Valve Adjustments, have you had it done?

[Guitar Man]

What do you mean by "needs to be adjusted", what other pads can there be except the valve shims, which need replacing when you're adjusting clearance?

If you need a thinner shim, some shops in my area can machine sand your old ones to the specified thickness, that's loads cheaper than buying a shim kit and you don't have to wait for it. There are people who sanded them at home using "custom" methods to great effect, but I wouldn't attempt that myself.

I'm preparing for a valve check, will do everything in one go - sparks, filters, oil, coolant change and valves, haven't done that before so just crawling info now. Good to know most bikes don't need adjustment - mine's at 28.5k mls now.

You're right. They are shims. Sorry for the poor choice of words.

I go to a small ATV shop and buy shims individually instead of a whole kit. I wouldn't trust myself with sanding them down.

 

[stink989]

Checked my clearances today at 38,500km. They are all in spec

 

[stink989]

Also there is no need to remove or loosen the throttle bodies. Just remove the tank, air box, battery box, rubber flap thing and the radiator.

 

[n0other]

I've checked my valves at 29k miles and made a guide for it http://www.600riders.com/forum/how-tos/47593-valve-clearance-check.html

All valves were within spec.

 

[Fishwiz4]

I just had mine checked at 29,000 miles. All within spec.

Sent from my Droid RAZR Maxx HD

 

[UHcougarJohn]

Mine got checked at 31k miles, all in spec.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk 2

 

[Marthy]

Doing it today...



Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fishwiz4]

What engine/car is that?

Sent from my Droid RAZR Maxx HD

 

[SAAVA]

Just had it done at 47,000 miles

3 exhaust valves .3 or 1/1000 out of spec.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

What engine/car is that?

Sent from my Droid RAZR Maxx HD

A V12 something, naturally aspirated.

Likely MUCH easier to adjust the valves than the fizzer..

 

[mave2911]

Just had mine done at 42500kms. (26408mi)

Exhaust between 0.25 - 0.28 (2 at 0.25 and 6 at 0.28)

Inlet between 0.15 - 0.18 (3 at 0.15 and 5 at 0.18)

I had it done at the bike shop, whilst they did a heap of other work for me.

Happy with that!

 

[yoogi]

I shopped around and eventually gave in and had a dealer do mine at $575, $100 more than the quoted price for all the extra slats. My regular guy later told me i got ripped an how unlikely it was to need the seven new slats. I had that done about 45,000 km on my 2006 FZ6. Most places were quoting between $350 - $400 but would never fully commit. anyway, i was glad to have the work done but noticed no difference in the way the bike ran, probably because nothing was really needed. oh well, better than neglect.

 

[n0other]

I shopped around and eventually gave in and had a dealer do mine at $575, $100 more than the quoted price for all the extra slats. My regular guy later told me i got ripped an how unlikely it was to need the seven new slats. I had that done about 45,000 km on my 2006 FZ6. Most places were quoting between $350 - $400 but would never fully commit. anyway, i was glad to have the work done but noticed no difference in the way the bike ran, probably because nothing was really needed. oh well, better than neglect.

I checked mine at 49 000 km and all the valves were within spec. 7 Sounds kinda extreme. If there's a chance they lied to you then how do you know any work was carried out at all.

 

[Marthy]

Need to do mine soon... Got my shims kit just need to get at it!

 

[fastar1]

Just checked mine two days ago after 55 000 km and dozens of track days. Everything was in spec. I am amazed!

Hey, I hear Harleys don't need valve adjustments (flame on!):

Engines that redline below 7000 RPM can use hydraulic lifter (they adjust themselves). That's why most cars don't need valve.clearances adjusted.

I'd rather ride a 14000 RPM wailing banshee.

 

[Water Bear]

I'd rather ride a 14000 RPM wailing banshee.

:thumbup:

I'd rather ride an engine that was designed in the last 50 years.

 

[kq6up]

I am going to be checking my valve clearance. The bike has been riding rough about the last 500 miles. It was running rough when it needed plugs as well. However, it had much more hesitation and even stalls from a standing start. On my last road trip I noticed it just ran rough in low to mid RPM's, but no problem at high RPMS. I have never synced the throttle bodies, but I plan on doing that while I'm at it. I am having the perfect storm of maintenance expenses because my chain has given up the ghost too.

Thanks,
Chris Maness

 

[FinalImpact]

I am going to be checking my valve clearance. The bike has been riding rough about the last 500 miles. It was running rough when it needed plugs as well. However, it had much more hesitation and even stalls from a standing start. On my last road trip I noticed it just ran rough in low to mid RPM's, but no problem at high RPMS. I have never synced the throttle bodies, but I plan on doing that while I'm at it. I am having the perfect storm of maintenance expenses because my chain has given up the ghost too.

Thanks,
Chris Maness

^^
What came of this??? Was the "rough running" resolved?

 

[kq6up]

Yes, sorry. It was the stinking chain. I didn't realize how the chain could make it ride so poorly. It still stalls on idle at high altitudes, but I have not balanced the carbs or adjusted the idle. I will check the valve timing then do that task following, and I would imagine the stalling problem will be gone. Not a big deal I have to be above 6k feet before this problem shows up.

Thanks,
Chris Maness

 

[FinalImpact]

Yes, sorry. It was the stinking chain. I didn't realize how the chain could make it ride so poorly. It still stalls on idle at high altitudes, but I have not balanced the carbs or adjusted the idle. I will check the valve timing then do that task following, and I would imagine the stalling problem will be gone. Not a big deal I have to be above 6k feet before this problem shows up.

Thanks,
Chris Maness

Take a look at this thread. Its happened to mine twice and MAKES a huge difference once its corrected. Could account for your stalls too.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-technical/48874-cure-bad-vibrations-spark-plug-caps.html

PS - My fairing mounted mirrors are vibration free across the whole RPM band as a result of this minor correction.