Tick tick clunk!

[blaine]

TDC means Top Dead Center.When the piston is at it's highest point in the cylinder & valves are closed.As stated in a 4 stroke engine the piston goes up & down 4 times for every cycle.Intake(piston going down) Compression(piston coming up) Power(piston going down) Exhaust(piston going up) Hence 4 strokes.Where the "T" is not as important as you think.As long as the both valves are closed, (nose of the cam facing 180 away from the stems)You can go ahead & adjust your valves.No need to worry about the timing marks.Hope this helps.

[Goose51683]

Well ill be damned. That's like a huge freakin part of the puzzle. I haven't had a chance to look at the bike this weekend but this is something I will definitely check. I know I did
Not verify the actual piston position when I set the valves last time. I put it at the t mark and went to work. Thank you so much. I let you all know what I find.

[jonathan180iq]

I do feel like you're off by a whole turn... Like I said, that's just gut. I believe you probably seated the valves and seals just fine.

You're piston is probably on the compression stroke and one of the valves is open - hence no compression. If you just used the "T" mark, without verifying that you were at the right stage in the stroke cycle, then this is almost certainly what happened.

[Goose51683]

At the t mark, verified the piston is at the top
Of the stroke, adjusted the valves. Seems to have more compression but still not firing. Is there any other way to verify the valves are completely seating

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Goose51683

At the t mark, verified the piston is at the top
Of the stroke, adjusted the valves. Seems to have more compression but still not firing. Is there any other way to verify the valves are completely seating

Did you verify that the valves were closed by looking to see if the nose of the can was facing 180 degrees away from the valve stem.That way you know that the valves are closed.

[JohnC]

When the piston is coming up to TDC (Top Dead Center) on the compression stroke, air should be forced out the plug hole. If you adjusted them incorrectly, thjis may not happen. When the piston comes to TDC on the exhaust stroke, air is forced out the exhaust, but it is harder to detect. The piston must be at the top of the compression stroke when you adjust the valves. If you adjusted them at the top of the exhaust stroke they will not open properly or at the correct time and the engine will not run. If you adjusted them on the incorrect stroke, the clearance will be bigger (huge) on the correct stroke. So, rotate the engine one complete turn so the TDC mark comes up again and check them. If the clearance is too big, readjust them. Then they should be correct.

[jonathan180iq]

Originally Posted by JohnC

So, rotate the engine one complete turn so the TDC mark comes up again and check them. If the clearance is too big, readjust them. Then they should be correct.

:rawk:

[JohnC]

By the way, the easiest way to check them is to get a feeler gauge that is the minimum and another that is the maximum for the valve in question. The min must fit in and the max should not. To be a real pro, get a set of feelers with a (roughly) 30 degree bend on the tip and take it apart. Make up pairs, min and max, and fasten then together with a small nut and screw.

Originally Posted by blaine

verify that the valves were closed by looking to see if the nose of the can was facing 180 degrees away from the valve stem.

Since there are rockers involved, I think the cam lobe will face away from the rocker cam follower, but I've never actually looked at one...

If you are on the wrong stroke, both valves will (should) be partially open, so if you adjust them here, you need to first adjust out all the "open" then add the clearance, so the valves will then open late, close early, not open very far, and have huge clearance when closed.

[Goose51683]

Thanks everyone.

Last night I adjusted my valves, rolled through till the next time I hit the T mark, adjusted them again, rolled to the T mark and made sure that my adjustments stayed right on. So I am pretty sure that my valves have the proper clearance right now.

Engine is still not firing though. I am borrowing another compression tester today so I can get some numbers from that up here soon.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by Goose51683

I adjusted my valves, rolled through till the next time I hit the T mark, adjusted them again, rolled to the T mark and made sure that my adjustments stayed right on.

I think you are still confused. You should not expect to get the same clearance every 360 degrees, only every 720 degrees. When the piston is at TDC on the compression stroke the valves are closed and should have the published clearance between the tip of the valve stem and the rocker arm. If you rotate the crank 360 degrees the piston will be at TDC at the end of the exhaust stroke. The exhaust valve is closing and the intake valve is opening. The rocker arms are pushing on the valve stems and there will be no clearance. If you adjust them so they have clearance on the wrong stroke then when you rotate the crank to the correct stroke the clearance will be excessive.