Valve Adjustments M800

Hi
Could anyone advise me on valve adjustments and how important it is to get them checked.
The bike has now done 9,500 miles and had the valves done and checked at 600 miles. I have serviced the bike every 2,000 miles with oil and filter and check everything myself as I used to be an engineer.
I have never done the valves on one of these,but when I phoned up the local dealer and they wanted a £150 I nearly fell over. Some folks say that they have run these engines for 20+ thousand miles without touching the valves and others say different.
I have looked up on how to adjust them and it does'nt look too bad,but that is in theory and not in practise LOL
What would you recommend ?? would you leave alone as the bike is quite or would you attempt them myself or????????
Many Thanks
Steve/UK

Hi Steve pop in to the Here and introduce your self mate, we like it that way!

As for the valves, yes you are technically overdue with the valve adjustment but I wouldn't panic about it. Any way its an east enough job especially for a man of your background & there is a pdf manual in this section for download should you so wish.

Hi
Whats the worst that can go wrong with valves if I dont get them checked??
i am going to check them,but just wondered what sort of miles people on here have done on their bikes between valve services.
Thanks
StevieH

StevieH wrote:

Whats the worst that can go wrong with valves if I dont get them checked??

Gotta be honest Steve and say I don't honestly know!

However what I do know is:
.....................................
..................................... performance will suffer
..................................... Bad fuel economy
..................................... Loss of power
..................................... They must be checked only when engine is cold
..................................... As the engine wears they usually get tighter, however they may become looser, if they do you will you will think someone has swapped your motor out for a very old Singer sawing machine. The problem you have if you don't know what your listening for, is that even on a good day the top of the engine sounds a little bit like a Sawing machine.

Sorry I ain't much help, bear with us and I am sure a better answer will come along

Thanks for any info you can give me on this as it is very much appreciated.!!
StevieH

Stevie,



My bikes now at 20,000 miles and hasn't had a valve check that I know of ( bike had 6400 miles when I got it ) with no ill effects so far. Having said that I am going to put mine in to a mechanic for them checking / adjusting later this year as I don't fancy the job myself and ideally they do need to be checked. Won't give it to a dealer though, I've got a couple of local motorcycle mechanics ( call them back street garages if you like ) one of which I've used before with success. They'll be getting the job, it'll be a fraction of the cost of a main dealer.



To sum up about incorrect valve clearances .... valves are designed to lose most of their heat through the valve seat in the cylinder head. If there is too little clearance the valve doesn't seat fully it will start to get hotter and hotter. Sooner or later the valve starts to melt or burn. If the clearance is too much the valve train components will be hammered every time the valve opens. 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. In summary they need to be correct to ensure the longevity of the motor.

Due to the mileage on mine I'm going to get mine done just to make sure.



Hope this helps guys

Frigg me Mick I just spent ages typing that out so that it would make sense only to find you got in before me ..........

captain crash wrote:

Frigg me Mick I just spent ages typing that out so that it would make sense only to find you got in before me ..........

Never a bad thing that, confirmation of fact is what that is

Nice One Guy's
Read all your posts and they all make good sense,but had to have a bit of a chuckle the way you all have a laugh with one another.
There's nothing like a bit of good humour,that's the way I like it.

StevieH

Sorry Cap'n, but it took me just as long to type !!



My typing technique is the " Eagle" method ( ie - circle twice, then drop ) so I'm not the quickest typist there is

At least we both said the same thing like Mr I said , thats the most important thing

While undertaking the valve adjustment I found a good idea on YouTube and decided to make a custom tool.
I used a square drive screw and attached it to a scrap piece I found in my garage for a handle. A little gorilla glue and presto! A custom tool that I didn't have to pay for. And it works great for getting the valves set at the proper clearance.
I will post a pic's.

Many Thanks for that I look forward to the pic's
Thanks
Steve

Sorry, posting has been tough to figure out from my phone...

I don't really understand what that is or how it works, am I being stupid?

Three items are needed to adjust the valves (once they are exposed) a feeler gauge a 10mm box end wrench and a tiny wrench to fit on the top of the valve. Since the smallest wrench I have is a 6mm (which is way too large) and I did not want to buy a specialty wrench, I made this. Pliers or a crescent wrench can round the edges on the valve adjusters.

This tool takes the place of item B from the manual photo below.

Gotcha, very clever

Valves burn when the adjustment becomes too tight preventing the valve from closing properly and the escaping gases erode the valve lip.

The problem with these bikes is that the valves become quieter as they become tighter over time so people don't realise there's a problem. I think the biggest problem is for those who skip the 600 mile adjustment.

CycleBiker wrote:

I think the biggest problem is for those who skip the 600 mile adjustment.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I don't think the UK dealerships do not do a valve check at 600 miles?

Steve Jordan, The dealer I got mine from asked me to get the Valves checked at 3000 miles, but Im pretty sure the owners manual suggests a 600 mile 'tightening up', after initial break in, dunno if that does or does not include valve check