I watched the hardly dangerous video and that sounds like a good Idea, I might have a look within the next few months

Doc_V wrote:

The good news is, if you Google "Harley Rocker Shaft Shims" you'll find lots of sources to purchase them on line. They appear to come in everything from .050 up to .020 thickness, however, I don't know about the inner and outer diameters. I've been constantly amazed by how much on the R* is a direct bolt up to HD parts, that it wouldn't surprise me if they worked out of the "bag" [so to speak] but I'm horrible when it comes to SAE; any chance you could do a quick Google search and take a look at the HD shim specs and see how the inner and outer diameters compare to your solution?

Doc-V, I googled the Harley shims, got stuff like this: http://www.jpcycles.com/product/431-425,
and similar, but other than thickness (all too thick) I could not see inner / outer diam. specs.
I did post my exact measurements in my previous post, so you should be able to compare my specs to whatever you find.
I do think each time this mod is used, the installer should measure that particular engines rocker shafts end play in order to be sure of the correct shim thickness needed.

I think I might try at one point, when my OCD really gets the best of me.....to shim the carrier shaft as well.
The 8mm bolts on mine DID show some wear marking from the carrier moving, so like the Harley, a barrel shim might be useable.


Rick

So I heard back from Rockout. I asked about the inner and outer shim diameter because I wanted to try them on a Roadstar. This is what he had to say:

I’ll help as best I can. You say rocker shaft shims, not sleeves… do you mean shims to prevent rocker shaft end play? Like a thin washer? If so I don’t have any as I don’t recommend them. My own experience as well as every pro engine builder I talk to is that they do no good. There just isn’t enough play there (on a Harley anyway) to make significant noise. There is a report here & there about having some success, but I suspect it’s coincidental… they moved/realigned something else when installing them.

They are actually a hold over from the old shovelhead days when they may or may not have been beneficial, I don’t know. You can still find them online sometimes as shovelhead rocker end play shim kits.



That said…. The Harley rocker shafts are .554 diameter, the OD of the shims is around .875.



If I can be of any more help please let me know,



John @ Rockout

Doc_V wrote:
So I heard back from Rockout. I asked about the inner and outer shim diameter because I wanted to try them on a Roadstar. This is what he had to say:

I’ll help as best I can. You say rocker shaft shims, not sleeves… do you mean shims to prevent rocker shaft end play? Like a thin washer? If so I don’t have any as I don’t recommend them. My own experience as well as every pro engine builder I talk to is that they do no good. There just isn’t enough play there (on a Harley anyway) to make significant noise. There is a report here & there about having some success, but I suspect it’s coincidental… they moved/realigned something else when installing them.

They are actually a hold over from the old shovelhead days when they may or may not have been beneficial, I don’t know. You can still find them online sometimes as shovelhead rocker end play shim kits.



That said…. The Harley rocker shafts are .554 diameter, the OD of the shims is around .875.



If I can be of any more help please let me know,





John @ Rockout

Too bad they don't make a rocker locker specifically for the road stars. I'd buy a set.

Doc_V, just get yourself a piece of stainless shim stock from your local machine shop and make your own shims like I did.
Pull your rocker covers off, and verify the end play as I described, if you have more than .005" end play, go ahead and make some, or have the machine shop knock out a few for you.
You have the dimensions.
Remember, this is a known problem, not necessarily repairable with Harley repair parts .

YMMV


Rick

Hello all!

I have been following this tread now for a while. I bought my Road Star (ie Wild Star here in Europe) couple of months ago and love it. My previous bike (V-Star 650 ie Drag Star here in Europe) was also good but got too small… (you know how it goes)

My Road Star engine top end noise is dramatically louder, than was with V-Star. I have now opened valve covers and going to go with this shim mod and changing valve lifters also once they are now handy to change. I bought already Mopar lifters as they are recommended swap from stock ones.

This presented rocker arm shimming is clear as action for me. 0.10mm (0.004”) shims seem to be fine for my bike. I am only little bit concerned on risk of those very thin shims evaporation into engine. This risk was expressed on this HD video linked into this tread.

Q: How long mileage you have drove with this mod with thin shims? Any signs of shims evaporation seen?

One action what I figured out to decrease this risk is to select shock absorber valving shims instead of standard shims. They should be far more durable as my understanding due to special material needs in shocks. Shims can be sourced for example from /resuspension.com/. They have suitable one as ‘Penske WASHER, .900x.004x.625, VALVE’. I tried to order set of it to Europe, but 144USD shipping cost got me amazed… I am trying to find them from somewhere else with more fair shipping costs.

Many things can cause top end noise unfortunately.. poorly adjusted rockers, a sticking lifter, weak top end oil pressure, a cam getting eaten up, bent pushrod, etc etc. Or as you found.. mating part clearances. It's hard to know just what to recommend to someone who's hearing noise. The best way to know for sure is get in there like you did and figure it out. nice job and thanks for sharing your fix!

texasscott1 wrote:
Leaving some play at the ends is the safe way until one knows how much heat expansion takes place. Taking some of the end play out has another advantage also. It will force more oil through the rockers to the tops of the valves. The shaft is kept lubed by what exits from the ends and needs some flow to keep the oil from overheating.

I'll second that. Back in 2006 I shimmed mine from 0.010 to 0.004. And checked my rocker shafts but they hadn't been rotating against the bolts. Didn't help, and the next time I went in one of the shims had been ejected from the shaft and was just laying on top of the rocker base. Decided to leave well enough alone before I really messed something up...

For anyone in europe interested in this mod, I've found a UK supplier for 0.1 x 15mm(ID) x 21mm(OD) din988 shims, other sizes 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.5 also available in din1624, din988, and A4 stainless st'.
ukbolt on ebay, good people.