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To Get Valves Adjusted or Not on 998?
Hello,
Should I get his costly maintenance item done?
Thanks in advance
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Very Active Member
WELLLLLLL NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT
Originally Posted by Crisis
Hello,
Should I get his costly maintenance item done?
Thanks in advance
I would PM " Spyderjockey " ..... He has over 125,000 mi. on His V-twin ...... I think had had them looked at once but not adjusted ............ I'm not kidding ...... Mike
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Very Active Member
From your friendly site beta tester.
The subject has come up from time to time. I have owned four assorted 998's.
I faithfully did the valves at 14,000 on my 08. No adjustment needed. $800 spent for nothing.
I waited until 28,000 on my 2010. No adjustment needed. $800 spent for nothing. They botched the job. Did not replace gasket. It leaked over the winter. They replaced on their dime in the spring.
My 2011 is NOT going to get any valve adjustments until around 50,000--if then.
My 2014 is good to go--valve adjustments no longer required.
I am sure that their are dealers that charge for the service and do not even put a wrench to the machine.
It's your money. I do not recommend the valve adjustment service based on 14K intervals.
Currently Owned: 2019 F3 Limited, 2020 F3 Limited: SOLD BOTH LIMITEDS in October of 2023.
Previously : 2008 GS-SM5 (silver), 2009 RS-SE5 (red), 2010 RT-S Premier Editon #474 (black) 2011 RT A&C SE5 (magnesium) 2014 RTS-SE6 (yellow)
MY FINAL TALLY: 7 Spyders, 15 years, 205,500 miles
IT HAS BEEN A LONG, WONDERFUL, AND FUN RIDE.
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I paid for the service at 14,000 miles on my 2010 RT but I truly do not believe that the dealer did anything other than charge me a bunch of money. I had that bike for 59,000 miles and never checked them again.
2017 F3T-SM6 Squared Away Mirror Wedgies & Alignment
2014 RTS-SM6 123,600 miles Sold 11/2017
2014 RTL-SE6 8,600 miles
2011 RTS-SM5 5,000 miles
2013 RTS-SM5 burned up with 13,200 miles in 13 weeks
2010 RTS-SM5 59,148 miles
2010 RT- 622
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Thank you all. I'll skip the adjustment.
The members on this site are awesome!
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Very Active Member
MEMBERS
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Sorry...🤔
I'm late to the party...I am with the not now group. Shims under buckets are much harder to adjust given their location but on the other hand do not need adjusting as often...
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
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RT-S PE#0412
I had it done on my 2010 RT for the first 3 years ,I was putting on 12-15 k miles a year and bought a service plan that covered it. Never needed valve adjustment.
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Pulled mine apart to check this past winter with 13k on it. The valves were still well within specs. It's hit or miss. Fyi, tight valves typically cause hard starts....
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Originally Posted by DrewNJ
Pulled mine apart to check this past winter with 13k on it. The valves were still well within specs. It's hit or miss. Fyi, tight valves typically cause hard starts....
Turns right over every time. Thanks
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Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do if it weren't all of you guys who have already gone through and tried and then come back to let us know. I truly and honestly appreciate each and every one of you and THANK each and every one of you who are helping out noobies like myself!!!. YAY for you guys/gals!
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Active Member
Originally Posted by SpyderAnn01
I paid for the service at 14,000 miles on my 2010 RT but I truly do not believe that the dealer did anything other than charge me a bunch of money. I had that bike for 59,000 miles and never checked them again.
I just hit 54,000 miles on my 2012 998 V-Twin today, and have never had the valves checked or adjusted. From my understanding, if valves with solid lifters need adjustment, then parts are usuually worn, bent, and need replacement, not just adjustment. My motto is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The cost of adjusting valves is worth waiting for my Spyder to at least start running badly. But truthfully, its running better the more miles I put on it. Its just getting loosened up. If valves need adjusting, due to parts wear, they will be loose, not tight, and will sound like a sewing machine. Now if the Spyder is not stock, and has been modified for racing, than its a different gamble to not check the valves occasionally. The " Hype" for the 1330 with Hydraulic lifters is that the valves will never need adjusting. But if you look at a diagram drawing of hydraulic lifters vs. solid lifters, then you will see the lifter buckets need to keep filling and emptying of lubercating oil, which causes more friction than solid lifters do , so the oil should last as long in the 998s as in the 1330s, even considering the higher RPMs in the 998s. Thst's my story, and I'm sticking with it unless proven wrong.
