Valve adj.

[ramsgate]

I just had 600 mile service done,1 valve on rear cyl. needed adj.Dealer told me they need to be checked every 8000 miles.What is experience with these engines as they get up in miles?Do I need to get proficient in doing them myself? I can't see myself paying the dealer to do this that often.

[SkullCrusher]

Hydraulic tappets are typically pretty maintenance free. Depending on the year and motor you can pull them out, measure compression and re-shim if necessary without too much hassle. Go download the factory service manual and see.

[gmck]

you didn't say what bike but since they give you a schedule of adjustment you don't have hydraulic adjusters. They should be pretty stable after the breakin period. But should be checked frome time to. time. On my vlx the actual adjustment might take 15 min if your slow and carefull. But you hahe to remove the seat, tank and most of the air intake to get at it, add a couple hours.

[justinmahn]

Is that an Aero 750 in your avatar? If it's like my spirit, the worst part was getting the valve covers off. They're so tight, you have to peel the seal away from one side to clear the highest bolts on the inside. Other than that it was cake.

[juliusc]

I have a 2007 Aero. The first time I had my valves adjusted was at 17000 miles and only one valve needed very little adjustment . I plan to have them done next at 35000 miles.

[ramsgate]

2011 vt750 aero leftover.so you can download service manual?how do you do that?thanks for the good feedback!


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[Convict1997]

I did mine at 600, 4k, and 8k. 600 and 4k were fine. 8k needed slight adjustment. It's definitely not worth paying the prices dealers want to do this. I believe, being a 2011, your bike is fuel injected while mine is carbed. That will probably present a few differences with tank and intake removal but, I don't foresee any issues. Some tips:

- remove the pair valves (do they have these on FI?) from the top of the valve covers before trying to remove the covers. You'll need the extra clearance to get the valve cover out. The one on the front cylinder was easiest for me to remove the bolts with an 8mm socket on a 1/4" ratchet with the handle pointing towards the left side of the bike. This seems counter intuitive because the valve is closer to the right side but the thermostat housing causes all kinds of problems with clearance.

- valve cover removal. What a bitch. You'll swear they installed the engine and then welded the frame in place around it. Front is easier. It will only come out to the left side since the thermostat housing is on the right. Once the bolts are removed and the cover is broken free, you'll need to lift up and slide forward. At the same time rotate it slightly counter clockwise (as you are looking straight on at the left side of the bike) so the front lip of the cover drops down in front of the cylinder head. This will help gain the clearance you need to get the rest of the way out. I basically had the cover rotated 90 degrees and standing straight up between the radiator and the front cylinder before it came out. Rear cylinder will come out to the right side. You'll want to pop off the side covers and I also removed the zip tie along the backbone of the frame which allowed me to move some hoses and wiring out of the way and get more clearance. On this one, I found I had to lift up and slide the cover backwards but, when pulling it out, I also had to swing the right side of the cover towards the front of the bike. It's frustrating but, trust me, it will come out.

- when adjusting the valves, some have said they held the stem with needle nose pliers while turning the lock nut. This didn't work too well for me. I couldn't get a grip that would hold the 1/8" that was visible of the oiled up valve stem. Do yourself a favor and get an open end 4mm wrench. Made a world of difference in being able to maintain the position of the valve while tightening the lock nut.

- when checking the actual clearance, knowing how much is too much/not enough drag on the feeler gauge is tough. I believe it was .20mm exhaust and .15mm intake with an acceptable +/- .02mm variance. So, I just tightened them down to the specified clearance and checked the next size up. The next size I had was actually .03mm larger for both but, close enough. If the correct size fits but the next one up doesn't, then you should be good.

- Use a torque wrench when installing the valve cover bolts. Too many people have posted about snapping the longer ones off in the head. The specified torque feels way too light but, it works. I know I would have put a lot more on it if I hadn't had a torque wrench to stop me.

It does take a little while the first time. The most difficult part is getting the valve covers out. The rest is just removing all the surrounding parts. I believe the first time took me about 4 hours. Now, I can do it in about 1.5 start to finish.

[Bowie-]

Originally Posted by Convict1997

I did mine at 600, 4k, and 8k. 600 and 4k were fine. 8k needed slight adjustment. It's definitely not worth paying the prices dealers want to do this. I believe, being a 2011, your bike is fuel injected while mine is carbed. That will probably present a few differences with tank and intake removal but, I don't foresee any issues. Some tips:

- remove the pair valves (do they have these on FI?) from the top of the valve covers before trying to remove the covers. You'll need the extra clearance to get the valve cover out. The one on the front cylinder was easiest for me to remove the bolts with an 8mm socket on a 1/4" ratchet with the handle pointing towards the left side of the bike. This seems counter intuitive because the valve is closer to the right side but the thermostat housing causes all kinds of problems with clearance.

- valve cover removal. What a bitch. You'll swear they installed the engine and then welded the frame in place around it. Front is easier. It will only come out to the left side since the thermostat housing is on the right. Once the bolts are removed and the cover is broken free, you'll need to lift up and slide forward. At the same time rotate it slightly counter clockwise (as you are looking straight on at the left side of the bike) so the front lip of the cover drops down in front of the cylinder head. This will help gain the clearance you need to get the rest of the way out. I basically had the cover rotated 90 degrees and standing straight up between the radiator and the front cylinder before it came out. Rear cylinder will come out to the right side. You'll want to pop off the side covers and I also removed the zip tie along the backbone of the frame which allowed me to move some hoses and wiring out of the way and get more clearance. On this one, I found I had to lift up and slide the cover backwards but, when pulling it out, I also had to swing the right side of the cover towards the front of the bike. It's frustrating but, trust me, it will come out.

- when adjusting the valves, some have said they held the stem with needle nose pliers while turning the lock nut. This didn't work too well for me. I couldn't get a grip that would hold the 1/8" that was visible of the oiled up valve stem. Do yourself a favor and get an open end 4mm wrench. Made a world of difference in being able to maintain the position of the valve while tightening the lock nut.

- when checking the actual clearance, knowing how much is too much/not enough drag on the feeler gauge is tough. I believe it was .20mm exhaust and .15mm intake with an acceptable +/- .02mm variance. So, I just tightened them down to the specified clearance and checked the next size up. The next size I had was actually .03mm larger for both but, close enough. If the correct size fits but the next one up doesn't, then you should be good.

- Use a torque wrench when installing the valve cover bolts. Too many people have posted about snapping the longer ones off in the head. The specified torque feels way too light but, it works. I know I would have put a lot more on it if I hadn't had a torque wrench to stop me.

It does take a little while the first time. The most difficult part is getting the valve covers out. The rest is just removing all the surrounding parts. I believe the first time took me about 4 hours. Now, I can do it in about 1.5 start to finish.

Thank you for this. I thought I was going to do it during lunch today, you saved me a lot of frustration. I'll wait till I have more time and a torque wench handy. At 12kmi, do you think it's a bad idea to put it off? What actually happens when they are too high (besides noise)?

[knucklebuster69]

To much valve clearance only makes noise. To little clearance and you can burn a valve.