Good evening all and thanks for taking the time to read/help,
I purchased a purpose built 2009 CRF450R supermoto last October and just recently had the chance to take it out for the very first time ~3 weeks ago. With the riding season coming up quickly I wanted to get a round turn on all maintenance items I wasn't sure of with one of them being the valve clearance. I at least wanted to check them to document clearances. The clearances I measured were as follows:
Exhaust: L: 0.010"/0.254mm R: 0.011"/0.279mm
Intake: L: 0.003"/0.076mm R: 0.006"/0.152mm
With everything except the left intake in spec I decided to change it out. I used the formula:
New Shim Thickness = (Recorded Valve Clearance - Specified Valve Clearance) + Old Shim Thickness.
or,
(0.076mm - 0.152mm) + 2.1 = 2.024mm, so I ordered a 2.00mm and 2.05mm HC shims and decided to drop the 2.00mm shim in to see if that was the magic number.
In doing so, I knocked the screwdriver and vice grips I had set up releasing the pressure on the cam chain tensioner. I quickly put it all back together but I'm thinking I'm off a tooth or more on the bottom end of the chain.
I've gotten it all back together, torqued back down, and cam chain tightened back up and am getting readings where the exhaust clearances are extremely tight ~0.003" and the intake clearances are extremely loose ~0.011". I've tried lining up the timing as far as the factory service manual goes (yes I do have one and still need help) and can't get it right for some reason. The cam gear is an APE adjustable gear and doesn't have the nice lines across it like the stock gear does. It does have two dots and I have those lined up with the head and cam journal but still no cigar. I've tried advancing/retarding a tooth or two teeth in both directions and still can't get much of a difference on clearances.
Any ideas on what I could do to remedy this or something I may have overlooked? I'm about to pull my hair out over it.