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My question is has anyone else had problems with the V-Twin panhead rocker arm assemblies?
After less than 5 minutes of running time on a motor that I just rebuilt, I removed the heads (for another reason) and noticed that the intake rocker arms are engaging the tops of the valve stems quite far off-center, toward the far end of the valve stem. I noticed this because of significant wear marks on the tops of the new Kibblewhite valves. I used these assemblies for the first time on this motor so i have no prior experience with them.
It appears that the locations of the arm's wear pads are slightly too distant from the centerline of the rocker arm and that the pads may also be mis-ground. As a result the pad contact is almost at the far edge of the top of the valve stem. This is a shame, as the fit of the arm in the upper and lower bushings is very well done.
Please know that I'm an experienced Harley motor builder (over 40 years in and out of the business). I'm not bragging, but just stating that I'm not a weekend motor assembler and that great care was taken fitting and assembling this motor.
I'm guessing that I might be able to have the arm pads re-ground (I no longer have that tooling) , as the original H-D pads didn't appear to be that hard based on how we used to hand-dress them years ago during a normal rebuild. However, I don't know how deep the original hardness actually went and I certainly question this hardness and depth on these aftermarket units. I may be worsening the problem by cutting down, and into very soft material.
A final solution may be to install some of my used arms and fit them into the V-Twin upper and lower bushings. The bushings appear to be well machined and the used arms seem to fit ok - but with more slightly clearance than new of course. But this isn't too bad, as most wear mostly occurs in the upper brass bushings which will now be new, and I can live with an additional 0.001" wear on the arms circumference.
As always, your thoughts and feedback is appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill Pedalino
After less than 5 minutes of running time on a motor that I just rebuilt, I removed the heads (for another reason) and noticed that the intake rocker arms are engaging the tops of the valve stems quite far off-center, toward the far end of the valve stem. I noticed this because of significant wear marks on the tops of the new Kibblewhite valves. I used these assemblies for the first time on this motor so i have no prior experience with them.
It appears that the locations of the arm's wear pads are slightly too distant from the centerline of the rocker arm and that the pads may also be mis-ground. As a result the pad contact is almost at the far edge of the top of the valve stem. This is a shame, as the fit of the arm in the upper and lower bushings is very well done.
Please know that I'm an experienced Harley motor builder (over 40 years in and out of the business). I'm not bragging, but just stating that I'm not a weekend motor assembler and that great care was taken fitting and assembling this motor.
I'm guessing that I might be able to have the arm pads re-ground (I no longer have that tooling) , as the original H-D pads didn't appear to be that hard based on how we used to hand-dress them years ago during a normal rebuild. However, I don't know how deep the original hardness actually went and I certainly question this hardness and depth on these aftermarket units. I may be worsening the problem by cutting down, and into very soft material.
A final solution may be to install some of my used arms and fit them into the V-Twin upper and lower bushings. The bushings appear to be well machined and the used arms seem to fit ok - but with more slightly clearance than new of course. But this isn't too bad, as most wear mostly occurs in the upper brass bushings which will now be new, and I can live with an additional 0.001" wear on the arms circumference.
As always, your thoughts and feedback is appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill Pedalino
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