I am considering checking the valve clearances myself and don't own a set of feeler gauges. For those of you who have performed this task do I want the 12 inch ones, the angled ones, or just a basic set of feeler gauges?
Having only owned and used a set of straight, wide feeler gauges on my CX's screw & lock nut arrangement, I would appreciate additional detail on which angled feeler gauges to order. I see two types. The first is like my straight gauges, but have an angle on the end, and consist of a cluster of maybe a couple dozen sizes which folds into itself. But it doesn't appear they qualify as narrow, which has been recommended here.
The other type, Motion Pro, is a gauge with two thicknesses, one riveted to each end of a center handle. They seem nice and narrow. But, knowing only the clearance spec, but not the actual range of clearances I might find once I get in there, how does one go about knowing which thicknesses to get? I don't see this type sold in sets, only individually for $5 a pop. Suggestions and recommendations?
Having only owned and used a set of straight, wide feeler gauges on my CX's screw & lock nut arrangement, I would appreciate additional detail on which angled feeler gauges to order. I see two types. The first is like my straight gauges, but have an angle on the end, and consist of a cluster of maybe a couple dozen sizes which folds into itself. But it doesn't appear they qualify as narrow, which has been recommended here.
The other type, Motion Pro, is a gauge with two thicknesses, one riveted to each end of a center handle. They seem nice and narrow. But, knowing only the clearance spec, but not the actual range of clearances I might find once I get in there, how does one go about knowing which thicknesses to get? I don't see this type sold in sets, only individually for $5 a pop. Suggestions and recommendations?
It is more important to get a comprehensive set that goes up in 1 thou increments. "Draper 26F expert" for example:-
Blade sizes:
26 imperial blades size: 0.0015, 0.002, 0.0025, 0.003, 0.004, 0.005, 0.006, 0.007, 0.008, 0.009, 0.010, 0.011, 0.012, 0.013, 0.014, 0.015, 0.016, 0.017, 0.018, 0.019, 0.020, 0.021, 0.022, 0.023. 0.024 and 0.025
You can bend or set the blades to suit the job when you see whats required.
I tend to try more than one blade and write down a qualified value, plus for a loose fit and minus for a tight fit or occasionally add a .0005 if I think it is halfway between two. Then I take this into account when choosing the required shim.
Regards Roadster
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The CBR250R cylinder head has plenty of room to be able to use the standard width feeler gauges. As roadster says above, you want a full range set of gauges. A feeler gauge set with flat blades can be bent as needed to fit under the rocker arm, or you can just buy an angled set. Either set will work fine.
You will have arrived at an accurate measurement when you have a slight drag on the blade, with the next larger size blade being too thick to fit between the shim and rocker arm. In Machinist's lingo, it's known as a "Go" or "No Go" measurement procedure.
The narrow gauges, like the individual ones from Motion Pro, are made for use on typical air cooled engines with the small round tappet covers where there is less room to work with in getting the feeler gauge blade under the tappet adjuster. Also, on these engines with a screw type tappet adjuster, the valve clearance specification is generally given as a fixed value, with no +/- tolerance range as it is not needed for these tappet adjusters, so for these engines a "full range" feeler gauge set is not really necessary. For example on a Honda XR650L, you only need two gauge sizes to correctly set the clearance - 0.004" for the intakes, and 0.005" for the exhaust as there is no +/- variance given for that particular engine.
You can certainly use the individual Motion Pro gauges on an engine like the CBR's shim under bucket arrangement... you would just need to invest a small fortune in those gauges (at five bucks a pop), to have the range of sizes you will need.
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Last edited by MotoMike; 05-20-2013 at 10:34 AM.
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I used an angled set.
Mine are not rivetd to either end of the "storage handle" but nut and bolted together instead.
That allows me to take out just the feelers that I want,wayyy easier on that little CBR head.
I suppose if yours are riveted through the handle you could drill out the rivets and replace them with bolts and nuts(I'd recommend self locking nuts so you can set the tightness of the pivots).
I used an angled set.
Mine are not rivetd to either end of the "storage handle" but nut and bolted together instead.
That allows me to take out just the feelers that I want,wayyy easier on that little CBR head.
I suppose if yours are riveted through the handle you could drill out the rivets and replace them with bolts and nuts(I'd recommend self locking nuts so you can set the tightness of the pivots).
Feeler Gauge Recommendation
