Valve Clearances at 30k

[Grant]

Ok, so the old gal is approaching 30,000 miles but still running smooth and strong with no knocking, rattling etc 

I do all the easy stuff myself like oil changes, plugs, coolant, brake pads and so on...but...I was thinking of getting her booked in for valve clearance checks and maybe checking the cam chain too.

My question is: Is it worth doing as I have read all sorts of info on here from guys having done 115k without valve clearance checks and all fine, to others who needed to have valves re-shimmed and stretched cam chains replaced at 25k?

I know that by the book the valves should have been done at around 24k, but as I couldnt detect any problems I thought I would leave until either 30k or an issue arose beforehand.

Advice and thoughts welcomed.

[His Dudeness]

The valves clearance on the Fazer seem to generally be fairly stable so a lot of people tend to leave them BUT shimmed style valves like the ones on a Fazer engine tend to go quieter as the engine wears because the valve wears into the head and so the valve clearance gap closes so you get less valve noise rather than more. Some people think if there's no noise all is good but that's not really true. Valves mostly cool by making contact with the head and transferring their heat to the head so if they're getting held open longer because of the smaller valve clearance gap they don't get a chance to cool properly and can burn out. That's fairly extreme but it's what happens. The older older style tappets tended to get noisier as the engine wore because the gap got wider. So you got that distinctive tap tap noise. Tappets need to be adjusted more often than shimmed valves but having a wider gap is better than a tighter gap because of the cooling effect and tappets are a lot easier to adjust than replacing shims. Anyway checking the valve clearance on the Fazer is not that difficult and you could probably do it yourself. You need a set of feeler gauges and a basic tool set to get the cam cover off and the alternator cover off. You rotate the engine until you get to top dead centre on the compression stroke because both intake and exhaust valves are closed on the compression stroke and then slide the gauge in to measure the gap then rotate the engine again to measure the gap on the next cylinder. There's a good procedure write up in the Yamaha manual. If you've done a bit of mechanics you should be able to determine if they're in tolerance or not. They probably will be but you won't know for sure until they're checked. I did need a few shims at 30k

[Grant]

Many thanks your Dudeness.  Some sound info and advice there.
 
I will have a good look at the manual when I get home at the weekend and have a look at having a go.  I will certainly have a stab at it if I can get the time and materials, otherwise I will have to shell out for it doing at my local independant - but I do trust them.

[His Dudeness]

The only fiddly bit is getting the cam cover off. It hits the thermostat but a bit of wiggling gets it off. You're not removing anything critical to do the check, just the two covers so not much can go wrong other than the usual damaging bolts. But if you have a trusted mechanic no harm letting them do it.

[Jules-C]

Only checked mine once, probably about 30k but not sure.  All the gaps were within tolerance but I think I swapped a couple of shims about because some were only just in.  Now done 74k and its on my list to check again but not worrying about it.

[Grant]

Jules, Dudenes - thanks fellas for the advice and info.
 
will certainly look at having a go if time allows - her indoors has ideas of decorating and a new kitchen so not looking promising unless I put it off until back end of the year - not sure if thats a good idea though.  Otherwise I will have to get the indie garage to do it and accept defeat 

[rhinoeli]

Done the valve clearance check a couple of weeks ago. Bike has more than 80k kms on the clock, all gaps are in tolerance.

[Grant]

Done the valve clearance check a couple of weeks ago. Bike has more than 80k kms on the clock, all gaps are in tolerance.

Cheers rhinoeli,  that gives me a bit more confidence in leaving this job until the back end of the year when I will have more time to have a go myself.

[Kentish]

If it ain't brokee don't fix it!! My mates fazer has 98k on its a 2000 and he has owned it from new. Its only ver had oil changes..nothing else

[His Dudeness]

If it ain't brokee don't fix it!! My mates fazer has 98k on its a 2000 and he has owned it from new. Its only ver had oil changes..nothing else

That's a bit like the Homer Simpson's theory "if I can't see it, it's not illegal" so he closes his eyes and drives through a red light

[Fazerider]

If it was my bike you were alluding to, while I did get 115,000 out of the first engine it wasn't without checking valve clearances. I did, it's just they were always in spec... and were still that way as I took it to the scrappy.
I checked the clearances on the current motor before installation and they were fine. I've been confident enough not to bother for the 49,000 it's covered since then.
I'd recommend that you measure the clearances, but wouldn't describe it as an urgent job, nor one that needs doing as often as the manual says... at least with normal brisk road use. If you're thrashing it up to the rev-limiter around racetracks most of the time then the current happy match where the valves seating deeper into the head balances the wear of the cam-followers might be altered.