RSV4 valve adjustment w/motor in the chassis

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Published on 06-20-2012 03:47 PM Number of Views: 51095

51 Comments

This is not intended to be a step by step how to V4 valve adj procedure, just some observations that may help others.

I’ve checked and adj the valves on a few customers RSV4s, but until yesterday I’ve not had to adj the front bank, only the rear.

This latest bike was a shocker, with only 2,900 miles, 9 out of the 16 valves were out of specs towards the loose side.
Some were .05 - .10mm beyond the specs but one IN valve on #2 cyl was at .65mm clearance, that's 1/2mm beyond tolerance

This was the first V4 motor that I had to remove all four cams to adj everything back to specs.
I found out that the Aprilia supplied cam timing/alignment tools were not designed to fit on the front bank of cylinders with the motor mounted in the chassis.
Bellow are photos of the modifications I had to make in order to fit the alignment tools on the front bank of cylinders.

This latest bike was also the first valve adj I’ve performed on an APRC motor, there is one important step not mentioned in the service manual.

The early motors had one-piece EX cam gears, while the later motors use a spring loaded two piece gear designed to reduce gear lash noise, same as used on Shiver motors.

Basically, the new two piece EX cam gears are sandwiched together with three springs between them, the springs apply pressure that cause the EX cam gears to rotate against each other.
This preloads the gear teeth to eliminate any play where the IN and EX cams mesh together, thus reducing noise.

What is not mentioned in the service manual is that before removing the EX cam you should insert a 6mm pin to lock the EX gear halves in position, thus preventing the springs from forcing them apart.

Though not completely necessary, inserting the lock pin makes it a lot easier when re-assembling the cams and aligning up the timing marks.

One last thing I found out is that having three of each size valve shim is not enough.
For this motor I needed four 2.70mm shims and I had to run down to my local KTM dealer and buy that fourth shim.

Photos showing cam gear holding tool modified/ground down to fit on front cyl bank, crank locking pin modified to fit on LH side without removing flywheel and cam gear alignment pin bent to clear frame rail on frt bank.

I've attached a valve log sheet (my wife made it for me) that I use to take notes and write down the clearance values with the shim sizes I used.
Print it and record your adjustments so you can compare them to the next valve adj in 12k miles.

RSV4 Valve adj log.pdf

_{This article was originally published in forum thread:

FYI: RSV4 valve adj w/motor in the chassis
started by
amauri} _{View original post}

51 Comments

GreaseSnake - 06-21-2012, 02:42 AM
- Reply
When I havn't got the proper locking tools I use my indicator for the same purpose.
Attachment 195357

some brands have rediculous prices on their special tools.

amauri - 06-21-2012, 10:14 AM
- Reply
Originally Posted by GreaseSnake

When I havn't got the proper locking tools I use my indicator for the same purpose.

some brands have rediculous prices on their special tools.

There's certainly more than one way to do the job.

Using a dial indicator to find TDC and then mounting a degree wheel on the crank to find the cam lobe centers before disassembly is certainly possible.
But much more time consuming and not practical with the motor in the chassis.

Another benefit to using the Aprilia tools is that the motor is not timed with any of the pistons set at TDC.
The tools lock the crank in a position where none of the eight cam lobes on the bank being timed are compressing the valve springs.
This makes it a lot easier when repositioning the cams, torquing the bearing towers, and inserting the timing pin.

To time the front cylinders #2 and #4, you start with #1 at TDC and then rotate another 150° before locking the crank, lock the cams, setting the tenioner and finally torquing the bolts.
After timing #2 and 4, rotate the crank 300 degrees and time #1 and 3.

It's all a bit confusing at first, and as you can imagine the Aprilia supplied tools save a lot of time.

amauri - 07-02-2012, 02:57 PM
- Reply
Some more FYI,

Worked on two more bikes this week with valve adjustments due.

-2010 R model with 20k miles, found 8 valves a little out of specs but one Intake was so tight that a .001" feeler gauge would not go in.

-2010 Factory with 11k miles all but two EX valves were right on spec.

