Valve Adjustment Fail: Lifan Xpect

70fstbck · 03-31-2022, 12:03 AM

OK. I’m starting a new thread here because 1) I’m really frustrated with myself. 2) I’m not finding all the answers anywhere else and 3) it seems there’s some misinformation going around and I really want to get this straight.

Last September I got a Lifan Expect through Powersports Max. Overall. A good purchase experience. Before even starting, I changed the oil to a high zinc blend for break in. I rode the bike 200 mi without going over 50. I changed the oil at 200 mi and proceeded with normal operation. From start up to 709 mi, it ran great if only a bit slow as I never got over 60 on flat road.

At 709 mi, I changed the oil again and it continued to run well. At this point, I decided to adjust the valves to see if I could get a bit more power. This is where things went bad.

I turned the engine to TDC and removed the valve cover. I did this w/o pulling the gas tank. The valves were very tight and really didn’t move at all. I adjusted the intake valve to .03 mm and the exhaust to .05 mm (as in the owners manual) and cranked the engine over with the spark plug disconnected to make sure there were no problems. It seemed to be good, so I reassembled and started the bike to let it run. Now I can hear the valves tick, it lost power and started to smoke. I shut it off and wrote this post. Obviously, I did something wrong.

Has anyone else had this happen? Everywhere I looked, this seemed to be a straight forward job, yet I’m left very frustrated as I took my bike from running fine to a real problem. Maybe someone else has had this experience. Looking forward to some conversation. Maybe the light will come on and I’ll get it straightened out. Thanks in advance for relaying your valve adjustment experience.

03-31-2022, 12:03 AM	#1
70fstbck Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 8	Valve Adjustment Fail: Lifan Xpect OK. I’m starting a new thread here because 1) I’m really frustrated with myself. 2) I’m not finding all the answers anywhere else and 3) it seems there’s some misinformation going around and I really want to get this straight. Last September I got a Lifan Expect through Powersports Max. Overall. A good purchase experience. Before even starting, I changed the oil to a high zinc blend for break in. I rode the bike 200 mi without going over 50. I changed the oil at 200 mi and proceeded with normal operation. From start up to 709 mi, it ran great if only a bit slow as I never got over 60 on flat road. At 709 mi, I changed the oil again and it continued to run well. At this point, I decided to adjust the valves to see if I could get a bit more power. This is where things went bad. I turned the engine to TDC and removed the valve cover. I did this w/o pulling the gas tank. The valves were very tight and really didn’t move at all. I adjusted the intake valve to .03 mm and the exhaust to .05 mm (as in the owners manual) and cranked the engine over with the spark plug disconnected to make sure there were no problems. It seemed to be good, so I reassembled and started the bike to let it run. Now I can hear the valves tick, it lost power and started to smoke. I shut it off and wrote this post. Obviously, I did something wrong. Has anyone else had this happen? Everywhere I looked, this seemed to be a straight forward job, yet I’m left very frustrated as I took my bike from running fine to a real problem. Maybe someone else has had this experience. Looking forward to some conversation. Maybe the light will come on and I’ll get it straightened out. Thanks in advance for relaying your valve adjustment experience.
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