set mine to 3 thou of an inch (3 thou = 0.0762 mm) a tad outside of recommend my feeler gauges are in thou and couldnt decide 2 thou or 3 thou. After reading the article and what it said about wear make me go with 3 thou. After performing the adjustment my bike started up with no choke and felt like it had more top end power. I put on 20 miles on the bike and plan to recheck before I ride it again. Before the adjustment it was making no valve ticking noise. Now after the adjustment it was making valve ticking noise.
	1

02-01-2016, 03:43 PM	#4
fitze Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 63	If I remember, the RPS Hawk valve lash is 0.05mm
	0

02-01-2016, 07:09 PM	#6
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,870	On all 3 CG type engines I own, the lash grows as the engine gets warmer. They may not all be that way but I suspect they are.
	1

05-22-2016, 10:33 PM	#8
xposur Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Des Plaines, IL Posts: 85	I just checked my clearance... my exhaust side was gliding snugly with .002 inch(.051mm) and the intake side was a little more loose with barely any friction on the .002 inch
	0

09-02-2016, 08:53 PM	#11
Republic Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 118	Checked my clearance today, only about 15 miles on the bike so far and I had zero clearance. I adjusted them to .07 per the CSC guide and I think I overdid it because now its very loud, but it started easier than it ever has. I've lost my daylight so I'll start again tomorrow. On the drag, should I be able to push the feeler without it bending? Or should I just be able slide it in like a knife and pull it out?
	0

09-03-2016, 07:06 AM	#14
Republic Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 118	As much as I had to turn that adjustment screw, I wonder if my valves were even closing all the way. Thank goodness I read this and checked them ASAP or I KNOW I would have ended up with burnt valves.
	0

09-03-2016, 07:46 AM	#15
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,870	Probably would not have burned the valves because on these engines the valve lash increases as the engine warms up.
	0