Valve adjustment tool ST 1300

[winston66]

 
Winston 66.
Northampton.
Wonders?
 The local bike shop has recently quoted me about $1000-00 to check and adjust the valve clearance shims if the  valve clearances are out of specification.
 The beast is an 03  ST1300 and has clocked up 110.000 klms and the PO is delightfully vague about any maintainence that was done to the top end
So this will be another job that I will tackel myself.,
 In order to do this I will need to obtain the necessary tool in order to depress the valve stem in order to change out the shims if any adjustment is needed.
 Can anyone give me a heads up as to where I can obtain the necessary bits (Specificaly the tool) and also where to obtain some shims if needed ?I do not object to purchasing specalised tools especially when I can make such a huge saving  on labour costs from the stealers.
 is there a specific type (brand) (style) of shim needed or is there a general type of profile that will suit.
Thanks in advance for any information.
Cheers
Winston 66
Norehampton
 

[STeveo]

Have seen valve shim kits on ebay (1100 section) for around $80.00 plus postage from US.

 

[saaz]

The valve shim kits are common for a lot of bikes.  I bought the shim kit so that I did not have to go down the Honda shop to swap shims only during opeining hours.  The kits pays for itself in less than one workshop visit.

I have not checked, but assume the ST13 is the same as the ST11 and other modern Hondas with the shims under the valve buckets. So the cams have to come out in order the lift the valve buckets and replace the shims.  No big deal as long as you mark on the gears how the cams go back in

On my much older GS1000 the shims are above bucket, so a removal tool is helpful.

[winston66]

 
Winston 66 says,
 Thanks for the input ,guys
 It appears that I am wrong in assuming that the valve adjustment procedure is the same as what is required for my Yamaha Royal Star.
 I see now by consulting the service manual that in order to change out the shims it is necessary to remove the associated cam shaft.(as you said Saaz)
The procedure seems quite straight forward , but quite time consuming.
So I guess that the obvious thing to do is to investigate the present amount of valve clearences in the first instance.
 So thanks in advance for any input and or little jewles of wisdom.
Cheers
Winston66
 

[saaz]

Its not very often you have to actually change a shim, and I don't bother always checking mine at the recommended intervals either.

The clearances tend to tighten, so best to set them at the upper limit. You may see mention of shims in .025 intervals, but realistically they are in .05 intervals in shims kits. from the factory there are .025 shims, you may be able to get one when doing a swap with a workshop if they have taken a .025 interval shim out of a bike. I came across only 2 of these on the ST1100.