Valve clearance check- where?

[nerijusj]

I'm thinking the bike should be checked out for valve clearance and adjusted properly if needed. It's at 23 k miles. Can somebody recommend a place or person who know what they're doing?

[gmdboston]

I'm thinking the bike should be checked out for valve clearance and adjusted properly if needed. It's at 23 k miles. Can somebody recommend a place or person who know what they're doing?

If we're not too busy, we can do it while it's here for the suspension.

[Karaya One]

Performance Factor in Medford.

[BostonSVkid]

Um get a manual and do it yourself???

[catch2otwo]

Feeler gauges : 10 bucks from autozone
Manual: 30 bucks from online or store

get to it

[gmdboston]

Feeler gauges : 10 bucks from autozone
Manual: 30 bucks from online or store

get to it

Check clearance, remove cam shafts, remove buckets, measure shims, do some math, panic because you don't have the correct shims, post a desperate plea for help on the internet, visit local dealer and ask if he will swap shims for free, get pissed off because he wants to actually sell them to you, two days later shims arrive from cheap mail order shop, find out they are the wrong diameter, call mail order shop, wait for next day air delivery, return incorrect shims for a 20% restocking fee, replace shims with correct size, reinstall cams, forgot how cams go in, post desperate plea for help on the internet, wait for link to pdf of a shop manual, check cam timing, rotate motor several times, recheck clearance, repeat if needed, wonder if you did it right, reinstall valve cover, airbox, and tank, cross you fingers and push the button. Quite simple actually.

[Pittenger5]

Peter, you forgot a LOT of swearing and drinking somewhere in that equation.

[Kham]

Check clearance, remove cam shafts, remove buckets, measure shims, do some math, panic because you don't have the correct shims, post a desperate plea for help on the internet, visit local dealer and ask if he will swap shims for free, get pissed off because he wants to actually sell them to you, two days later shims arrive from cheap mail order shop, find out they are the wrong diameter, call mail order shop, wait for next day air delivery, return incorrect shims for a 20% restocking fee, replace shims with correct size, reinstall cams, forgot how cams go in, post desperate plea for help on the internet, wait for link to pdf of a shop manual, check cam timing, rotate motor several times, recheck clearance, repeat if needed, wonder if you did it right, reinstall valve cover, airbox, and tank, cross you fingers and push the button. Quite simple actually.

i did all that except the mail part. guess i was lucky to swap the shims around and fit perfect within specs. i did post couple of desperate posts on internet. some here are like it's junk now.. blah blah blah... bike still running after a year or so. took me couple weeks i think. divide and conquer. great experience. now i know.

[catch2otwo]

Check clearance, remove cam shafts, remove buckets, measure shims, do some math, panic because you don't have the correct shims, post a desperate plea for help on the internet, visit local dealer and ask if he will swap shims for free, get pissed off because he wants to actually sell them to you, two days later shims arrive from cheap mail order shop, find out they are the wrong diameter, call mail order shop, wait for next day air delivery, return incorrect shims for a 20% restocking fee, replace shims with correct size, reinstall cams, forgot how cams go in, post desperate plea for help on the internet, wait for link to pdf of a shop manual, check cam timing, rotate motor several times, recheck clearance, repeat if needed, wonder if you did it right, reinstall valve cover, airbox, and tank, cross you fingers and push the button. Quite simple actually.

haha well if ya put it that way. i like tinkering, others not so much. ill rephrase my response... bring it to gmd done deal.

[Kham]

haha well if ya put it that way. i like tinkering, others not so much. ill rephrase my response... bring it to gmd done deal.

correction; bring IT and lots of $$$ to gmd...

[gmdboston]

correction; bring IT and lots of $$$ to gmd...

1) We charge less per hour than the dealerships.

2) We do chicken right, if you want cheap, hack job work, don't come here.

3) Good work costs good money, if you can't afford it, it's not my fault.

4) When was the last time heard a complaint about our workmanship?????

[gmdboston]

haha well if ya put it that way. i like tinkering, others not so much. ill rephrase my response... bring it to gmd done deal.

Some times the best tool for the job, is your check book.

[Kham]

what i meant was bring it to gmdboston. they do great quality work for great price. note: so i heard.

note2: i understand that there is something you can and can't do yourself so it's best to leave it to the pro. only question is who can you trust?

[gmdboston]

what i meant was bring it to gmdboston. they do great quality work for great price. note: so i heard.

note2: i understand that there is something you can and can't do yourself so it's best to leave it to the pro. only question is who can you trust?

