| Author | Message | ||
     Boogiman1981 |
So I did the valve check. Took top off method as prescribed here. Went well. I had bought the hotcams shim kit in prep new feeler gauges as well. Used the tie the rear wheel down use floor jack to hold engine method as I have no m/c jack. All 8 shims within spec no replacements needed at all. All took at least 2 feelers up in size when starting from the min gap. This is a bullet proof bike! No extra parts on reassembly but did have few extra body work bolts as I bought new ss replacements for a few places from my local ace hw store. Sent pics to gf as I progressed she said it looked like it'd been hit by a car! Lol All in about 9 clock hours dad helped some so closer to 15-16 man hrs to complete job. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
How many miles on your bike and what rpm range have you generally run it? | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
25k first check. 5k+ not bouncing off rev limit but not being gentle either | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Is that "k" as in thousands of miles or kilometers? | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
Since he is in Florida, I am guessing miles. | ||
| Xb9er |
I'm so worried about checking the valves on my bike. Seems like a real hassle. There has to be an easier way to check them than pretty much taking the bike all apart | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
No there isn't really. If you rotate the engine doing the check is still hard because the engine is still surrounded by the bike. | ||
| Tbowdre |
Do the valve check yourself, take your time, buy the correct tools if you need them (way cheaper than labor costs) very easy to do with a garage, plenty of time and the right tools. my 0.02 todd | ||
| Craigsmoney |
I'm going to do my own valve adjustment, but need the actual valve adjustment proceedure. I know how to rotate the engine, so just the section on how to check and adjust. Can anyone help? Thanks | ||
| Zac4mac |
As long as all you need is check and find all in spec, it's easy. Intake .006-.009" Exhaust .010-.013" If you are out of spec and need to change shims, buy the Service Manual. I would STRONGLY recommend NOT doing this without the manual in hand. I've done mine twice and would not consider it without the manual. Zack | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
The reports here and pics are helpfull but the manual is a very very good thing to have. Don't have a garage did it on driveway with dad. Left the forks and front wheel on top frame/gas tank. Really wasn't hard but it was time consuming. | ||
| Father_of_an_era |
I to am in need of a valve check on my 08R and I am horrified from all of the pics I've seen posted of the procedure. I have little to no mechanical intel and my bike now has a little more than 14,000 miles on it. YIKES!!!  And yeah, I still need to get the service manual..... | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
Lol yeah my gf said bike looked like it had been run over by a train...... | ||
| Froggy |
Father_of_an_era, here is a pro-tip I learned from a dealer tech. You can easily check the rear cylinder valves with only removing the airbox and valve cover. The rear valves will be a good indicator on how your front valves will be, and you can check the clearance and if they are all good you can make a judgement call on if you need to proceed to the front cylinder or button it up for another 12k miles. Both of my bikes were well within spec at the 12,000 check. | ||
| Kicka666 |
Froggy I am pretty sure the rear shock mount does not allow for cam cover to come off without engine rotation, I thought the same when I checked my valves & had to rotate to get clearance for removal. | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
From the looks of it a person could check rear jug without full engine rotation but it's not as simple as just poppping the cover off either. | ||
| Avc8130 |
Awesome, Froggy's dealer tech is doing 1/2 valve jobs. I wonder if they only charge you 1/2 also? | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
From experience I can tell you it easier to pull the frame then rotate then engine. I had to change out the frame after my Brother wrecked my bike. It's not that bad, just remember the sub frame slips through the frame. That saves you a lot of wire disconnects. +1 with froggy, check the rear cylinder, if all the valves are in spec, you are good to go. | ||
| Kicka666 |
Engine rotation is needed to get rear cam cover off, sorry but if the rear cylinder clearances are in spec does not mean the front cylinder will be, I used to do the same with the TL1000's & V stroms ect but not the case, all valves need checking seats & head castings & valves are not identical there is variables. |
