Bandit Alley
MODEL SPECIFIC => SUZUKI BANDIT 600 thru 1200 - AIR/OIL COOLED TECHNICAL => Topic started by: nuttyprof1 on March 25, 2006, 12:20:10 PM
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I just bought a used 2003 1200s, with 1030 miles on it, a beautiful bike. I am going to check the valve clearances, since it was not done at 600 miles. The bike is definitely cold blooded and runs slightly rough at idle: I suspect it needs not just the valves checked, but also carbs synch'd and the carb screws backed out after drilling out the plugs. Other than that, it's great. From the manual it looks like I have to remove the entire front fairing to remove the valve cover, which sounds like a pain. When I look at the bike, though, it seems to me like it might be possible to remove it without removing the fairing. What do you guys think?
Giulio in CA
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picture the cam gears/chain sticking above the top of the head about 2" .still have room ?
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I have a first generation and I don't remove my fairings. I remove the side bolts and pivit and tie them out of the way.
Look on Bill's site here. His is a 2nd generation.
http://www.bladesbandit.com/cam.htm
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I don't remove the fairing from my '01 either. I have ditched the PAIR system though. I do take the tank off, remove all the spark plugs and take the breather off the top of the cover, then it'll slide out the side.
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I strip it down to the bone... windshield, fairings, fairing brackets, gas tank, engine guard (signal gen side) - anything that would get in the way. This allows plenty of clearance to remove the cover but it's still a tight fit. It also let's me clean everything up real good... once every 8,000 miles isn't too bad. Just the way I do it. :banana:
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No need to remove the fairing. Just remove the PAIR valve, coils, and the bare aluminum cam-chain cover in the center of the valve cover. Zip tie all the stuff you can out of the way and remove. Be very careful of the seals where the spark plugs go when you are moving it out or else you WILL drop them and have a headache.
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Before you put it all back together, consider using a gasket cement like HIgh Tack by Permatex to hold the four gaskets over the spark plug openings in place. Give the stuff time to get tacky before puting them in place on the cylinder cover casting and aligning the oil feed holes. Then allow some more time before sliging the cover back into place.
Finally, lift up the cover slightly to be sure all four gaskets are in place before buttoning things up.
Good wrenching!
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Any advantages to ditching the PAIR system (other than it's easier to get other stuff out)? Is there a description somewhere of what to take out and what to do with what I imagine will be several openings, tubes, etc. left over?
Nuttyprof1
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Any advantages to ditching the PAIR system (other than it's easier to get other stuff out)? Is there a description somewhere of what to take out and what to do with what I imagine will be several openings, tubes, etc. left over?
Nuttyprof1
With the Yosh pipe on my bike the popping on decel was eliminated with the PAIR off.
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Is there a description somewhere of what to take out and what to do with what I imagine will be several openings, tubes, etc. left over?
Nuttyprof1
Yo Nut.... check out the PAIR removal thread found HERE!!! (http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=198)
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there is NO need to remove the fairing!!! If you remove the left rear most fairing bracket and slide the valve cover out to the left you will have enough clearance. The bracket is very easy to remove and install. As others have stated, just go slow and be careful when re-intalling the valve cover so you dont knock off the plug tower gaskets
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I vote for removing the fairing and carbs. I like to have everthing out of the way :shock:
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Remove the carbs for the valve cover?
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Remove the carbs for the valve cover?
Easy as pie if you have pods. :monkeymoon:
Air box, smair box...
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On the GSXRs, I found that it was eaiser to bring the valve cover from the back, were the carbs are, rotate the valve cover over the top, and set it in place. Old habits are hard to break, so I do the same with the Bandit. And that gets the throttle cables out of the way also.
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That's how Bill Blade does it too, I guess. He removes the coils, too (his is a 2G).
But with all the room there is on a B12, it'll come out the side easy if you just remove the breather cover in the middle.
(Ignore the finger in the pic - posted just to show how much room there is.)
(http://www.bladesbandit.com/P2240028.jpg)
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I have found that it is eaisier for me to keep the seals in place, and I do have pod filters :motorsmile:
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I got no love until I removed the fairing brackets, the box on top of the valve cover (don't know what it's for) and moved the carbs back. Afterwards I discovered that if I removed the spark plug gaskets, sliding the cover in and out became possible with the carbs back in place.
Lesson learned: to do the least amount of work when removing the cover one needs to remove the cowling brackets, the box that's bolted onto the top of the cover, the pair box and to move all of the wires out of the way. Then move the cover up and remove the spark plug gaskets. The cover should then slide out to the side with relative ease. Of course having spairs is a MUST if you are going to take this approach. Also, I tried both moving the rear wheel and using the signal generator to turn the engine - the latter was much easier. IMO, well worth the cost of the extra gasket.
Some of the steps to avoid commont pitfalls I saw in other posts:
1. I took care to remove the dowels in the valve cover before doing anything to make sure that they didn't fall anywhere they don't belong.
2. I cleaned the bolts with brake cleaner before torquing them back
3. I used a lot of paper towels (Bounty rules) to plug any holes where things could fall.
4. I marked all the wires with masking tape. I also used masking tape to cover small holes, hold bolts in place, etc. Plus I had a lot of plastic cups for parts.
5. I bought all the spare gaskets/washers. Ended up using all of them. Maybe I didn't have to, but I felt safer doing so. I'd rather spend extra 50 bucks on parts now than deal with (or worry about) potential problems later. But then again, my bike is 4 years old, so I figured it was worth the money to replace some old rubber.
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Great stuff guys. I just wish I had found this forum before I did the valves.
I am left with one question. The manual says to "apply the recomended bond to the cylinder head cover grove and cam shaft end caps."
When I took stuff apart I found no sealent between the gasket and the cylinder head cover. There was just the right amount at the cam shaft end caps.
Whats does everyone do, selant all the way around the top of the gasket, or just sealent at the end caps?
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A 1/4 inch bead at the caps should be fine. Make sure to extend 3/8 of an inch or so out each side.
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A 1/4 inch bead at the caps should be fine. Make sure to extend 3/8 of an inch or so out each side.
+1 :bigok:
I also put a dab on the grooves for the spark plug tower gaskets to help keep them in place when re-installing the cover. If you pinch one of these you will get a vicious oil leak! The towers do have drains, and they drain out the front of the head, so it'll look like you blew a head gasket.