Valve clearance, dealers refuses to check

[Dae]

I went to two different Honda dealers and they both state it’s unnecessary to check the valve clearance at 28,000KM. One dealer pointing to a Goldwing, getting the oil change and states it has over 90,000KM without ever having the valves inspected. The dealers assured me that the 3 year 50,000KM warranty will still apply without checking for valve clearance.

I Have zero mechanical skills, so checking for valve clearance is too advance for my novice skills.

Should I be concerned?

What are the symptoms of valves needing adjustments?

[ericlw]

i wouldnt count on the warranty being honored if you dont follow the scheduled maintenance.its in the book for a reason.

[Monk]

It can go two ways:

If they get loose it'll make some noise.

If it's to tight you won't hear it.

But in both cases you should be able to notice the performance is not up to par.

[Ranger77]

They must be doing well if they don't want your money.

[Guest]

I wonder too about the two dealers in my area, one sold one 1200vrf the other didn't put one on the floor but I don't have an extended warranty, nocking on 10k miles. I'll stop by the indie that worked on my Harley since he has a full on speed shop that works most anything at least I have the service manual for him to go by. I've checked valves on a chevy but looks like on the 1200 there may be some very tight spaces to work around so I'll quite drinking a few beers a week now to save for the service when it comes in four months.

[VFR Capt.Bob]

I've checked my 98 VFR valves every 16k miles and never needed adjustment now at 74k miles. Not sure that's apples to apples with the chain driven cam 1200cc motor. I'm guessing it's a bullet proof design though.

[Guest]

If its schecduled in the maintenence it should be done

wtf has a goldwing Got to do with it !

Probably the case that not many mechanics want anything to do with it .

Personally i'd avoid honda dealers ,but then ive not got a warranty.

Dunno how it works with honda's ,but with cars in the uk as long as

You use a qualified mech ,the warranty still applies.

[Dutchy]

ask them to make an entry in your service manual where they state the 28k is not required and they vouch for the warranty. And then they stamp and sign. Trust is good, control is better.

my 4th gen has almost 70k, no valve checks.... At the time my dealer too asked if I wanted to throw away good money... Now a used engine with 20k will cost me maybe 200 euro where a valve check probably twice that.....

if the "what if" in your head robs you the pleasure of riding, go for the valve check. Otherwise spend the $ on other fun......

[Guest]

Sorry to hijack,

But just got the valve check on my 90k gen 4

For £100 ish,1 shim required.

It did drop in performance slightly before it was done.

Certainly didnt go to honda,went to well regarded mech

Dont beleive all the hype about £400/£500 bills

[Dae]

Thanks for everyone’s input and will try to find a good independent shop to have the valves checked at around 40K and hope nothing blows up in the meantime.

[smoothsailin]

For what it's worth: I've checked the valve clearances in my '94 ST1100 several times since purchasing it new in '95. My ST has passed the 90k mile point and so far I've never found it necessary to change any of the shims. Also, earlier this year I recall reading in the letters section of one of the motorcycle magazines where a contributor said a Honda mechanic told him he had never checked a 6th generation to find any of the valve out of spec. On the other hand I know a guy with over 30-years experience wrenching for Honda dealerships who told me he was surprised to discover the valve timing off by one tooth as he was checking the clearances of a friend's 5th generation for the first time. Since this was the engine's first valve clearance check it clearly left the factory that way. When my recently-purchased, low-mileage '98 reaches the 16k mile mark I may, or may not choose to check the valve clearances myself, or may pay the Honda mechanic I know to do the work for me on the side. If all of the valve clearances turn out to be in spec I may not have them checked again for many miles (if ever) unless it becomes necessary to go into the engine for another reason.

Note that I do agree if an engine failure occurs while the motorcycle is under warranty, should the the owner not be able to prove all of the recommended maintenance had been performed he could have a problem getting Honda to cover all of the expense to fix or replaced the failed engine. So if a dealership says a valve clearance check isn't necessary, I would 2nd the suggestion that the owner request that the service manager provide a written statement to the owner that includes the date, current mileage and says that.

My guess is they would not agree to do this though.

[Dmitry]

Unless it's a Ducati nothing bad gonna happen if you don't check the valves

[Baileyrock]

My only real concern would be as to how it would effect warranty, other than that it's not like it will blow up w/o a check in the next year or so.

[soichiro]

It's not a vtec. It has the honda unicam. The dealer must not be too experienced.

It shouldnt void your warranty in any way.

I'm a honda auto tech and I havent had the valve covers off my 04, 70k miles.

[JZH]

ask them to make an entry in your service manual where they state the 28k is not required and they vouch for the warranty. And then they stamp and sign. Trust is good, control is better.

I doubt they'd do this, but even if they did, you would potentially still be relying on Honda's goodwill to honour a warranty where the maintenance schedule wasn't adhered to (assuming it is actually in the maintenance schedule, of course!). Dealers go bust all the time--especially Honda dealers (or maybe just the ones located anywhere near me!--but the warranty is with the Honda distributor (e.g., American Honda). The only SAFE way to deal with a departure from a required maintenance schedule is to call Honda and ask them about it (and if they go along, to put it in writing...)

