A Tale Of 2 Valve Spring Compressors

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Motopsycho

I love cheap tools sometimes. My own personal collection is a mixture of top name brands and some of the cheapest shit you can find that actually works. Surprisingly sometimes the cheap stuff is better than the expensive stuff in some applications. It doesn’t happen often but occasionally it does. Most of the time you get what you pay for though and here in a tale of 2 valve spring compressors I’m going to show you a great example of this principle in action. As I started to tear down the head for the CM400 I am overhauling I realized that none of the valve spring compressors that I already own would work, 2 or 3 of them were for side valve engines, one was your typical auto parts store V8 compressor & the last one is a homemade thing especially made to work on old Honda 50-200cc dirtbike engines. Of course none of them would work, what I needed was one of the large C-clamp style tools with multiple adapters like all the shops that I used to work at had. So I came inside, fired up the computer and went shopping.

Of course I did not start out looking for the cheap stuff, my first search was for a genuine Motion Pro Valve Spring Compressor
but it is a bit pricey at around 100 bucks or so not including the Motion Pro Adapter and Bore Protector Set That being said if you got the money to throw around or if you are running a full time professional shop it is the best one to get.

Being in an experimental state of mind (okay that’s bullshit I am just a cheap bastard sometimes) I decided to try out this one that is all over ebay & Amazon for around $30 dollars shipped. It came in a nice molded plastic box with plenty of adapters for different size valve springs.

…

Unfortunately the cheap thin wall tubing that it was made of almost immediately began to flex and fail without budging the valve spring in the slightest. All of the compressors of this style & price range had very mixed reviews on the various merchant websites where they are sold apparently they work on some engines with weaker springs but on this head it did not work at all and was in fact a complete & total failure.

Have your balls ever fallen out?

To add insult to injury one of the balls that retains the adapters to the tools popped out of its socket

As you can see here this Stark valve spring compressor is now permanently bent and no longer fits back into it’s slot in the case. Back for a refund it went!

Enter the $46 OTC 4572 Large Valve Spring Compressor in it’s no frills cardboard box. Fancy blow molded plastic cases are nice, but really don’t make much difference if the tools inside don’t work. In this case the manufacturer decided to save money on the packaging and not the tool.

When I opened up the box there was a surprisingly heavy well made tool inside. It was very similar in style, metal thickness, and finish to the more expensive tools I have used in the past at various shops where I have worked. There were two other cost cutting measures one being that it only comes with two adapters for different size springs and that it only had a cup style tip for the clamping screw instead of including an interchangeable ball style tip, which actually works for better in most valve spring removal applications Below it is laid out with the rest of the tools that I normally use when it’s time to lap a set of valves.

Here is a shot of it in place ready to compress a valve spring. At this time I’d like to point out that you do NOT compress the valve springs by pushing on the large handle with the rubber hand grip. To get your initial setup pull the handle open to get the tool in place around the head and then push it closed. Then you adjust the adapter and the clamping screw until the tool is in the correct place. Then you turn the t-handle on the clamping screw to compress and release the springs. To move on to the next valve spring, first release the tension on the spring by retracting the clamping screw, and next you release the handle, move the tool to the next valve, close the handle, and once again use the clamping screw to compress the spring.

Repeat as needed until you have removed & reinstalled all of the valves as needed.

Below you can see a fully compressed valve spring with the valve keepers removed.

The bottom line? The OTC 4572 Large Valve Spring Compressor is worth the money. It may lack a full range of spring adapters and accessories, but if you don’t need all of those things this is a solid well made tool that will get the job done.

Good & Cheap! The Harbor Freight Motorcycle Rear Wheel Stand

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Motopsycho

I’ve had this for a couple of weeks now and so far so good! What prompted me to buy this thing was believe it or not a craigslist ad. Some guy had a used one that he was trying to sell for $30, but it turns out a new one is only $35 bucks at the regular retail price (in October 2013) and since it is getting nearly impossible to find a motorcycle with a center stand on it I decided to try this one out. I wanted one with the paddles on it so that I could use it for the greatest variety of motorcycles possible.

