Valve adjustment
 

Mechanic said i need one after asking about a noise the engine is making and said that it's proper maintenance every 20k miles. Just curious if this is the commonly used interval and what price range is normal. Two places quoted me at $450-600 with parts, the other $400-500 not counting parts. Also, is there anything else i might want to have done while that much of the engine is apart?

There's not much in the way of parts, shims and gasket mostly. The interval sounds
right (my F3 is 18k intervals, I believe). The bitch part is getting to the shims, all the
body panels, etc. Maybe, they'll cut you a little slack ,if you pull them down first.
Other-wise the price sounds about right. Ask what parts they had in mind, as part of the service. They might let you furnish those, although it may affect the warrenty.

The cam-chain adjuster should be part of the valve inspection/service, so that should
be off your slate. There's just not a lot of maintenance to a fuel-injected, electronic-ignition bike engine. Have them check the plugs and re-gap if needed.

Oil, filter and coolant flush/replacement would be a good idea, if you haven't done
that lately. Running injector cleaner is a good idea on an every 5th-ish tank of gas.
Possibly have the chain and sprockets checked for wear/adjustment. Tire pressure as
the seasonal temperature changes, too.

These are all just basic good areas to check at regular intervals, not all strictly related to engine maintenance. How much is in your skill level and how much you farm out,
is up to you.

Hope this helps, Ern

Will do, thanks!

I got a quote from Honda and they said it was a 3hr's if the were good and a 5hr job if they needed an adjustment.

Sounds right Jeff, if the valves are all good, you don't have to pull the cams.

However, to all the shade-trees out there, that time is for someone who has been
trained or is VERY experienced doing the job. Expect your personal milage to vary.

Me, I double the times for personal-scheduling purposes.

Ern

I noticed a bit more ticking in mine the other day. It's at 17,435 miles at the moment. Idk if it's because it was sitting for a long time or because it was a cold day. I didn't hear it while riding just during idle and after a 2 hour ride I didn't hear it at all. I may have them checked this winter but idk yet. If it persists or get's louder I'll have it done immediately.

Is not ctt noise is it?

Well, i think i'm going to take it in today after much deliberation on which shop to go to. One has an older, less friendly, seemingly more experienced owner/head mechanic. The other is more friendly all around, has worked on my bike before, and seems knowlegeleable despite being less experienced... however i kind of like that the head mechanic/owner is younger (and possibly more up with the times) and told me that he would specifically be doing the adjustment. Also, he drives a 600rr which gives me an extra vode of confidence. And they gave me a really good tire deal to detur me from using a plugged tire i got off eBay. Either way, hopefully it'll be done tomorrow and i might even ride out for bike week depending on how much homework/studying i do(n't) want to do.

Too bad there's no way to get around the price, but i guess that's life. She better run perfect after this is done, i really hope it gets rid of that little hick-up that's still left.

there IS a way around that retardedly high price. its called a service manual, and valve shim kit. I do all my own valves, and my friend's bikes, as well as customers. its pretty simple once you wrap your head around the concept of it.

Yes, if you eat the personal time for the job, it's cheaper to do it yourself.
Personally, I could be making $50 an hour with my spare time (if I choose
to spend it doing side-work). So when I do all the maintenance on my bike,
I actually lose money (in a practical sense).

And of course, if you don't have the skill, knowledge and tools already at
hand, it's only cheaper the second time you do the job. If you don't rack up
a lot of miles, really enjoy working on bikes and have the facilitys to do so,
it is cheaper to just pay to have it done.

The stories of cracked valve covers, miss-aligned cams and bikes running
worse after rookie attempts at valve adjustment are only funny if it's not
you. So that's another reason for seeking out professional support.

While I enthusiastically endorse doing the wrenching on your own bike,
realistically, not all of us have the skill-set, equipment or temperment to do
so. Riders that don't feel comfortable attempting the more complex types
of maintenance are not somehow lacking or second class bikers. Seeking
advice on fair pricing isn't an admission of inferiority, either.

One of the things that make this forum such a delight to me is the pooling
of riders, from all segments of the community. Racers to casual week-
enders, professional mechanics to secretarys. It's a disservice to the
community-at-large to forget that.

We should strive to give good advice to the the non-mechanically inclined.
as well as the wrenchers.
To recognise the difference and still address their individual concerns.

I do NOT intend this to be an indictment of any individual member, rather
to point out an occassionally erroring of understanding the point-of-view of
the 'mechanically non-proficent' riders that frequent here, as well.

Ern