cegan09 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 In my attempts to locate sources of noises and problems, i popped the valve cover off to check that the cam area was getting oil. Oil is getting there, though i don't know if enough. I'm concerned about my cams, as they show wear, and more than i think should be reasonable. Thoughts? Does this point to a larger problem? I'm retiring the bike for the season (not that i've ridden it much), and starting to do my tear down, which will include the engine, so i'm gathering what i need to check/replace. I do have a set of new cams, which will help if these look really bad. All the pictures i took (and all the ones relating to the bike) are here, but some select ones are below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirriePete Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 33 year old XS500? I'd say they're looking remarkably good for the age, but (you knew there'd be a "but" in there, didn't you?) once the surface hardening has gone it's rapidly downhill. So .... if you've got a new set of cams lying around, pop 'em in. I'd also take a good long look at the rocker faces while you're in there, wear on the lobes is usually mirrored here and will knacker your new cams in double quick time. Then get your old cams reprofiled and resurfaced, ready to swap out in another 30-odd years..... You're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegan09 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks. I realized some wear was to be expected, but i was concerned at the ammount. I realize the bike is 33 years old, and it has 23,000 miles, but that doesnt' seem like normal wear for the miles. Granted i'm making this theory based on my experience with cars. I believe this engine has been rebuilt once before, but i do not think that covered the cams and rockers. I just want to make sure this doesn't point to a larger problem. Guess its just one more think to investigate and fix this winter. I guess when i get the engine open i'll know if i'm rebuilding this one, or building up the spare i have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted October 22, 2009 Moderator Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks. I realized some wear was to be expected, but i was concerned at the ammount. I realize the bike is 33 years old, and it has 23,000 miles, but that doesnt' seem like normal wear for the miles. Granted i'm making this theory based on my experience with cars. I believe this engine has been rebuilt once before, but i do not think that covered the cams and rockers. I just want to make sure this doesn't point to a larger problem. Guess its just one more think to investigate and fix this winter. I guess when i get the engine open i'll know if i'm rebuilding this one, or building up the spare i have. From the sludge and the staining i would say she has been running on poor oil, or spent a long time in the same stuff. Although if it has been run at the wrong clearance then the cam would have been hammerd (the tapping sound)by the follower. The suzuki i've just sold was 13 years old at around 25000 miles and you could barely see the wear, it was more of a polish with NO sludge, even any staining. But that had lived in Rock synthesis4 its entire life changed every 4-5000mls. In all that mileage (i owned it from 1800mls) it had only ever needed 4 shims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted October 22, 2009 Moderator Share Posted October 22, 2009 Tend to agree with Cynic... Use good oil & change often with those new cams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegan09 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 I can tell you that a previous owner probably had some oil in it that wasn't quite right. I think they tried to use car oil for a while (i know you aren't supposed to, first thing i did was change it). I forget what brand is in there now, but it is decent bike specific oil. Ran it for maybe 300 miles (2 rides) and changed it again. The valve clearance was adjusted very recently, and he said a few were off, but he didn't mention wear. Looks like i'll be learning how to set the valve clearance myself when i put the new cams in. I'm actually looking forward to it, i haven't torn down an engine in a while, i quite enjoy it. Thanks guys, i always appreciate the help, even if i'm bad at checking back for the answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Welch Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I can tell you that a previous owner probably had some oil in it that wasn't quite right. I think they tried to use car oil for a while (i know you aren't supposed to, first thing i did was change it). I forget what brand is in there now, but it is decent bike specific oil. Ran it for maybe 300 miles (2 rides) and changed it again. The valve clearance was adjusted very recently, and he said a few were off, but he didn't mention wear. Looks like i'll be learning how to set the valve clearance myself when i put the new cams in. I'm actually looking forward to it, i haven't torn down an engine in a while, i quite enjoy it. Thanks guys, i always appreciate the help, even if i'm bad at checking back for the answers. Actually that's one of the biggest points of contention about oil in motorcycles. Frankly from most of the research I have seen, the main issues would be with with non-mc oil would be viscosity loss because it's running through the gears, and clutch slippage because of friction modifiers in the oil. My opinion is that oil for use in diesels will protect properly and most of them don't have the friction modifiers so are probably good there. That said, I can buy MC specific oil for just slightly more than normal oil, so I do just because I want my clutch to not slip. Than again I'm not married to using MC oil, and if they want to much more than for the normal oil, I'll just go with the diesel specific stuff, got over 50,000 on my 400 that way with very little wear, and 80,000 on my old engine in the 1100 (although I had to replace it because the PO ran it with gas in the oil and knackered the bearings.) The replacement engine will always have good clean oil changed regularly though, so I expect it to go in excess of 100,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegan09 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 I've seen both sides in my research as well. Personally i stick to MC oil, simply to eliminate the clutch slip issues. I believe a previous owner was using car oil, and not consistant car oil. Meaning, mixing brands, synth and dinosour, not changing as often as it should be, etc. Granted, i don't know much of the bikes history. I'll do my best to clean up everything when i tear it down. I'm starting that process today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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