Valve service suggestions

[fredz43]

how much did the mechanic charge you for the work?
just curious

The mechanic didn't charge me anything. His boss, the Yamaha shop Service Manager charged me a bit under $300.

I thought that was reasonable. If future checks are in spec so no adjustments are required, it will be less, of course.

 

[greg the pole]

that's very reasonable.
Considering the work was done properly.

Mine ran extremely well after the valve adjustment, but I'm guessing it was the tb sync that I did while the tank was up.
all my intakes were right, except for one that was tight. All exhaust were on the very tight side. ended up chaning out 7 shims

 

[avc8130]

The mechanic didn't charge me anything. His boss, the Yamaha shop Service Manager charged me a bit under $300.

I thought that was reasonable. If future checks are in spec so no adjustments are required, it will be less, of course.

Smokin' deal!

ac

 

[fredz43]

that's very reasonable.
Considering the work was done properly.

Mine ran extremely well after the valve adjustment, but I'm guessing it was the tb sync that I did while the tank was up.

Yes, I thought it was very reasonable. I had thought it would take longer, but Paul is a very efficient, talented tech.

As far as to why yours felt like it ran better, when two procedures are done at the same time, it is difficult to guage the result of each.

I appreciated your writeup and blog on this, though. Convinced me to let the tech tackle this job. I have the YES until July, 2016, so thought it best to make sure the valve checks/adjustments were done properly and documented as such.

 

[tomatocity]

I have adjusted a bunch of KLR valves (shim over bucket) and they always become tight. What would make a Super Tenere valve become loose or tight?

 

[scott123007]

I have adjusted a bunch of KLR valves (shim over bucket) and they always become tight. What would make a Super Tenere valve become loose or tight?

That is a great point you are bringing up. I know nothing about the KLR valve train but since you say it is shim OVER bucket, I find it interesting that they always become tight. The majority of shim UNDER bucket become tight because the wear, if any, of cam lobe to bucket rarely exceeds the wear of the valve seating. However, bikes like the old Kawasaki Z-1, and early Suzuki GS'es which were shim OVER bucket like the KLR, (and which I am VERY familiar with), wear differently because of the lobe interaction with the shim instead of the bucket, and 80 percent of the time became looser over time.

 

[greg the pole]

I'm not going to pretend to know why the valves seat the way they do.
But, Yamaha put the service interval there for a reason.
Granted, it's not easy to do, but I would be much quicker, and feel more confident doing it the second time round.

The harder you use the bike, the higher the likely hood that you will need them adjusted.

I have not seen anyone here, skipping their recommended oil changes just because they can.
Sure the bike will run, but not as well as it should.

In the end it's down to personal choice. I maintain my bikes well, regardless of wanting to keep them or sell them.
The tenere is a keeper, and the winters are long. I'm fresh out of excuses

 

[avc8130]

I'm not going to pretend to know why the valves seat the way they do.
But, Yamaha put the service interval there for a reason.
Granted, it's not easy to do, but I would be much quicker, and feel more confident doing it the second time round.

The harder you use the bike, the higher the likely hood that you will need them adjusted.

I have not seen anyone here, skipping their recommended oil changes just because they can.
Sure the bike will run, but not as well as it should.

In the end it's down to personal choice. I maintain my bikes well, regardless of wanting to keep them or sell them.
The tenere is a keeper, and the winters are long. I'm fresh out of excuses

Great way to put it! Just because the maintenance is "tough" or "expensive" doesn't make it acceptable to skip.

We all need to be THANKFUL to Yamaha for selecting proper materials and designing their valve trains well enough to go 26k miles between checks. Most other manufacturers are much shorter. If we had Multistrada's we would be looking at $1k+ adjustments every 15k.

Buckle down, suck it up and get it done.

ac

 

[fredz43]

I have adjusted a bunch of KLR valves (shim over bucket) and they always become tight. What would make a Super Tenere valve become loose or tight?

Hi Tim,

In my case, I had two intakes that were loose. Since this is my first check at almost 29,000 miles, I don't know if they became loose or if they were set loose at the factory. At the price my dealer charges, I will certainly have them checked again in another 26,000 miles and see if they went loose or tight since this initial adjustment.

 

[justbob]

My bike is at the dealer now with 32,000 miles getting the valves checked for the first time while I am at home recovering from knee surgery for a torn meniscus.
They have it apart now and told me all the intakes valves are loose, exhaust valves are fine.
They quoted me 4 to 5 hrs labor for the job.