Haul Master Model 65620

Here is how it came from the store, bubble wrap & packing tape.

It only took my lovely assistant a minute or two to unwrap it and put it together for me.

According to the paperwork that was taped to it it is rated at 1000 pounds capacity! If you have a thousand pound motorcycle don’t bring it to my shop, I don’t want to deal with it. It is obviously cheap and looks it. The only thing that really concerns me is the wheels are kind of lightweight looking but I guess as long as I don’t throw it against the wall or smack the wheels with a hammer they will be okay.

For the first test lift I stuck it under just the kind of motorcycle it was designed for, a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja. Easy enough, to use and stable even outside on the grass.

<ex250 ninja on harbor freight swingarm stand>

An inexpensive motorcycle on a cheap stand!

Some exhaust systems can interfere with universal paddle stands. This is why most people whom have a single motorcycle, and race teams use stands with spools but for me there is no telling what I will be working on next so the most universal fit possible is what I am after.

A shot of the ground clearance with this bike.

If you have a vintage bike with round swing arm tubes this stand will work on those as well, if you have enough clearance around the exhaust system, such as the high mounted mufflers on this 1971 CL450.

Lets try this out with an old motorcycle.

Properly adjusted it is sturdy enough that I feel safe using it to work on motorcycles with.

If your vintage bike has low exhaust pipes this stand probably won’t work for you.

Just for shits & giggles I took a picture of it holding up an old dirt bike too.

It worked great for this old dirt bike.

Let’s be honest here, it is cheap, and as far as looks and finish go, it is not in the same ball park as some of the really expensive stands out there, but to me function is king. It has turned out to be safe & useful so I really don’t care if the paint fades or if the rubber coating on the paddles gets a crack or two in it, just as long as it holds up motorcycles like it is supposed to. And if it ever fails at that job, I’ll be sure to come back here and let you know what happened.

Peace Y’all

Something to Write With (& other essential documentation tools.)

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Motopsycho

For this random tech tip I am going to talk about one of the best tools that you absolutely must have in your toolbox, a notepad & something to write with. Some mechanics and owners even go so far as to keep actual log books of the work they do. These are wonderful people to do business with & buy motorcycles from, and if it suits your personality I highly recommend that you do the same. For the rest of us, myself included, who are not quite so anal, a small note pad or note book is essential to write down the occasional part number or measurement.

the ever useful notebook

I have even sketched out an assembly or written down re-assembly directions for things that I have taken apart. Even if you have an eidetic memory, sooner or later you will likely miss some small detail or another, but the act of writing things down helps you to remember them better, and prevent mistakes in re-assembly, parts ordering & custom fabrication.

A good cheap calculator is another great item to have for doing quick calculations & conversions. If you are a machinist or a designer you will probably have a scientific calculator but for the vast majority of us, a simple little calculator is all you need for things like figuring out what size shim to use when adjusting valves, or how much further a part can go before it hits the wear limit. Here I must confess to overkill, since my day job is working in the engineering department of a local industrial equipment manufacturing company I own multiple scientific calculators, it’s just how I roll.

And last but not least you probably have one of the greatest, & most handy mechanical tools right there in your pocket. A smartphone with a camera has become one of my favorite ways of documenting progress on a job or a project. Take a picture before you start, take another one for each part you remove. Then if you need to refer back to your pictures to remember which way the thinga-ma-bob fits into the doohickey, you have pictures to refer back too.

By the way, here is a quick update on my Honda CB650 project bike. Originally purchased to be modified in the “cafe racer” style I have since changed my mind and am now currently pursuing an “urban scrambler” style. This is going to be really cool so stay tuned!

Got the airbox & other non- essential stuff out of the way!

