Rocker arm check at 15,185 km
Hi all! I got my ’09 Duke 690 at 14,175 km and although the previous owner (Honda/KTM agency manager) personally told me all the proper maintenance had been done every 5,000km, I thought it would be a good idea to inspect the valve clearances and rocker arms around 15,000km considering firstly the problems other have had and secondly an upper noise I’m not comfortable with.
I pulled the valve cover off today and found my exhaust rocker has 0.35 mm axial play; there is also 0.4 mm axial play on the intake rocker. There is no radial play in either rocker, which is a good sign. Both rocker rollers have smooth surfaces to the touch despite cam contact markings on them. There are ever so slight chatter marks on the exhaust rocker roller that I can just about feel when passing over them with my fingernail. Apart from the axial play on both rocker arms, the exhaust roller has 0.25mm axial play and the intake roller has 0.25 mm axial play! Another thing that puzzles me is that both roller turn freely whilst still attached to the cylinder head at top dead centre!?
Do you guys think, all this considered, that I should change the both rocker arms?
I'm going to measure both rocker arms with a micrometer and would like to know what they measure straight from the factory as it seems they come with a certain of amount play when fitted as new! Does anybody know the clearance from factory of each roller, this must be posted so that in future when other Duke owners find "unusual" axial play they know whether it is normal or not!
My valve clearances all seem small...Exhaust valves both between 0.05 and 0.10 mm; Intake valves also between 0.05 and 0.10 mm!
My timing chain looks in good shape, no visible wear, but it seems very tight. Is that normal? That said, when I press the chain, I see the tensioner compressing.
On a different note, I found plenty of dry fine carbon dust in the SAS duct, is that normal? While removing one of the breather hoses to get the valve cover off, I also found a few drops of water! How on earth does that get in there, and do you guys think that’s normal? Some of you mentioned eliminating the SAS, I understand the why but not the how. Anyone care to explain in more detail? Would it mean transferring the breather hose from the cylinder head directly to the air box instead of passing through the SAS valve, or simple blocking it off? Just to mention I’m using an underslung Akrapovic Evolution exhaust apart from that everything else appears to be stock.
Lots of questions, as I really want to get to the bottom of this and have a smooth riding trouble-free Duke. Thanks in advance.