Valve clearances on an XJ550 Maxim

I just finished replacing the shims on my bike, and I guess I knew this while I was measuring, but two of the exhaust valves are now at .203. That is out of spec, but I guess I was on the fence on which direction to err on, and I thought I had read somewhere on here that the wider end of the tolerance is better. But the more I think about it seems as if the tighter end would be better for performance and valve health, because it would allow the valves to open more, right? It also says in my manual to shoot more towards the tighter tolerance for better performance. But I guess since the valves seat more over time they will work their way into spec. Any suggestions on this?

 

Leave it as is................assuming your measurement is .203mm (rather than .203"). The spec for exhaust valves is .16 - .20mm, so .203mm is just barely over, and will soon wear itself down into spec (the valve clearances close up as the valve seat wear).

 

Haha, the answer I wanted to hear, even though I really don't mind pulling out those shims…
Thanks for your help, now I can move on to the carbs.
And thanks for the parts too! xj4ever.com 4ever!