Nothing wrong with doing it yourself, but like you said, some jobs are best left to professionals. As for who can you trust??? Good question. Every one makes mistakes at some point. Look for shop who has an outstanding reputation for quality work and good customer service. This industry is tough to get and keep good people. We make so little (a lot less than you think, even the big dealerships. Just look at SSMS's closing. He didn't call it quits because he was making too much money, he's closing because the rewards don't justify the risk.) many techs only last a few months or years. Lots of kids come from a tech school thinking they will make good money, but the reality is you can do better working retail or in fast food. I made a lot more as a carpenter than I do now. So when these mistakes happen all you can ask for is the shop to work with you to make it right. That doesn't mean they have to buy a customer a new bike because they left a spot of grease on the grip, but if a tech does a valve adjustment and gets the cam timing wrong and crunches the engine, they should fix the engine, or replace it. This means that the shop needs to profitable enough to absorb those costs. (Again see SSMS) If at the end of the day all the owner can do is pay the bills and draw a small check, it's not worth it. If an owner rolls the dice on $20,000-$50,000 per month in expenses, there needs to an appropriate benefit in return. That's why there are business owners and then there are hobby shop owners. The hobby shops don't last more than a year or two, but make up the vast majority of M/C industry businesses.

[BostonSVkid]

I have checked my valve clearances twice and had to shim them once. Its not all that hard if you have a manual and a full brain. I did mine with a buddies help.

[butcher bergs]

No offense Peter, but shim under bucket really isn't that difficult.

Ask me how I know...


nerijusj-Specs, bike and two days is all I'll need.

[Tricky Mike]

Check clearance, remove cam shafts, remove buckets, measure shims, do some math, panic because you don't have the correct shims, post a desperate plea for help on the internet, visit local dealer and ask if he will swap shims for free, get pissed off because he wants to actually sell them to you, two days later shims arrive from cheap mail order shop, find out they are the wrong diameter, call mail order shop, wait for next day air delivery, return incorrect shims for a 20% restocking fee, replace shims with correct size, reinstall cams, forgot how cams go in, post desperate plea for help on the internet, wait for link to pdf of a shop manual, check cam timing, rotate motor several times, recheck clearance, repeat if needed, wonder if you did it right, reinstall valve cover, airbox, and tank, cross you fingers and push the button. Quite simple actually.

This post reads like a damn solid beginning for that "tutorial" forum everyone was posting about last week. Well done.

[Kham]

thanks for the business lesson. i mean it.

but sorry i can't afford to hire you. my fault. this is expensive hobby so i gotta learn stuff to survive.

[nerijusj]

Thanks everyone for suggestions and recommendations. I have a manual, I'll take a look at it just to see what kind of work is involved. But I doubt I'm gonna do that myself. I probably could, but I don't have garage and lots of time. And I need it done in winter, so the bike's ready when it warms up a bit

[stoinkythepig]

Thanks everyone for suggestions and recommendations. I have a manual, I'll take a look at it just to see what kind of work is involved. But I doubt I'm gonna do that myself. I probably could, but I don't have garage and lots of time. And I need it done in winter, so the bike's ready when it warms up a bit

If you do chose to do it yourself, I have all the shims you'll need (assuming they are the same size as my '01 9R) and will gladly swap shims with you. It is not hard work, but it requires a clean place to work, patience, and quite a bit of time if you have no experience. I have done them several times and can probably do the work in 4-5 hours. I think a shop would be your best bet since you lack a garage.

[Kham]

i think most of the work is get all the shit out of the way to open the valve cover.

[BostonSVkid]

i think most of the work is get all the shit out of the way to open the valve cover.

+1. checking clearances takes 10 mins. Its the stuff you have to go through to get there and then reinstall after the fact.

I have to pull my fairings, cooling fan, radiator etc to get to the front. I have to pull my tank and to get to the rear.


What takes the longest really is when you finally decide what new shims you need and come to find out no suzuki dealer in the area carries them and it will take a week to get them. Then a week later the bastards still dont have them and they jerk you around. Then you get them in your bike and have to put the bitch back together. BY then you have lost over a week of riding time!!!!!!!!

[nerijusj]

It's probably a little different for SV, I assume easier. And yeah, that's why I wanna do it in winter time, so I don't loose any riding time

+1. checking clearances takes 10 mins. Its the stuff you have to go through to get there and then reinstall after the fact.

I have to pull my fairings, cooling fan, radiator etc to get to the front. I have to pull my tank and to get to the rear.


What takes the longest really is when you finally decide what new shims you need and come to find out no suzuki dealer in the area carries them and it will take a week to get them. Then a week later the bastards still dont have them and they jerk you around. Then you get them in your bike and have to put the bitch back together. BY then you have lost over a week of riding time!!!!!!!!

[RyanNicholson]

read PK's (gmdboston) sig quote.... its possibly the most true thing i've ever heard. I learned the hard way by paying like 3k in broken parts this last season instead of spending $900ish on a rear shock.

seriously, get it done right....so you dont have to get it done over again.

[FireFly]

For the Honda F4i guys who are willing to try and tackle it, heres a good tutorial i found a while back.valve adjustment for f4i, not for the novice - Page 2 - BARF - Bay Area Riders Forum