69 450 scrambler valve adjustment

[wmpowell]

hello, well finally got my bike delivered.
started 1st kick! engine sounds a little noisy, want to check the valve adjustments.
I have some books but can't find the specs for the 450 scrambler.
also the valves uses shims on top of valve stems, I live in Kingman AZ so may be
a issue to find some. the bike has 5089 original miles.
thankful any help.

[Duccout]

Hi,

Congrats on the new bike. The valve shims are the same as fitted to a modern Ducati that has 8mm valve stems, so we are talking about 620 Multis and Monsters, or 750/900SS, so if you have a Ducati dealership near you then you are OK. As for valve clearances, it depends what cam is fitted; I believe that the Scrambler came with a 'white' cam, which the book lists as 2 thou inlet and 4 thou exhaust, but other cams have larger clearances...... It may be advisable to go with 4 thou and 6 thou to be safe.

Cheers,

Colin

[Bevel bob]

I think you are right to recommend larger than 2 thou for the inlet. When i used to ride a Mach 1 and use its revs the inlet valve clearance would regularly close up as the either the seat got hammered in or valve stretched !!.

[Ventodue]

<snip> I have some books but can't find the specs for the 450 scrambler.

(In which case I fear you may have the wrong books ... )

0.05 - 0.10mm.

(I've no idea what this talk of 'thous' is. Must be owners of cranky British iron ... )

Sources:
March 1969 Owner's handbook.
January 1970 Owner's handbook
May 1972 Owner's handbook
December 1969 Supplement to Workshop manual
etc etc

I note that the Motociclismo "Guida al restauro ed alla manutenzione della Scrambler" allocates the smaller clearance to the inlet valve and the larger to the exhaust. Which seems reasonable.

[wmpowell]

thanks for the replies... gonna do oil change, and valve adjustment if needed.
using valvoline vr1 20w50 conventional racing oil seems to be a good choice as I live in
northern Arizona.