(Btw, I rode my old CBR1k up to Leiden from Italy on Sunday/Monday...man, that 100kph limit on most of the A12 really bit. I was yahooin all the way up to 120 when it ended! )

Ciao,

[Guest]

Out of the six Honda's that between me, my father, and my mother have owned, only one has ever needed any valves adjusted and it was a Goldwing with 99k miles on it.

I've personally checked the valves on one Honda (not a VFR) and decided that I wouldn't do it again on any Honda as it was a waste of time and resources unless the engine actually warranted it.

[Guest]

My Blackbird got her 1st valve adjustment when I did it at 38,000 and 9 of 16 valves needed new shims to bring her back into spec but, it was only out of lash by .001" on all 9 that needed it and I brought it back to the .009" it was supposed to be.

My CBX gets her .004" lash 24 shim over bucket valves checked every 1500-2000 miles and usually only needs one or two shims changed if any. I like adjusting the valves on an old DOHC Honda with shim over bucket adjustments but, I am not looking forward to the shim under & screw & lock nut valve adjust on my VFR1200F because there is so much stuff in the way that has to come off.

To make sure I don't void my VFR's 5 year warranty, I will adjust her valves at 16,000 miles like it calls for in the book. Only 6600 miles to go before I will be doing the nasty to her too.

[TiN]

This is the first Honda I've ever owned that I might hit the valve check interval. I know the Kawis that I owned were always way tight on the valves at like 16k. Is it just more of a manufacturer thing why people don't check the hondas that much? Just kind of wondering...

[Guest]

My personal opinion? I don't skimp on maintenance but there's too many Honda's that go far just fine without valves needing shimmed. That's not to say I'll never check them, it just may not be at 16k. Maybe I'll get it done at 20k or 30k or 40k. Maybe it'll be when I notice some noise or a performance drop or maybe when I get a wild hair. Honda's reputation is most of it for me.

Granted, I do all of my own maintenance. Not that the dealer wouldn't do a good job, but I like my money and prefer to keep as much of it as I can for myself.

[FJ12Ryder]

My '99 was getting a bit tight at 16,000 and had one shim that was too tight at 30,000. Took it out, had it ground, and put it back in. Not that big of a deal. Personally I'd rather be positive than just pretty sure.

[sirimiri]

ask them to make an entry in your service manual where they state the 28k is not required and they vouch for the warranty. And then they stamp and sign. Trust is good, control is better.

I'm with Dutchy.

[Dae]

ask them to make an entry in your service manual where they state the 28k is not required and they vouch for the warranty. And then they stamp and sign. Trust is good, control is better.

I'm with Dutchy.

It seems prudent to take Dutchy’s advice and have them stamp and sign, but I have to work with the Honda dealers in my area until I get rid of the VFR (not anytime soon.) If I pull out the owner’s manual and start pointing out how the valve inspection should be done at 24K, they’ll probably look at me like “What a A-hole!”The general managers at both of the dealers are nice people and think they were looking after my best interest. I’ll probably take it to a good independent shop when it hits around 40K, just to have peace of mind.

[soichiro]

Little late, but have my 2 cents.

I have 70 miles on my 04 and haven ck'ed the valvolas. I am a honda auto tech.

We use to adjust thevalves every 15K miles. Now with hondas maintenance mider system and ruining maintenance to claim lower cost of ownership, the valves never get adjusted, EVER.

I have only seen 2 accord engines that burnt a valve. Both also had leaking intakes and caused the burnt valve, or at least helped with cracking the valve due to temp. diffirence.

I have seen 1 crv engine that bent valves due to valve seat getting pushed up into the head and taking out the lash.

I have nearly 20 years experience and those are the only valve problems I have ever seen.

I really dont think valve adjustments are that important these days. On my 81 silverwing the valve lash changes in 3-5k miles. They called for valve adjustments every 3500 miles. Of course it is the simple screw and lock nut. The heads are out in the breeze. 10 min. valve adjustment.

[texasvfr]

Sort of like you. When I lived on the Texas coast I inquired at two different Honda dealers about doing the valve check. Both of them 1. Asked why I wanted it done 2.Stated that they had never done the check on any VFR before. 3. They could not even quote me a price for the service until they had done the service !

If they are loose you will hear them. If they are tight you will not hear them. You will notice a small performance hit.

I agree with Mr.Dutchy a good used engine cost a lot less than one valve check. The only reason to do it ,to me, is to keep the waranty up to date. I always buy used so that does not apply to me.

BTW the British magazine BIKE ran a special issue on the VFR about six years ago. One of the blokes that was interviewed had put over a million miles on various VFR models, he was a U.K. bike messenger. He had put a million miles on just two different VFR's and had never checked his valves! That makes me feel a lot better.

[Headhunter]

I feel better after reading this. I'm at 21K and this bike runs beautifully. After calling Honda and inquiring about the $$ I nearly shit. My 03 went to 80K with zero issues. I'm spending the substantial cash on other goodies for spring.