104K Valve Check

I just performed the 104K valve clearance check on my 04 and am pleased to report, "Still Within Factory Specs" !

I have 4 of the 16 valves that changed clearance from the first 26K valve check but only by .001"

This made me Very Happy as I was not looking forward to pulling cams, "not much room to work in there". Great time to make up some new curse words though !

John

Wow ! That's good to hear, talk about longevity . . . .

I just did mine a 75k. Two exhaust valves were 1 thou. tighter than spec. I'm sure they would have been fine but I needed the torture of pulling the cams just once so I got it apart to find the local dealer didn't have the shims they told me they did. To slove the problem I got out my surface plate and lapped 2 thou off of each one to get in the middle of spec. What a pain to adjust two valves but now I can forget about it. Did plugs and coolant at the same time so I don't plan on lifting the tank for a long time.

Just had my 75,000 mile valve check and all still good with factory shims! :yahoo:

I am nowhere near needing a valve adjustment yet, but if everthing is running fine when I hit the mileage... I plan to pass. My theory is that I stand more chance of having something damaged during the check by some ham-fisted mechanic than if I just keep on ridin'.

Mackeroni said:

I am nowhere near needing a valve adjustment yet, but if everthing is running fine when I hit the mileage... I plan to pass. My theory is that I stand more chance of having something damaged during the check by some ham-fisted mechanic than if I just keep on ridin'.

Click to expand...

Yep..... I dont know how.. and they aint touchin it... So pass

I just struck a deal with the guy who usually works on the my bike during the season. During the winter, when the independent motorcycle only ( no sleds ) shop he works at gets slow, he usually gets laid off, and ends up doing some temp work, or whatever comes his way. I told him I would pay him cash to come over to my shop, and help me do some of the maintenance, including the valve check, I want to get done. This way I will do some of the work myself, and I will be able to learn how to do the things I haven't done before. I will also be paying A LOT less per hour, since this is all being done on the side.

As I told him, I don't feel bad having him do this on the side, since if he wasn't willing to give me a hand, I would either find someone else, or just try to fumble my way through it on my own; I wouldn't take it to the shop, since I don't want to pay for work i think I could figure out if given enough time. The winter should give me plenty of time.

You guys with more than 66k on the clock are running on borrowed time. These engines are usually toast by then...

I'm writing a letter to my congressman about some kind of bailout for us poor saps stuck with these junk cycles!

JW