Oops, I'm Doing It Again!

The VFR did this:


So, do we perform another valve inspection, or skip it as the conventional wisdom goes? Based on my previous experience taking this on I decided to do it again. My thinking is the valve train beds in earlier in the engine's life, so the valves are more likely to need adjustment. Once complete I can probably skip the 48000 mile interval with peace of mind. Tearing the bike down went a lot more smoothly.







When I last did this I replaced one normal shim on the rear cylinder bank, and one VTEC shim in the forward cylinder bank. However this time round things are different. The rear cylinder clearances with exception of one normal inlet valve (measured 0.13mm) were all running on spec. My forward cylinder bank however were all running at the bottom end of tolerance with a couple of tight inlet valves.

With this in mind, and for the future longevity of the engine I decided to shim everything out to between the mid limit and top limit. I was lucky on a couple of the VTEC buckets as I could swap them to a different valve to open up their clearances. Unfortunately I'm still on the hook for 2 VTEC buckets and 4 normal shims, and $139 poorer courtesy of my local Honda dealer.

Once again I'm waiting for parts, but once obtained the only part of the job I'm dreading is installing the valve covers with the hope the gaskets will seal first time, unlike when I did this job at 16000 miles. I'll let you know how things turn out.

 

ProX shims at RockyMountain ATV............

 

Thanks for the referral, unfortunately that kit will only take care of the normal valve shims. The VTEC buckets are another matter.

 

Update: The rear cylinder had a normal valve well below the bottom limit (0.007"), and a VTEC bucket that was just above the bottom limit. There were a couple of other normal valves near the bottom limit but I was able to open those by swapping shims I already had. Regardless I had to order another normal shim and VTEC bucket. Parts were installed, valvetrains were timed, and valve covers installed. I took the time to use Hondabond to help hold the valve cover gasket in place. This really helped when installing the rear cover, but the front cover is a royal pain and the gasket came away from the cover in spots, but I was able to install it.

The last time I did this the valve covers leaked oil once I started the bike, so I assembled the bike only to the extent I could verify no oil leaks come engine start. The engine started immediately and was rewarded with an oil leak free valve covers.



The rest of the bike was assembled, and while the fairings were off I replaced the coolant, spark plugs, and performed and oil and filter change. I gave the bike a close inspection and was rewarded with no extra parts.



Bike is all nice and clean and appears to be running in good order.



So the eternal debate-should you do the valve inspection on schedule? Based on the two times I've done this I'd say yes. However the job is a fucking pain, and feel right now after the battle is if the bike were an old horse I'd shoot it! I'm pretty beat as I've felt the experience has left me feeling I've done a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson. As I type I'm quaffing a large gin and tonic in relief that it's finally done.