10 hours labor for a valve check?

that's about what I paid for my 16k and 32k, after the techs saw no adjustments were needed...

 

I kind of like that idea myself... :biggrin:

 

Valve Adjustments

How many valve adjustments in the life of your bike times $700.You can get a low mileage VFR to replace yours with the money spent.
I, personally, am going to whistle past the graveyard and enjoy without worrying about my stupid valves.
Many on the VFRD site do not adjust them and when many do, they find them within tolerance.
F.... spending seven bills for someone to tell me that all is well.
I don't think that I would trust most shops to do the work unless I knew the mechanic personally.

I'll let you know if my philosophy pays off or not.

 

I have a few friends who are bike mechs......
they have all told me.....
unless a particular engine is known to have valve problems
the average engine will not need any real adjustment till 50k or so.
they have also gone as far as to say that they consistently see engines with 80k
that dont need more than a lil adjustment...and even then had the owner neglected to have the valves checked...the engine would have kept on chugging away.
its always up to the owner.....but, 3 mechs...2 that work for a suzuki dealer and the other at a yamaha ...say the exact same things.....got to be somethin to that.
plus iv been friends with these guys since we were kids.

 

im liking a lot of the ideas going on here. im at 13grand right now and these thoughts have been running through my head for a little while...
im thinking a little mix of some of these thoughts...
i would ideally like to purchase a set of low millage heads, (under 10grand?) sometime after my bike passes 20 thousand miles or so, and have some work done to them(porting and polishing, 6 angle valve job, the cams degree'd properly, and have it milled down some for added compression) before installing them on my original block. im sure checking valve tolerances during this process wouldnt be an issue...

 

Just to chime in here, I did a valve check at 32K miles and 6 valves had to be adjusted, 3 of them were waaaay off and rest were just a little off. However, this is just from riding the bike hard; I'm not a lunch rider.

 

How about this for a plan: buy the engine now, and keep it as insurance. If my pessimism about such things is correct, my original motor will run FOREVER!

 

I COMPLETELY agree!! INSANE costs!!! Think about that before you buy your next vehicle. YES removing the cams to get to the shims is nuts.
My wife's Toyota Corolla is lousy when it comes to repairs.
OK they did away with the drive shaft but now you cannot get to the starter.
It is between the firewall and the engine underneath the fuel injection.
Cannot get to it from the bottom either.
Also you have to remove the engine mount and other stuff to get to the timing belt. And that is the short story!!
Also the fuel filter used to be a five minute deal now the fuel filter is on the firewall and you cant really get to it from the top or bottom and it has metal lines connecting it. It can easily be cross threaded and if you do you are really in for it. I asked the dealer about changing the fuel filter and they even told me "WE DON'T CHANGE THAT"

Next time I buy a car it will be based on how easy it is to repair.

When the four cylinder engines were inline they were VERY EASY to work on.

I think some of these COMPUTER engineers should have to come out in the shop and see the mess they have created. MAKE THEM GET DOWN AND DO IT!!! Then maybe they would design it a little differently.

Oh and as far as the driveshaft tunnel taking space SO WHAT!! IT never seemed like a problem to me ever.

Makes me so mad.

 

Yes a loose tappet is not too much of a problem ( a little noise is all). But a tight valve will not come up far enough to dissipate the heat into the cylinder head, and can get burned up.

 

I think you are right - get the right tools and take the time to learn to do it YOURSELF. Also after the first valve adjustment it usually does not change much. That way you can help your friends and they can repay you with a nice lunch out. etc.,.

 

Well, all I can say is that it didn't take the tech where I take my bike that long. I had mine checked last week and it took him about 3 hours. Had they been out of spec they estimated about another 4 to adjust them.

 

As a former BMW owner I can say 700.00 every 32K mi. is minor compared to the cost of ownership on a BMW. An R model needs to be serviced (valve adjust ect.) every 6K, granted they are fairly simple to work on, if I can do it its pretty easy, but 6K rolls around quick. I love the Japanese for making quality, low maintenance, great performing motorcycles, Sushi is pretty good too.