Important:
Bellow is a photo of the o-ring on the cam bearing towers that must be replaced to prevent an oil leak thru the spark plug holes (the parts book calls it a dust seal BTW).
The list of gaskets needed for a proper valve adj:

2-) 897442 v/c gasket
6-) 898410 bolt gasket
4-) 857074 plug hole to cover gasket
4-) 857043 cam tower o-ring

cantcode86 - 07-02-2012, 04:22 PM
- Reply
Amauri, could you please measure how much you had to cut off of special tool 020865?

Thanks in advance.

Westy - 07-02-2012, 05:32 PM
- Reply
Any chance you'd like to sell kits of these modified tools so those of us that live 3+ hours from a dealership can do the job without destroying our motors?

amauri - 07-02-2012, 10:25 PM
- Reply
Originally Posted by cantcode86

Amauri, could you please measure how much you had to cut off of special tool 020865?

To be honest with you, I didn't take any measurements on how much I had to trim the tool.
I just used a 4" grinder and a flat file to remove enough material so the tool would slide into position, not that much work really.

Originally Posted by Westy

Any chance you'd like to sell kits of these modified tools so those of us that live 3+ hours from a dealership can do the job without destroying our motors?

If you’re up for a challenge I suppose I could make another set, PM me if you decide to go this route and we'll see what we can do.

Trinity666 - 07-09-2012, 04:36 PM
- Reply
lookin at one of those cut away v4 pics it dawns on me my issue may be much simpler. the stethascope says outer front left, fuel and power dont match a valve issue as their fine. well whats left, broken spring or failed tentioner.

it doesnt matter shes getting fixed on the 14th, but if its a broken spring could the rod drop and scar the piston? would spring bits show on my drain magnet as ulrta thin silver shinny metal shavings (which iv had)? what could fail on the hydrolic tentioner? i imagine the vains would be vary small and may plug with gunk but cant c it having a lot of parts to fail.

I know its a mine field but just a little insight or experience would help a lot, plz if u have had any dealings in this area comment on this post or just a piece of it.

vtrandall - 07-10-2012, 10:08 AM
- Reply
Even though I don't have an V4, I think that this is one of the most interesting and educational threads here on the forum. I love reading about the little 'tricks' that end up making a seemingly uber-difficult job a little bit easier.

If I ever pick up a Tuono V4, it truly seems like it would be more than worth it to truck it down to Amauri to work on....and I'm up in NorCal!

duc73 - 07-10-2012, 10:05 PM
- Reply
Originally Posted by vtrandall

Even though I don't have an V4, I think that this is one of the most interesting and educational threads here on the forum. I love reading about the little 'tricks' that end up making a seemingly uber-difficult job a little bit easier.

If I ever pick up a Tuono V4, it truly seems like it would be more than worth it to truck it down to Amauri to work on....and I'm up in NorCal!

AGREE

vtrandall - 07-10-2012, 10:39 PM
- Reply
and.....props to Amauri for taking the time to type all this info out.

god damn....how the hell were motorcycles kept running before the internet?

zgriders - 07-11-2012, 08:26 AM
- Reply
Originally Posted by vtrandall

Even though I don't have an V4, I think that this is one of the most interesting and educational threads here on the forum. I love reading about the little 'tricks' that end up making a seemingly uber-difficult job a little bit easier.

If I ever pick up a Tuono V4, it truly seems like it would be more than worth it to truck it down to Amauri to work on....and I'm up in NorCal!

We are very lucky to have Amauri, who just recently performed the valve adjustment (and the complete maintenance work, including the Ohlins fork oil/oil-seal change) on my Factory...I'm not sure how he does his magic, but the bike now seems so much smoother in power delivery with less vibration.

Thanks again Amauri!

scott2ride - 07-14-2012, 06:56 PM
- Reply
Hey Amauri.

Very very helpful thread. This was going to be a job for next month so Im gald I didnt tackle it without the Aprilia tools... and your advice

How have you found the timing to be on the v4?

Any suggestions on timing to get the best from the motor?

philcarson - 12-03-2012, 02:53 AM
- Reply
Originally Posted by amauri

Some more FYI,

Worked on two more bikes this week with valve adjustments due.

