How To Adjust Valves On A BSA Motorcycle
Valve Adjustment Tutorial
It's that time again, your tappets are starting to make noise and are in need of a full adjustment. As many always say, a noisy tappet is a happy tappet. Truth is it's better to have a somewhat loose tappet than a tight tappet but that is not a good excuse not to adjust your valves.
Adjusting your valves is a key way to ensure a long lasting engine. When you fail to adjust your valves your valve train and engine performance will suffer and decline over time. It is essential that you adjust your valves accordingly to your manuals specifications. Valve adjustments can take less then 30 minutes.
For this video, I will be adjusting the valves on a 1969 BSA A65 Lightning. This same process can also be used on most vintage British motorcycles from Triumph, Norton, Matchless, and others. Watching both this video and reading your workshop manual, you should be able to successfully adjust and set your valve lash.