 

I had my valves checked at 40K. My local Honda shop wanted between $900 and 1000 to check my valves. I called around and found a shop that for $1000.00 dollars I got my valves checked, (all well within spec's) New tires, New fork seals and all my fluids changed. While they are doing the work, you are more than welcome to watch them and ask them any questions you want. I am Very happy with these guys and found me a shop I can trust!!

 

I live at home, but its hard here in Malibu. We only have two maids, we should have at least three.

 

Yes...Sally mae walks like she has oil wells in her back yard, but she never complains bout the times be'n hard.

 

Trust me, you'll know.

I've been riding for more than 35 years now, and I never take a bike in for valve adjustments till I hear them. My 2006 has 27,000 miles on it now and sounds just like new still.

I've heard the argument about 'it's the tight ones you have to worry about'. Well, if you ride everyday they won't get tight, they get loose. The get tight if you let the bike sit for weeks or months on end because they start to stick. That doesn't happen on a daily rider.

I don't plan on taking it to Honda for the valves in the first place. I have a trusted local mechanic that I have used for years and he said he would do it for $450 out the door.

I had a Ducati ST3. I traded it in for the VFR. Couldn't be happier. The maintenance interval on a Ducati is 6,500-7,500 miles and costs anywhere from $900-$1,200. I did the first maintenance on it and traded it in for the VFR. No way in HELL is a $14,000 bike worth $2,000 in yearly maintenance in my book.

If it was a valve job on say a BMW R-series, or a Honda ST1300, I'd do it myself, but the VFR is packed like a sardine can.

Actually, if I trade-up, I would get a ST1300 over a VFR 1200 anyday of the week. Or maybe a Moto Guzzi Norge (drool).

 

I've done a couple Vtecs...it IS quite a job. I think ten hours is a bit much...six or seven seems fair. BTW, flat rate for a 16K check right out of Honda's rate manual is 5.3 hours. The big majority of that time figure is no doubt for valve clearance inspection. I'd say that's about right for a day when the job goes perfect. If adjustment is needed I'd add an hour or two.

Regarding the comment that someone's mechanic did it in three hours...that sounds pretty 'fishy' to me. I've found after you do a job several times and are REALLY familiar, everything goes perfect you can beat flat rate by a few minutes. If you can cut it by 25% either there's a shortcut (not so with Vtec valve adjustment)...or you're a real superman.

Considering the cost of valve clearance inspection, the chance of screwing something up, and the overwhelming possibility that it's not needed at such frequent intervals. I'd agree that waiting 'til 50K is totally reasonable.

 

Like any engine... run good oil and frequent oil changes, don't beat on it and if set up correctly they go a long time before needing valve adjustments, if you like to see the needle at redline all the time any engine will require more frequent valve adj. (except Rotary Engines)

 

Actually that is not true. Tight valves are not the same as sticky valves. Tight valves are those with less than specified clearance between the cam and follower, which is caused by valve face and seat wear. If the valve seats wear faster than the cam lobes and followers, the clearance or lash will decrease.

 

Like I said, I've never had that problem in over 35 years of riding all makes of motorcycles. The only time I even encountered stuck valves was from a bike I bought that sat for 2 years and was not properly stored. The bike cost me as much to get running as I paid for it, but it was well worth it.

Someone mentioned a 3 hour valve adjustment? My mechanic won't even touch my bike until the engine is cold. He says that's the proper way top make sure that the measured tolerances are true and accurate (I've had dealerships just tear right into them hot, only to be told later that the tolerances were not very much off). Whenever I have engine work done on any of my motorcycles, I always remove the fairings at home myself first, and then ride it to the shop. Maybe that's why I get a break on maintenance from him. I get the bullshit work out of the way for him. 3 hours for the valves? Hmmmm... maybe he can, don't know yet. I know he's done my other bikes in two or less.