Valve check service, Valve adjustment, General maintenance

~TABASCO~

RIDE ON ADV is what I do !
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Anyone in the area of Dallas / Ft Worth (Texas) that is interested in valve check, valve adjustment, or general service let me know. If you're looking to price shop, I'm probably not your guy. But I am very particular.

Feel fee to post or PM me questions.
 

Tenman

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Should a dealer give me a price on the valve check and a price on the actual adjustment? If I wasn't so far from you. You'd have mine now.
 

~TABASCO~

RIDE ON ADV is what I do !
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Should a dealer give me a price on the valve check and a price on the actual adjustment? If I wasn't so far from you. You'd have mine now.
IMOP, yes. To check them is one job at a price. To tear the top end off and re shim, re install everything and then check everything again (checking your work) is another price. They should also provide you with a “sheet” of every spec for every valve when they check them. That’s what I provide for each of my customers. They can keep it in there files. They also have a ‘heads up’ when taking there bike in for the next valve check so they will know if they are getting yanked around.
It always makes me bust out laughing to hear customers tell me stories they were quoted a flat fee to check the valves and adjust them if needed for some flat fee of “$300” or some nonsense.
After they got that type of quote they hauled there bike to me.

*Ask to get your “valve sheet” with all the numbers.

*Ask if they put the motor back together with assembly lube?

*Ask if they re check all the valves after they tear it apart and shim any valves?
Would they tear it back down again if they installed a shim they found not to be the 'best' to use?

Lots of little details. It’s all in the details.


It’s not a BS’ing on the phone with your girlfriend and smoking out back / three hour job. Run away from any feeling of that !!!
IMOP, it’s also not a flat rate “all inclusive” type of job or price. If the price sounds to good, probably is for the for the shop / mechanic. Not you.
 
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Let me out in a good word for Jaxon (Tabasco) here.

Jaxon is the only mechanic I will use on my Tenere, since I got it years ago.

I had my 50k service done in March this year with Jaxon. I didnt check valves @ 25k, & I had 4 out of spec @ 50k. I’ve put about 12k miles on the bike since then, & it runs like a champ.

Jaxon is a very detail-oriented person & a perfectionist. I can’t say that I trust the average big multi brand dealership tech, but I do trust Jaxon. He knows the ins & outs of the Tenere.

Plus, he only gives me a mild ass chewing when I do something stupid, like strip a bolt or when I break something.

Nobody wrenches on my bike but Jaxon.
 

Tenman

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I ask the service manager at the Baton Rouge,La dealership about a valve check. I ask him if to give me a price on it. $552 @ 6.5 hrs. I ask about a difference in a check and an adjustment. No response.
 

Dirt_Dad

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If you're looking to price shop, I'm probably not your guy. But I am very particular.
Price shopping is for when you don't know the quality of the service that will be provided. If I lived close enough to Jaxon I wouldn't even ask the price. He'd charge what it cost, and I'd know I had the best qualified Tenere mechanic out there looking over my bike. Worth every penny whatever it costs.
 
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Tenman

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If you don't get a price up front on things. It can be some hard feelings. Ask me how I know. I've done contractor work for years and I actually prefer getting the money straight at the start.
 

RCinNC

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Should a dealer give me a price on the valve check and a price on the actual adjustment? If I wasn't so far from you. You'd have mine now.
For what it's worth, the last two times I had the valve clearances checked (two different shops), they gave me two different prices; one for a no-adjustment check and one for an adjustment. At the most recent shop, the no-adjustment check was $425.00 for labor ($80.00 per hour) and $20.24 for parts. The final total with state and county tax (NC charges sales tax on labor) was $483.83. That was right in line with what they quoted me at the start. I don't recall the estimated price they gave me if any of the valves needed adjustment, but they definitely gave me an estimated price for the job. They had no issues about recording the actual valve clearances, and the mechanic gave me a sheet with them written down when I picked up the bike. I didn't ask the questions about assembly lube or rechecking the clearance as Tabasco mentioned, but I'll file them away for the next time.
 
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ballisticexchris

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For what it's worth, the last two times I had the valve clearances checked (two different shops), they gave me two different prices; one for a no-adjustment check and one for an adjustment. At the most recent shop, the no-adjustment check was $425.00 for labor ($80.00 per hour) and $20.24 for parts. The final total with state and county tax (NC charges sales tax on labor) was $483.83. That was right in line with what they quoted me at the start. I don't recall the estimated price they gave me if any of the valves needed adjustment, but they definitely gave me an estimated price for the job. They had no issues about recording the actual valve clearances, and the mechanic gave me a sheet with them written down when I picked up the bike. I didn't ask the questions about assembly lube or rechecking the clearance as Tabasco mentioned, but I'll file them away for the next time.
That sounds about right Ron. My Ninja was just about 600 bucks for the valve adjustment. The repair shop also gave me a copy of the specs and size of shims used.


Getting up front vs not both have their plus and minuses. I would not ask much more than the labor cost of just the valve check/adjustment and clutch inspection cost . I would have no problem whatsoever having Jaxon boing the work and paying his price for labor. I am more inclined to drop my bike off to someone who tells me the book labor but forewarns me it might be less or more time depending on what they run into during the project.

For myself I would line out to the dealer in detail what I want done in writing. For a valve adjustment I would also have the clutch pulled and specs on the plates, pressure plate, basket measured. Also have the shift shaft torsion and hanger spring, both push rods - 1 & 2/small ball, gaskets and 0-rings replaced.
 

moto.monk

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I actually want to do my first valve check and I am 53k miles and will wait until 65k to do it or when a change in engine starts. I know the risk involved when not doing them on time but I have had other bikes and did not have a problem with doing the valve checks late, very late. I might take a trip down to TX and big ben park. Maybe I will make an appointment to visit Tabasco and sierra1 if hes up for it.
 

RCinNC

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The no-adjustment price estimate should be fairly accurate, as long as they don't run into any issues like a stuck fastener or something similar. They know from the book how many hours are allotted to that particular job for that particular bike, and they know in advance what gaskets or other parts are probably going to need to be replaced during the job. I imagine there are more price variables in a check where valves need adjusted, at the very least because shims cost money and how many they use depends on how many valves are out of adjustment. There's more of a risk of something going wrong when they do a valve adjustment, like accidentally messing up the timing, which could unexpectedly add to the labor costs. The place I went to last time was very open about the fact that the price could vary if the valves needed adjustment. Fortunately I didn't have to find out.

I always am specific what I want done on the rare occasions that I take the bike in to a shop; so far, that's only happened for the valve checks. I tell the service manager that the only things I'm authorizing to be done are what we specifically discuss, and I'm not approving repairs on anything beyond that unless they call me first to discuss it. I wouldn't ask for the other things you describe unless I thought there was a problem that was evident by performance.
 
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ballisticexchris

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That's cool Ron. I'm big on replacing small wearable/breakable parts such as springs and small rotating parts while its apart.
 

Jlq1969

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That's cool Ron. I'm big on replacing small wearable/breakable parts such as springs and small rotating parts while its apart.
I have no problem taking things apart and putting them back together. But sometimes, when I finish assembling everything, I find a screw or a nut, which is usually the one that goes inside everything ... so I have to disassemble everything again:)
 
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