Member Contributer gig Posted December 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 I wanted to encourage anyone thinking about checking valve clearances over the winter, with a bit of encouragement from a friend I did, and was pretty straight forward. @ 40,000 miles I did have 3 out of spec and 3 on the edge I pulled all and did the shim shuffle, ended up buying 8 to adjust all while open, accidently tighten one somehow, but within spec. intake .16 +- .03 exhaust .30 +- .03 Before #1 #3 .12 / .17 .12 / .11 .28 / .28 .28 / .28 #2 #4 .15 / .19 .13 / .15 .27 / .28 .28 / .28 After #1 #3 .16 / .17 .17 / .17 .30 / .30 .29 / .29 #2 #4 .14? / .16 .18 / .16 .29 / .29 .30 / .30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum CEO HispanicSlammer Posted December 3, 2014 Forum CEO Share Posted December 3, 2014 I did a how to write up on it years and years ago http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/40-valve-service-5th-gen/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted December 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 For years this was something I avoided because it sounded so involved but then a friend showed me how and I've done my own ever since. It's not essentially difficult and doesn't require any particular skills or knowledge, just be methodical and follow the "How To...". Well done for attempting it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted December 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 Not difficult, just involved. Someone suggested to me when I did mine to sand them down instead of buying smaller. I swapped them all around and still had a handful too large. Sandpaper on glass to keep it perfectly flat, and sand in figure eight. Hasn't exploded yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoufhakam Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 i can assure you while working on the big hefty VFR engine's valves is not an easy job, you gotta praise japanese engineers for simplicity and clear work p.s. i'm currently in the process of the doing the valves in my Ducati Monster and its a real PAIN IN THE A** (air cooled, 2 cylinders, 2 valves per cylinder) though by far its supposed to be the easiest ducati do work on - compared to the other models where you actually have to take the engine off the bike to valves job (every 12,000-16,000km) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MBrane Posted December 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 The bike will actually run better with clearances on the tight side, but you need to check 'em more often if you go that way. It's a fine line between tight, and burned valves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer zupatun Posted December 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 somebody else chime in on this but it's my belief that you want your exhaust valves a little loose or on the loose her side of the spec. And you want your context a little on the tighter side this back if you had to.the worst case is to have tight exhaust valves they tend to heat up and eventually they're too tight you don't get good exhaust and they burn.having tight intake valves means that maybe you're not getting enough air flow into the cylinder as compared to a loose spec. somebody check my math on this please. Matt The bike will actually run better with clearances on the tight side, but you need to check 'em more often if you go that way. It's a fine line between tight, and burned valves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gig Posted December 3, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 3, 2014 If tightening I tried to error on the loose side and vice versa, as the shims only come .025 increments. The valve I had tightened was bothering me so removed cams and discovered I added instead of subtracting thickness. So fixed that, and while out tried KevCarvers sand paper on glass table suggestion to get the .18 to.16. Worked great.. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer KevCarver Posted December 4, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 4, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luigi Posted December 4, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hi to all. Swapping my engine with another one, as described in "Help, i lost 3d gear" post, before installing the second one i checked the valve clearance. After measurements i found two valves out of specs but i have experienced that if the engine is unused from a long time, before spending money to buy new shims, is better remove all camshafts, remount all at specified torque and make a new measurement. At sometimes the clearance return in the specified range without shims substitution. Ciao, Luigi. P.S. ...and no, ain't no matter of an incorrect first measurements... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbass Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 5th gen, at 34k miles clearance check revealed 10 tight, 1 loose, 5 on the money. All corrected, and quite glad I checked. I obviously don't buy the "valves good for 100K" line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Terry Posted December 7, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 7, 2014 I bought my 5th gen with an unknown service history (but it sounded fine!). I checked the valves a couple of weeks back (at 85000 km) and found all exhausts and 4 of the intakes were perfect, and the other 4 of the intakes were just a little tight and needed re-shimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted December 8, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 8, 2014 This is a job I need to do this Winter,bike is running fine but I'd rather check her out properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viffviff Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Another guide here: http://www.bikersoracle.com/vfr/forum/showthread.php?t=127057 Hope it's useful too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer luigi Posted December 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted December 13, 2014 ....and the other 4 of the intakes were just a little tight and needed re-shimming. At 85000 km i think that is acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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