Valve clearance check @ 25000 miles

[Dave48]

My Gen 1 is approaching 25000 miles & wondered what other "foccers" experience of this task has been. Out of curiosity I asked my local Yamaha main dealer the likely cost & was told apprx £300!   How easy/difficult is it to access valves-what has to be removed-indeed how important is it to do the check @ this mileage or can it be safely left to a higher mileage? According to Haynes the Americans dont do this check til 26000 miles. I am pretty confident about doing the feeler gauge bit but the shim calculation & selection process is new to me. Any thoughts gratefully considered

[ghostbiker]

Main dealer prices are allways high. Find a indie dealer.
If you ais has been removed all ready it helps, but its not a hard job to check them and lost I have heard about have been well within spec at this mileage. Personally If you are happy to check it yourself then do, as chances are very good no changes will be needed.
Mine were checked at about 28 k ontop of a normal service, total for service and check was 180.

[Rusty]

I asked a similar question Dave and was told that they are very rarely out of spec even at 36k, so don't sweat it, plus it gives you time to shop around for when you do decide to have them checked.

[Tmation]

They are easy to check if you have basic mechanical skills, just make sure the cam cover and area are clean before starting. Not so easy to remove cams and change shims if they need it but not impossible.