Pricing valvles

[Racingrobby]

I'm going to have a local motorcycle shop not Honda dealer do my valve adjected and have the timing check.  About a guesstimate that should I expect the cost?? Just a guess ?

[Re-run]

Any particular reason why? Neither requires expensive tools and isn't too hard to do.
Most likely you will be spending minimum of $100 for about an hours worth of work.
Otherwise, get a cheap timing gun and pull off your points cover. Get the bike warm and hook it up. Darken the garage some, and aim the gun at the timing marks and shoot it. It should strobe on the F mark. Doing this at idle is plenty fine but you can rev to 2500 rpm and shoot it again for your advance if you want.
Unless you had the timing chain OFF, it really can't jump teeth unless horribly loose. Your only timing to worry about is ignition.

As for valves, a wrench to get the caps on/off, a .003 and .004 flat feeler gauge. I go .001 higher on both exhaust and intake to account for heat expansion to prevent valve train binding.
I remove the sparkplugs and points cover. I know the book says to not use the points cam but without the plugs, it turns quite well. From there, follow the manual and it will take you about an hour, maybe less. 1 trick to speed it up is the on 1 setting, 4 valves can be done, on the other setting, the other 4 can be done.
Trickiest part is keeping the gap while tightening the nuts so I get things to barely fit the next .001 up and then tighten and it works pretty good for me.

[shinyribs]

Adjusting the valves is super easy.If you have some old feeler gauges you dont mind trimming down you can pull it off without much trouble.Or,buy a set for a few bucks and trim them down.Its really not bad at all.Timing can be done if you have a standard automotive timing light,too.No special tools required.I'm not trying to act like there is something wrong with taking your bike in for work.Thats fine,its hard to beat a professional at his own game,just trying to encourage you if need be.Labor rates in my town are right at $65/hour.Unless the mechanic is really trying to move fast(why would he for that kind of money)you could probably end up with 3 hours pretty easy.Not that it would take that long,but it probably would...if you catch my drift.

[Racingrobby]

I really wanted to do it myself  but I'm scared as hell. And I when in to talk to him the (shop guy) about a spring I was missing and he said you need to start all over and just gave me a a set of carbs so I wanted to bring him so bussiness back to him. I hoping he will let me watch him do the work so I can learn? Oh and the carbs are off the bike now and it is damn cold in upstate ny now .  Thanks so much for the replay maybe I'll try the timing myself ??

[shinyribs]

As a self employed individual i can respect your decision to give him your business.You just gotta spread the wealth sometimes!

[Racingrobby]

It isn't that that I really have  the cash but it's the right thing to do

[rich]

It could get pricy,  he's got a DOHC. The valves (16 of them) use a bucket and shim arrangement and it can be tedious with all the measurements and chasing down the correct size shims. That's just my opinion, not speaking from experience because I haven't done mine yet (and I really don't want to either, but it's gotta get done before next spring).  

Ask him to adjust your cam chains too.

The valves should be checked and the cam chains adjusted every 3000 miles, so you could definitely save some bucks if he lets you observe he procedure so you can do it yourself in the future.

I'm confident that I can check mine but I might take it to a pro if I find any out of adjustment. It takes some kind of special tool to depress the valve so you can remove the shim. I'm ham fisted  and clumsy, I could just see myself scratching a cam lobe or dropping a shim down the cam chain gallery.

 

[shinyribs]

ooooh   i didnt think about the fact it was a DOHC.That complicates things quite a bit.Good call Rich

[Re-run]

I missed that too. A dohc will take much longer. I don't know about much harder though.

[TOOLS1]

I don't even want to mess with a DOHC. However they should go a lot more them 3000 miles between adjustments.
TOOLS

[sgtslag]

I have a '79 K DOHC, and I had the valve shims checked around 18,000 miles, or 5,000 miles ago.  I don't have the special tool, or the know-how, so I took it in.  The shims are inexpensive, but the labor can run around (2 hours x Rate) + ~$20 Parts(?) = Cost.  The gasket will need to be replaced after popping the cover off -- not expensive, but critical, to avoid oil leaks.

My mechanic told me only one shim was near its wear limit, at 18,000 miles.  He said it did not need to be replaced, but since they're inexpensive, and he was in there already, he replaced it anyway.  I appreciated that gesture!

To adjust the cam chain tension, only requires loosening and tightening a nut on the front of the block, then loosening and tightening a nut on the rear of the block.  It is in the Clymer/OEM manual.  Wear a glove when working on the rear nut, as the engine needs to be at operating temperature, and it is a bit crowded in there.

The shims are spec'ed to be checked either every 7.500 miles (are you kidding me!?!?!?...), or 15,000?  I don't remember.  My father ran his Suzuki GS1100 for around 30,000 before he checked the shims on it:  I think he found two, out of 16, that were barely out of spec.  If you follow the recommendations, religiously, you will have a bike that gets torn down a lot, with nearly everything being replaced every 7,500-15,000 miles!  The recommendations are so far over the top, it is ludicrous.  Brake cables are spec'ed to be replaced like every 7,500 miles!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Change the oil, and filter, every 3,000-7,000 miles, with quality oil (Shell Rotella T6 Synthetic is good, inexpensive, and 5W-40 -- perfect for any weather or temperature, good for 7,000+ miles), stay on top of the Cam Chain adjustments, and you will be fine.  Poor oil, or too many miles on it, and poor filtration, is what wears the shims out -- along with everything else inside the engine!

Realistically, the cam chain tension is the one thing to keep a close eye -- er, ear -- on:  if you hear a clicking/clacking sound from the engine, it is probably time to adjust the tension on the cam chain (loosening and tightening the two nuts, in proper sequence -- check the book!  Don't take my word for proper sequence...).  This is easy to do, and it needs to be done more often, probably every 7,500 miles, or whenever you hear it clicking/clacking at idle.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cheers!

[rich]

It's good to hear that the valves hold their adjustment so well. I guess that's an advantage of the shims. The owners manual does specify to "inspect" the valve clearance and adjust the cam chains every 4000 miles not 3000 as I previously stated.