can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it?

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can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it?

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can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 5:48:39 PM

vdubracer33

Posts: 69
Joined: 9/4/2008
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just wondering how much of a task it is to adjust valves. im gonna get a clymer manual hopefully it will help ive never torn apart a bike motor before honestly but i dont have money to have a shop do it

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 5:50:06 PM

Hurricane rider

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I cant imagine it to be EXTREMELY hard, I''m going out to do mine here in a few minutes, so I''ll let you know.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 5:58:28 PM

Gearloose

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Its easy enough if you give yourself plenty of time (a few hours or more first time), plenty of space to move around the bike (like 6'' all around the bike) and keep everything clean (so don''t do it in a dirty/dusty/gritty environment). Dirt is an engine''s worst enemy. Clean as much around the top end of the engine & under the tank & around the radiator as you can before starting. Then follow the manual & be patient.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 8:53:19 PM

Hurricane rider

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Ok, just an update, I''ve only gotten ONE cylinders EXHAUST valves done so far, and I''m ready for a whole pack of cigarettes at once. getting my feeler gauge in between the friggin cam caps, well, actually that isnt so bad, its ACTUALLY SEEING WHERE THE VALVE ROCKER IS that I''m having trouble with.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 10:46:53 PM

Gearloose

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Yeah, I forgot to mention: get good task lighting too. I assume you''''ve got the tank and aircleaner off, radiator off etc. Otherwise its too hard to get at the rockers and see what you''''re doing with the adjusters, and torque the adjuster nuts. Its expensive to get it wrong.

There''''d have to be a market for training or a book on the psychology of adjusting valve clearances on the CBR - y''''know, like thinking very mellow karmic thoughts, reminding self "the valves are my friends", and "I have all the time in the world, my friends", taking it easy and RECHECKING clearances and tightness of adjusting nuts. Also the 2 handed manipulation and rhythmic, tender finger action must have other applications... [wife made me edit that one...says I''ve obviously still got a bit to learn]

< Message edited by Gearloose -- 9/29/2008 2:23:38 PM >

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/28/2008 11:32:55 PM

Hurricane rider

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2 hands? I need 4. I figured out what I was doing wrong, and still realized I had quite a few valves WAY outta spec, which explains my crappy power, although I also had a plug wire that was kinda semi connected(also kinda adding to the crappy power thing)

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/29/2008 7:40:38 PM

tripicana

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Joined: 11/16/2007
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i adjusted my valves with the engine out of the frame, easy with everything out of the way.
for some valves i; put the feeler gauge on the valve, finger tighten the adjuster bolt, use a 1/4'' wratchet with deep socket to torque the nut. recheck the clearance, and either loosen or tighten the adjuster screw before tightening the nut with a wrench.
you should be able to guess and check with one hand in the small space.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/29/2008 9:32:13 PM

Hurricane rider

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Once I actually LOOKED at my manual, I understood what I was doing wrong, and the service manual made it completely clear. thank god for that PDF file. the Hurricane''s valves are actually fairly easy to adjust honestly, and they''re not bad when you know wtf to do. I put my intakes at .007 and exhausts at .008, which is the middle ground setting between the tight and loose specs, so that should help make the best power with maximal reliability.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 9/30/2008 9:22:24 AM

rrasco

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When my first motor started pinging, we adjusted the valves thinking it was just valve chatter, well it wasn''t and when we put in the new motor we adjusted them while it was outside of the frame; WAY easier merely based off of accessibility. Its not hard adjusting the valves, just time a slow patient process.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 10/8/2008 6:41:01 PM

Detroit Cane

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yo you just gave yourself somemore work to do in the near future if you put the clearence in the middle of the range. you are supposed to put them at the tightest spec. you want your valves to be tight or you will still have power loss.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 10/8/2008 6:43:46 PM

Detroit Cane

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if you dont know exactly what you are doing or have a honda manual you might night be able to do everything you may need to do. a clymer manual is good and deffinitly better than nothing but factory honda manuals are best.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 10/8/2008 7:44:25 PM

Hurricane rider

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Detroit Cane

yo you just gave yourself somemore work to do in the near future if you put the clearence in the middle of the range. you are supposed to put them at the tightest spec. you want your valves to be tight or you will still have power loss.

This is incorrect actually.
the tightest spec means you have to adjust your valves again THAT much sooner, putting your valves at the middle spec is actually the best compromise of power and longevity. now if you ONLY want power, the tight spec is fine, but I''d rather go with the middleground since its more reliable mechanically.

plus if they''re tighter, eventually they''ll not seat tightly, reducing compression AND power, which isnt what you want.

(in reply to Detroit Cane)

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 10/25/2008 1:19:20 AM

Detroit Cane

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I am sorry to inform you HR, but I am correct in what I said and here is why. The F1 has screw and lock-nut adjusting valves and not shim and bucket style valve adjustments. This in turn means that as the nature of screws and nuts go, they tend to come loose wich would cause the valves to the become loose and would not cause them to become tighter(they wear loose not tight). if it were a shim and bucket style system you would put a bigger shim in if you had too much clearance because the original shim would have worn smaller causing the clearance to be too big. Not having the valves adjusted can lead to possible valve chatter or even breaking a valve do to it hitting the piston wich can cause more damage than you want to hear about. Putting them at the tightest setting also gives you the best longevity because of what I have previously stated. I know this because this is what I do for a living. I am a motorcycle technition.

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RE: can i adjust my valves myself or let a shop do it? - 10/25/2008 3:07:41 AM

Stan_Laurel

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It''s only nuts and bolts.