 

[viewdvb]

I admit that I haven't trawled through all the pages on this thread and maybe you won't either so this idea may already be posted but here's a suggestion from long experience. All cams have a base diameter and lobes rising from that base. The base diameter is where the clearance is measured so I have NEVER needed the manufacturer's lined up markings to measure clearances. Just rotate the engine until the cam lobe you are checking is pointing as near as dammit directly away from the axis of the valve stem. At this point it will be exactly in the middle of the base circle and in the right place to check. The manufacturers put marks for checking onto the crank and cam sprockets a) because it is a foolproof way to explain the process and b) because it is possible to check several valve clearances at once, especially on fours, when the cams are positioned exactly so that more than one valve is within that base circle even if not exactly at the mid point. My way is equally foolproof and simple even if it may take a few more turns of the engine.

 

[scott123007]

@ viewdvb
Another interesting point, but it may not be as foolproof as you think. The cams in those engines that have specific spots where the cams are supposed to be where you check clearance, and those clearances are derived from those locations. I say that because many a DIY valve adjustment that was done the way you suggest, but was supposed to be done with the lobes in a specific location, had incorrect clearances. The clearance between cam and bucket, and/or rocker would be different when the lobe was perpendicular vs at the factory spec'd location. (as much as .002"-.003" looser if done with the cam perpendicular which means the valves were being adjusted tighter than factory spec )

 

[viewdvb]

Attached are some screen captures from the Yamaha Technical Orientation Guide which is full of hands-on hints and tips for dealers. Sorry, I don't know how to extract single pages from a large PDF file. I hope they may contribute something to the discussion. Me? I've taken the easy route and replaced my 2011 First Edition with a 600 mile 2013 dealer demo bike obtained at a very cheap price (winter's coming, they want to reduce inventory and they won't be offering demo rides for a few months).

 

[redneckK20]

Valves get tighter because either the valve seat or the valve face (where the valve touches the head) wears. Valves get loose because the cam, tip of the valve, or shim get's worn. Simple as that. I feel like this site puts way more weight into the valve adjustment than it should. It's really a pretty simple process. I guess I have an unfair advantage being a Yamaha certified tech ::021::

 

[markjenn]

Attached are some screen captures from the Yamaha Technical Orientation Guide which is full of hands-on hints and tips for dealers. Sorry, I don't know how to extract single pages from a large PDF file.

There is some great information on these pages, but the resolution is so poor, they're almost unreadable. (Also the 1st and 3rd pages appear to be identical.) I can assist getting something up on this site (or hosted on my server) that is more readable if you could send me the original.

- Mark

 

[Mark R.]

Valves get tighter because either the valve seat or the valve face (where the valve touches the head) wears. Valves get loose because the cam, tip of the valve, or shim get's worn. Simple as that. I feel like this site puts way more weight into the valve adjustment than it should. It's really a pretty simple process. I guess I have an unfair advantage being a Yamaha certified tech ::021::

Valve adjustment is one of those things that you don't have to do very often, and if you don't work on bike and deal with these sorts of things every day, you almost have to re-learn it every time. I think also that the 270 degree crank makes it a bit more challenging for home mechanics to re-time the cams easily, and along with the tight space on the Tenere, it's a bit more challenging job than many other bikes.

 

[avc8130]

Valve adjustment is one of those things that you don't have to do very often, and if you don't work on bike and deal with these sorts of things every day, you almost have to re-learn it every time. I think also that the 270 degree crank makes it a bit more challenging for home mechanics to re-time the cams easily, and along with the tight space on the Tenere, it's a bit more challenging job than many other bikes.

All of these statements are very easy to agree with.

ac

 

[redneckK20]

Valve adjustment is one of those things that you don't have to do very often, and if you don't work on bike and deal with these sorts of things every day, you almost have to re-learn it every time. I think also that the 270 degree crank makes it a bit more challenging for home mechanics to re-time the cams easily, and along with the tight space on the Tenere, it's a bit more challenging job than many other bikes.

You do have a valid point. It is a distinct advantage to be around it all day every day.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Valve adjustment is one of those things that you don't have to do very often, and if you don't work on bike and deal with these sorts of things every day, you almost have to re-learn it every time. I think also that the 270 degree crank makes it a bit more challenging for home mechanics to re-time the cams easily, and along with the tight space on the Tenere, it's a bit more challenging job than many other bikes.

You people just keep reinforcing the idea that I am not going to do this myself.

Here's a question, while I'm having the tech do the inspection, is that a good time to get the slapping sound (valve chain guide) corrected? Do I need to have them order parts in advance for that?

 

[tomatocity]

Valves get tighter because either the valve seat or the valve face (where the valve touches the head) wears. Valves get loose because the cam, tip of the valve, or shim get's worn. Simple as that. I feel like this site puts way more weight into the valve adjustment than it should. It's really a pretty simple process. I guess I have an unfair advantage being a Yamaha certified tech ::021::

The loose valve is what I was concerned with. You say it is cam wear. If a cam wears then the valve is not opening to spec. Concerned?