how critical and how often do you need a valve adjustment on an f4i?

 

Valve adjustment is important for both power and reliability of your cylinder head. It tells you in the owners manual to check it every 16000 miles or 25000kms. If the valve to cam clearance goes higher than tolerance then you are slapping the lifter bucket hard with the cam which can potentially damage the bucket, cam or both. If the valves work there way further into the seats and the clearance gets lower you lose compression because the valve stops sealing completely. This can create backfiring, rough running and noticable loss of power.

I ride both track and street. Mine needed adjustment at 15000kms (9000 miles) (I am really ****, and it really wasn't out that far). If you are a city rider who doesn't really beat on the bike you can definitely go longer. It is expensive to have a shop do it I will warn you. If you are really mechanically inclined and have a good understanding of how the engine works I'd say try it yourself. If not don't touch it! If you attempt it yourself make sure you follow the service manual, and it might be a good idea to have someone there who has done that sort of thing before.

 

every 16K.
critical?!?! i wouldn't say critical at 16K, but really should have it done.
my first was done at 22K...second at around 39K...both times didn't need any adjusting. the next time i will need to adjust though as one is at the border. the harder you ride, the more you bounce off the rev limiter, the likelier the chance you'll need adjusting.
i second bird as far as the ills...you don't get most out of your bike.
also remember to have the TBs sycn'd while you're at it...some will say F4i has electronically controlled blah blah blah...and it can't be done...well...it can be done...

 

sounds good. Thanks. i got 28 almost 29 thousand mies on mine and im not sure when they were last adjusted. figure ill have it done here in the winter when im not rideing. But thanks for the info.

 

where do you guys order the shims?

 

I have only ever used Honda shims for my bike. At my shop they are kept in stock.