Review of the Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Motopsycho

I’ve been wanting one of these for a long time. For years I used a wooden table or a chain hoist to lift motorcycles up for repairs when I just could not bear to get down on the floor to work on them. As I’ve gotten older the combination of a weaker back and a fatter wallet has made this purchase a lot easier to justify. So when the September issue of my favorite motorcycle magazine arrived on my Kindle with a coupon to purchase this lift for $299 I bought a print copy ASAP & clipped the coupon.

Ironically enough it took me 2 weeks to purchase this from either of the 2 nearby Harbor Freight stores. Unfortunately this led to my first real negative experience with a company that I have enjoyed doing business with for years. Last Saturday I went to my closest store in Florence S.C. and they were out of stock, so I called the store in Dillon an hour drive from here and they were also out, but told me they were expecting a shipment on Thursday. Yesterday, I was in Florence and they were still out, so I called the Dillon store and gave them the item number and was informed they had some in stock. So I gassed up my van and rolled up the interstate to that store, imagine my shock when I handed the clerk my coupon and was told that they were out of stock. When I mentioned that I had just called and had been informed that they were in stock. Then she went back to the computer and “found” one for me. Probably just a human error but if you are using a coupon to buy one I would verify stock in your nearest store before driving very far to pick one up. Don’t mention the coupon until you get there.

The shipping guys helped me load it in my van with the forklift. This worked out for me okay but if I had to do it again I would have taken a trailer for easier loading and unloading. If you have a long bed pickup truck that’s the best thing to use.

lift in crate in my Astro van

Since the completed crate was far too large and heavy for my beautiful assistant and I to remove from the van I simply opened where it was and slid the contents out into the door of my barn.

motorcycle lift crate open

I am not going to do a step by step walk through of the assembly because in all honesty the instructions that come with it are perfectly adequate to help you get it together. I will touch on a couple of things that I think you should know about. First I got all of the parts laid out and read the instructions from beginning to end.

Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table w/ parts & instructions

Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table oil fill plug

One of the things that you are instructed to do is to check the level of oil in the lift cylinder. The fill plug is in the location shown in the picture below.

Be sure to use a decent grade of jack oil. If you do not have some at home go ahead and pick some up at Harbor Freight while you are there. The best way to fill a jack cylinder like this is with a squirt can. Mine turned out to need a pint of oil to fill it.

oil I used for my Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

The instructions seem to want you to install all of the parts and accessories before you check the oil and raise the lift. I personally installed the wheels, then filled up the jack and raised the table all the way up to install the wheel vise, tie downs, & the ramp. You should do whatever seems safest to you.

Installing accessories on my Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

Here it is altogether.

my fully assembled Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

After double checking the assembly of the table I lowered it back down and drove the Minimum Ninja up on it so that it could receive some long overdue TLC.

Look Y’all it’s the Minimum Ninja!

Yesterday after strapping the bike down I raised the table to its maximum height and left the motorcycle sitting on it with the safety bar properly installed. When I went back this afternoon it was still all the way up. A lot of people criticize the design of the wheel vise but I think that it is okay. Unlike the larger vises I am certain that one can perform most fork and front wheel service without removing it. When I was a dealership mechanic most of the time the wheel vises from our heavy duty air lifts spent most of their time lying under the workbenches because they got in the way. Plus my bike still has a centerstand 🙂

Kawasaki Ninja 250 on my Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

Don’t forget to recycle the crate! It actually has a couple of large pieces of usable plywood, I know that you can always find a use for a good piece of wood around the house or shop.

Recycle this crate you know you want to.

This will be a long term review. Over time I will publish new updates or simply update this post as I get some miles and years put on this thing.

As for the Minimum Ninja, it will receive its own pages here covering the updates and repairs as I make them.

Peace Y’all

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Tag Archives: tool

A Tale Of 2 Valve Spring Compressors

Good & Cheap! The Harbor Freight Motorcycle Rear Wheel Stand

Something to Write With (& other essential documentation tools.)

Review of the Harbor Freight Motorcycle Lift Table

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