finishing touches, brake & valve question

Hey everyone,

background:

Ive put a lot of work into my 550 over the past few weeks and followed the advice of some of the heavy hitters on this forum and the clymer repair manual. I put on new sprockets and a new chain, new clutch cable, rebuilt the carbs, checked for delamination in the rear brakes, fixed my turn signals, checked my valve clearances, and installed a new sealed battery, new seat, new side covers, and new bulbs for the tach and spedo. the bike starts right up no problem at all.

questions:

1. my valves are WAY off
intake: 0.102, 0.076, 0.063, 0.076 mm spec is .11-.16 mm
exhaust: 0.127, 0.127, 0.127, 0.152 mm spec is 0.16-0.20 mm

Im planning on fixing these as soon as possible (waiting on a valve tool) but I wanted to know if these are bad enough to the point where there may be some damage. there is a clatter sound that comes from somewhere on the bike but its not always there. I was wondering if it might be these valves or if there's something else going on.

2. the front brake is dragging. It's partially engaged to the point where I can still spin the front wheel by hand, but I have to push it along. It wont spin on its own. how do I fix this?

Thanks a lot!

 

Those intakes are a bit worrisome to say the least. You did not mention if there was any popping, or backfire through the carbs. So it may not be to far gone yet. Do not run it anymore until the valves are in spec.

Once you have the valves in spec do a dry/wet compression test on it to verify that you have not burnt a valve, and that the engine is still sound. If it all checks out then you will be fine.

The front brake could be a simple matter of corrosion on the mounting bolts keeping the caliper from releasing fully, or more likely a blocked relief passage in the master cylinder. If the fluid in the master cylinder is not completely 100% clear then you are looking at old contaminated brake fluid, and the system is probably gummed up.

From the obvious lack of maintenance base on the valve specs. I would highly suggest you plan on doing a full rebuild of the front brake system.
Rebuilt master cylinder, and caliper. New Stainless steel lines. All new hardware (mounting bolts, union bolts, copper crush washers). Also check that rear brake for delamination. It is know to happen!!

Ghost

 

The "clatter sound" is normal for the 550s, they have an oil-pressure operated tensioner on the primary chain. At low RPM/low oil pressure, the slack primary tends to "shake" the clutch and transmission, causing the clattering sound.

Running the correct oil and getting the bike properly in tune will greatly alleviate the sound; the smoother the idle, the less you'll hear it.

Those valves aren't tight enough (yet) to have likely been damaged, but I wouldn't run the motor any more until they're in spec.

Once the valves are in spec, you will need to re-vacuum sync the carbs.

Your front brake needs to BE REBUILT. PERIOD, END OF DISCUSSION. No shortcuts, quick fixes--- do it right (or it will force you to go back and do it right anyway.) Your life depends on it.