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The problem with waiting to do this maintenance is that by the time your engine starts running poorly you've potentially already done damage. Thus the reason for checking clearance is to ensure you don't damage your engine. I don't have much experience with the internals of this engine yet, however I have maintained the valve clearance on a bmw motorcycle and two kawasakis. All three of those bikes needed adjustment at the first interval. All engines are different and so are manufacturer specs. Im positive that the kawasaki plant rolls out engines with the valves in tolerance with no regard to how close to the minimum they are. As valve seats get broken in the valve sets further into the seat. That causes the valve stem to tighten the clearance between the cam lobe and bucket. If the clearance deteriorates enough you can actually smack a valve with the piston. I am not the type to pay some kid the exorbitant amount of money to do this task. I think dealers blow off the maintenance and just charge you for it. If anyone decides to have this done at the dealer demand a shim map with all clearances listed. I will make a how to and video when the time comes to tear into my wifes spyder. Once again I won't say your crazy for not doing the maintenance but there was a mistake in an earlier comment (no offense to that poster) and I wanted to at least set that straight. I hope this helps with understanding for those of you with less experience. Another way to beat the dealer is to insist on them setting the valves to the upper tolerance which is what I do when I do mine. Once again demand a shim map as found and then another one as adjusted. This ensures the maximum amount of time between checking vs adjusting the clearance.
One last thing to make things clear. There is an argument that your bike will run the best at the tightest tolerance. This makes sense because the less clearance will actually open the valve wider. Thousandths of inch we are talking. This does allow that much more air into the cylinder for combustion. I'll take my valves on the loose end of spec though to ensure maximum intervals between adjusting. Getting to the cams is one thing (clearance check) pulling them to adjust the shims is a whole other task and truthfully the part that scares me every time I do it. I once dropped a shim into the head of the bike and they can travel down into the depths of the engine. Luckily mine landed in the top of the engine and I found it with a magnet. I hope this helps.
Semper Fi,
Corpssgt
Last edited by corpssgt; 04-20-2017 at 02:22 PM.
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Very Active Member
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Totally agree with spyderman and I wasn't trying to push that any other direction. I was hoping some would find the information useful. Like I said I do my own and its pretty cheap if you don't count the labor its usually just a couple gaskets and possibly shims if it needs adjusted. I understand other people not wanting to do the maintenance themselves.
Corpssgt
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Very Active Member
Unless you feel there is a definite need for valve adjustment. I would say no. Almost never needed. But then you have the 'Almost' to deal with I suppose.
Only SLOW people have to leave on time...
<a href='https://www.spyderlovers.com/adserver/www/delivery/ck.php?zoneid=13' target='_blank'><img src='https://www.spyderlovers.com/adserver/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=13&cb=7845674567' border='0' alt='' /></a>
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LOOSE valves do not burn.
TIGHT one do.
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why valves out of spec can cause damage
My hat off to you sir; you have nailed this issue.
Many will not pay $800 on the hopes their machine will have been right from the assembly line and the valve seat material is holding up to and beyond the service interval. I get that; $800 ain't chicken feed. For that money you should expect a shim map at beginning and end of the adjustment process. Reference to that map during subsequent clearance checks will tell you the speed at which change is occurring.
Too much to be bothered with? Maybe, given the reliability of modern engines, but it ain't gonna be cheap if you burn a valve seat due to insufficient clearances (i.e. "tight" valves).
Pete
Originally Posted by corpssgt
The problem with waiting to do this maintenance is that by the time your engine starts running poorly you've potentially already done damage. Thus the reason for checking clearance is to ensure you don't damage your engine. I don't have much experience with the internals of this engine yet, however I have maintained the valve clearance on a bmw motorcycle and two kawasakis. All three of those bikes needed adjustment at the first interval. All engines are different and so are manufacturer specs. Im positive that the kawasaki plant rolls out engines with the valves in tolerance with no regard to how close to the minimum they are. As valve seats get broken in the valve sets further into the seat. That causes the valve stem to tighten the clearance between the cam lobe and bucket. If the clearance deteriorates enough you can actually smack a valve with the piston. I am not the type to pay some kid the exorbitant amount of money to do this task. I think dealers blow off the maintenance and just charge you for it. If anyone decides to have this done at the dealer demand a shim map with all clearances listed. I will make a how to and video when the time comes to tear into my wifes spyder. Once again I won't say your crazy for not doing the maintenance but there was a mistake in an earlier comment (no offense to that poster) and I wanted to at least set that straight. I hope this helps with understanding for those of you with less experience. Another way to beat the dealer is to insist on them setting the valves to the upper tolerance which is what I do when I do mine. Once again demand a shim map as found and then another one as adjusted. This ensures the maximum amount of time between checking vs adjusting the clearance.
One last thing to make things clear. There is an argument that your bike will run the best at the tightest tolerance. This makes sense because the less clearance will actually open the valve wider. Thousandths of inch we are talking. This does allow that much more air into the cylinder for combustion. I'll take my valves on the loose end of spec though to ensure maximum intervals between adjusting. Getting to the cams is one thing (clearance check) pulling them to adjust the shims is a whole other task and truthfully the part that scares me every time I do it. I once dropped a shim into the head of the bike and they can travel down into the depths of the engine. Luckily mine landed in the top of the engine and I found it with a magnet. I hope this helps.
Semper Fi,
Corpssgt
Pete Tamblyn
Cleveland, GA
2020 F3 Limited (black)
Time Out XL1800 cargo trailer
2019 Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor
2018 Kawasaki Versys-X 300
2013 ST (sold)
2015 F3-S SOLD
2014 RT-Limited (cognac) SOLD
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