Hi, All,

I've seen videos and read articles stating the K1100 valve clearances rarely, if ever, need adjustment.  In my case, when I checked, I found almost half of the clearances (44%) were too tight. As you might expect, there were more tight exhaust valves than intake valves. I think it has been around 20k miles since they were last adjusted. Is this unique?

I would say it's unusual. I've had two bikes with 16 valve heads, and never had to change the buckets because of tight valves. One had 92,000 miles when I got it and 120,000 when I sold it. The one I have now has 42,000 miles, 10,000 of them mine.

My understanding is that the 16 valve heads have different seats that don't wear as bad as the earlier model heads. This is a very good thing because changing the buckets is a royal pain in the ass.

patto1ca wrote:I found almost half of the clearances (44%) were too tight. Is this unique?

Two years ago, a guy on Motobrick had six valve clearances out of spec—mostly tight—in his 16V engine. The BMW bucket cam follower system holds adjustment much longer than its shim-over-bucket system but clearance should be checked occasionally as your experience indicates; however, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with your moto's engine just because it needs this adjustment.

Had a K1100LT here, in top condition, former owner always brought the bike for service to the dealer.
The new owner didn;t have large pockets, and trust me, so he brought it to me.
12 valves out of range.
4 could be exchanged, 8 bought new at €29,50 .

I had more K 16V bikes here that needed adjustement.