So as you all know I sold my Honda and within the next couple hours, I had a 2008 ltr450 sitting in my shed. I rode it home in a blizzard, got no traction on the way home (bald 18" tires) since there was a couple inches of ice over the blacktop and froze my hands off on the way. I let my brother take it to his shop and do all the stuff I'd rather not do because I'm a bit lazy like adjusting the valves, change the oil, clean the throttle body and stuff like that. I paid $2300 for it, the guy cut me a deal since I've known him and have been good friends for a while.
Anyway, I ran into few couple problems. One of the oil drain bolts leaks and only threads in right when it decides to. The exhaust cam journals were all scraped up do to the cam cap being loose for whatever reason I do not know. Then with my luck, pulled the spark plug cap off and it fell apart. That is all I have been hit with so far.
I put some valve lapping compound on the cam where it meets the journal and put the cap on, pressed on the cap, and rotated the cam back and forth for a couple minutes. I then used a plastigauge to measure the clearance between the cam and the journal (service manual says a max service limit of .006 inches) and I started at .002 inches after the first try. After about 4 or 5 sessions of grueling cam rotations and plastigauge measuring, I ended up at about .0035 to .004 which is where I want to stop if the scrapes aren't noticeable by feel. So that fixes that, it ran the way it was but I didn't want to risk something catching and stopping the cam which would most likely stuff a valve into my piston.
I haven't messed with the drain bolt yet, but the way my brother made it sound (I haven't assessed the issue yet) it is just crap in the threads messing up the bolts, and the threads on the case are fine. I'll take a look at it this weekend.
Here is what I have found on the quad:
Oval Yoshi RS-5 slip on
Cherrybomb
Pro Taper handlebars
ProDesign Pro Flow kit w/ UNI filter
AMS beadlocks
AC (I think) bumper and nerf bars
Pro Armour grab bar and tether
Start button mod
Here she is after I rode it home.
Here is the damage before I cleaned the journals up with valve lapping compound, look at the exhaust side and compare it to the intake.
I've already got some goodies to install. I'll get some more pics when I bring it back to the house!
Anyway, I ran into few couple problems. One of the oil drain bolts leaks and only threads in right when it decides to. The exhaust cam journals were all scraped up do to the cam cap being loose for whatever reason I do not know. Then with my luck, pulled the spark plug cap off and it fell apart. That is all I have been hit with so far.
I put some valve lapping compound on the cam where it meets the journal and put the cap on, pressed on the cap, and rotated the cam back and forth for a couple minutes. I then used a plastigauge to measure the clearance between the cam and the journal (service manual says a max service limit of .006 inches) and I started at .002 inches after the first try. After about 4 or 5 sessions of grueling cam rotations and plastigauge measuring, I ended up at about .0035 to .004 which is where I want to stop if the scrapes aren't noticeable by feel. So that fixes that, it ran the way it was but I didn't want to risk something catching and stopping the cam which would most likely stuff a valve into my piston.
I haven't messed with the drain bolt yet, but the way my brother made it sound (I haven't assessed the issue yet) it is just crap in the threads messing up the bolts, and the threads on the case are fine. I'll take a look at it this weekend.
Here is what I have found on the quad:
Oval Yoshi RS-5 slip on
Cherrybomb
Pro Taper handlebars
ProDesign Pro Flow kit w/ UNI filter
AMS beadlocks
AC (I think) bumper and nerf bars
Pro Armour grab bar and tether
Start button mod
Here she is after I rode it home.
Here is the damage before I cleaned the journals up with valve lapping compound, look at the exhaust side and compare it to the intake.
I've already got some goodies to install. I'll get some more pics when I bring it back to the house!