Valve lash adjustment?

[Sleeper]

So I got a couple of '04 400ex's and after 20 hrs riding you are supposed to adjust the valves. Well I have the honda manual and I followed it to a T. Rotating the crank counter clockwise to the T mark and checking the clearance. Well It is supposed to be between .004 and .005. The lowest my feeler gauges go is .004 and it will not fit. So I left well enough alone. The thing is I find it strange that they do not have you check the clearance at the lowest point on the cam lobe. Has anyone done this with the same results?? Whats your take?

Thanks
Sleeper

[Crazy400EX]

no i'ts so much easier at the top.........as far as your clearence....if it doesnt fit you might want to adjust it........make it so .004 fits and .005 doesnt.......thats perfect.....people like cals400ex will tell you something like .005 and .006 instead of .004 .005.....not bad idea....but if its not ticking or anything abnormal then you should be alright.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Crazy400EX
no i'ts so much easier at the top.........as far as your clearence....if it doesnt fit you might want to adjust it........make it so .004 fits and .005 doesnt.......thats perfect.....people like cals400ex will tell you something like .005 and .006 instead of .004 .005.....not bad idea....but if its not ticking or anything abnormal then you should be alright.

The .005 and .006 are clearances for a hotcam btw, and if you gauge doesn't fit at all then grab the rocker with your fingers and see if it moves at all. If it is still tight you are probably on the wrong TDC, there will be two TDC's because it is a four-stroke, you just need to make sure you have the TDC on the compression stroke, so that the valves are full closed and the pressure is off of the rocker arms.

[Sleeper]

Originally posted by 400exrider707
The .005 and .006 are clearances for a hotcam btw, and if you gauge doesn't fit at all then grab the rocker with your fingers and see if it moves at all. If it is still tight you are probably on the wrong TDC, there will be two TDC's because it is a four-stroke, you just need to make sure you have the TDC on the compression stroke, so that the valves are full closed and the pressure is off of the rocker arms.

Well I will have to check again. I rotated the crank around again to tdc but perhaps I accidentaly rotated it twice. You cant back it up if you miss it due to the decompression assy. on the cam. It's not clicky or anything so I check it again when I through a hot cam in;) then I won't have to worry about the decompression assy.

Thanks Guys.