-2010 R model with 20k miles, found 8 valves a little out of specs but one Intake was so tight that a .001" feeler gauge would not go in.

-2010 Factory with 11k miles all but two EX valves were right on spec.

Important:
Bellow is a photo of the o-ring on the cam bearing towers that must be replaced to prevent an oil leak thru the spark plug holes (the parts book calls it a dust seal BTW).
The list of gaskets needed for a proper valve adj:

2-) 897442 v/c gasket
6-) 898410 bolt gasket
4-) 857074 plug hole to cover gasket
4-) 857043 cam tower o-ring

Hi Amauri
got my covers off at the moment and have got 4 clearances that need adjustment (all tight)
My question is having read the manual is it absolutely necessary to use the sprocket carrier tool? Havent got access to them and cant borrow any, so can i suspend the chain and sprocket to keep it tight on the drive sprocket below while i remove the cams. Once clearances are done id obviously use the timing pins to set all in the correct position

many thanks in advance

Best wishes

Phil Carson

amauri - 12-04-2012, 12:14 PM
- Reply
Phil,

Not trying to be arrogant but if you have enough experience with the insides of m/c engines, you should be able to answer that yourself.

The first thing that you will have difficulty with is the hydraulic timing chain tensioner on each bank of cylinders.
The Aprilia sprocket carrier tool holds the tension on the chain so you don't have to deal with re-tensioning.

If you don't use that carrier tool, the tensioner will pop out to maximum extension as soon as the chain is loosened.
I've not tried it this way, but it is possible to use a steel rod and pry/compress the tensioner while you place the chain wheels in position.

Another option is to remove the tensioner and lock it in the fully compressed position, that should make re-assembly easier. Aprilia makes another special tool for installing the locked tensioner back in place way down inside the chain well, see photo.

philcarson - 12-07-2012, 04:40 AM
- Reply
Originally Posted by amauri

Phil,

Not trying to be arrogant but if you have enough experience with the insides of m/c engines, you should be able to answer that yourself.

The first thing that you will have difficulty with is the hydraulic timing chain tensioner on each bank of cylinders.
The Aprilia sprocket carrier tool holds the tension on the chain so you don't have to deal with re-tensioning.

If you don't use that carrier tool, the tensioner will pop out to maximum extension as soon as the chain is loosened.
I've not tried it this way, but it is possible to use a steel rod and pry/compress the tensioner while you place the chain wheels in position.

Another option is to remove the tensioner and lock it in the fully compressed position, that should make re-assembly easier. Aprilia makes another special tool for installing the locked tensioner back in place way down inside the chain well, see photo.

Hi Amauri

thanks for your comments - I suppose if the tensioner pops out then its a head off job - Ill make a gear carrying tool this weekend and be safe

regards

Phil

dtreble - 02-18-2013, 06:46 AM
- Reply
Amauri, great tip!
I've at the moment a RSV4 Factory 2009 at my shop, it's been running 1450km (as new)
But I've decided that's a good idea to check valve clearance.
1 in valve was at 0 space! totally 4 was out of specs, to the minus side.
Thinking of setting the gap to the max specs...
Is it usuall that the gap goes bigger or getting tighter as it runs? Whats your opinion on this?
Thanks for doing a great job.

ZR1000A1 - 11-28-2013, 07:30 AM
- Reply
Just a note:
If you have Kokusan flywheel, there is no way to insert crankshaft pin (even modified) without removing the flywheel first.

You'll need Flywheel extractor 020913Y to adjust front valves on these engines

amauri - 11-28-2013, 12:59 PM
- Reply
You will also need the flywheel holding tool # 020914y to loosen and re-torque the flywheel bolt.

With the larger flywheel, we now have two versions of the tools:

020914y and 020913y for the new style Kokusan flywheel

020847y and 020848y for the early Mitsubishi flywheel

PatrickBateman - 05-02-2014, 04:57 PM
- Reply
I am attempting to fab a cam gear holder tool. Anyone care to take some measurements of theirs?

Also, does the wire harness running between the rear head and frame need to come out in your experience?

Thanks in advance.