I've had that same response from dealers, Tenman, and I'm still not sure why. My valve checks have been in the vicinity of $400 for parts and labor, and I've heard accounts from members on here where the price was closer to $600. I mean, there has to be a reason that dealerships are so reluctant to take on paying work.
Is it the difficulty of the task? I doubt it. I'm not enthusiastic about tackling it, but there seems to be no shortage of relatively novice mechanics on here who've done it just by following the manual, the advice of others, and some Youtube videos. Surely it can't be beyond the skillset of a trained mechanic?
Is it the amount of time the job takes- time that could be spent booking other, less time consuming jobs that cumulatively pay more than a valve check? I was billed for 3.5 hours of labor on my last check in 2021, so it isn't like it's a job that ties up a mechanic for an entire day. He could have a valve check knocked out before lunch and still have time for a couple of $100 oil changes.
I suppose it could be the wealth of experience on the part of dealerships that motorcycles almost never need the valves adjusted, but how valuable can that experience be when you have dealerships telling customers that valves only need adjusted when they start marking a noise that they can't possibly make, or waiting until performance begins to suffer?
I don't think I've ever encountered this sort of outlook at a car mechanic when you're trying to have a service performed that's specifically noted in the service schedule. They seem more than happy to take your money for whatever you're requesting.
I'd love to hear the inside track on this from someone like a service manager.