Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, I believe on the 1100, valve clearance does not need to be adjusted. Is this true on the 750?????

 

The manual specs calls for checking valve clearance every 12,000 miles on the '02 750 Spirit.

 

thanks

The manual specs calls for checking valve clearance every 12,000 miles on the '02 750 Spirit.

Thanks Pastor Ron. I don't remember where I read valve clearance didn't need to be adjusted. Still new to the 1100 and just reading as much as I can find.

 

A lot of "stuff" to take off and get out of the way just to get the valve covers off!

 

The shop manual simply says "Remove the thermostat mounting bolt and move the thermostat housing upward". I don't know if that's any help.

 

Valve clearance

Forum readers should read the whole discussion before piping in. Pastor Ron has a 750, which does have valve adjustments. thee 1100 has hydraulic lifters and there is no adjustment to make.

 

Ron,

I talked with my local dealer and they said that it's an easy 3 hour job and most of the time is spent getting stuff off the bike and getting stuff back on the bike. The actual adjustment doesn't take long at all according to them. My local dealer charged me $85 for valve adjustment, but I guess I got what I paid for because I now have to take it back to them because on occasion, it is back-firing through the carb and engine performance isn't what it was before I took it in.

Just get the manuals and do it yourself. After the dealer fixes this for me, I'm doing my own from here on out.

 

The two local shops I checked with said it's a minimum 3 hour job but could be as much as 5 hours and they charge a minimum of $50 an hour and as much as $75 an hour for certain jobs. I was also told that that price was for those who bought their bike there!!!! I bought mine of an independent shop (who is now a Yamaha dealer :evil: )! For those who didn't purchase their bike from them the price could be as much as $100 an hour!!!! That sounds nuts to me.

I've always been a tinkerer and have worked on cars and appliances electronics... I'm known as Mr. Fix It.... "if dad can't fix it, it can't be fixed", so I'm not intimidated with doing my own bike maintenance. So far I've done my own oil changes, plugs, tires, added auxillary lights, air horn, etc etc etc.

I have the bike all stripped down for the valve check except for the thermostat sitting above the front cylinder. I was just wondering if there is an easy way of dealing with the thermostat.

 

I've always been a tinkerer and have worked on cars and appliances electronics... I'm known as Mr. Fix It.... "if dad can't fix it, it can't be fixed", so I'm not intimidated with doing my own bike maintenance. So far I've done my own oil changes, plugs, tires, added auxillary lights, air horn, etc etc etc.

I have the bike all stripped down for the valve check except for the thermostat sitting above the front cylinder. I was just wondering if there is an easy way of dealing with the thermostat.

Well, you're plenty qualified...for sure.
I've got the shop manual and the full service manual at the house. I've checked and what I have are the exact same books as what the mechanic uses in the dealership. So if you need me to look something up for ya, just PM me your email addy and I'll send what info I can dig up for ya.

BTW, I'm also a member of CMA.

 

I checked my values earlier this fall. The hardest thing was getting the right angle to remove the valve covers. Took me about four hours. It was pretty straight forward. Just read and follow the directions carefully. Enjoy the money savings.

I'm gearing up for my first tire change.

 

I checked my values earlier this fall. The hardest thing was getting the right angle to remove the valve covers. Took me about four hours. It was pretty straight forward. Just read and follow the directions carefully. Enjoy the money savings.

I'm gearing up for my first tire change.

Yup - seem almost impossible to snake those valve covers completely out of the way. Then having to snake them back in and getting the gasket to stay seated. Done it a few times and always worked out, but they sure could have gave a little more clearance to get those covers out.
On my last time, I set the bike upright for a bit before starting the work. I notice I got less oil when I broke loose the valve cover gasket seal than the previous times. Guess more of the oil in the upper end drained down being upright, rather than having more puddle in the corner of the valve cover.

 

Just be happy it doesnt have valve shims!!

 

Did the valves today! Found out that it is important to follow the manual exaclty.... watch for the details!! i.e., when you set the fly wheel on the FT or RT mark make sure you have that little bit of play in the rockers as the manual says.... if it's not there rotate and set the marks again.... found out that on one roatation everything is tight.... the next rotation the slight play is in the rockers as the manual says.... was perplexed over this at first and ended up rechecking about five times! Did the front cylinder and it didn't need any adjustment, moved to the rear cylinder and it was really tight..... made the adjustment and then rotated the flywheel and realligned the RT mark.... was way off because I didn't first check for the slight play in the rockers.... I was a revolution off. All in all it's not a difficult job.... the worst part is all the stuff that has to be removed, disconnected, moved, etc. , just to get the valve covers off! Takes more time to do all the disassemble and reassemble than it does to check and adjust the valves.

 

FWIW My buddy has an 02 "ACE" 750 and we did his valves last weekend. For the front one there was enough clearance that we didn't even have to work the valve cover off, just lifted it up, made the adjustments and bolted it all back together. (helps to have an extra set of hands to hold the valve cover but not absolutely necessary)

Good Luck!

 

All in all it's not a difficult job.... the worst part is all the stuff that has to be removed, disconnected, moved, etc. , just to get the valve covers off! Takes more time to do all the disassemble and reassemble than it does to check and adjust the valves.

Correct, the biggest headache is getting at the rockers to adjust them. Being that it is a necessary adjustment you would think Honda would have made it easier to access them, even for their techs it's a pain.