Service Interval for Valves? 2004 Honda VFR800

I'm at 36k miles right now, I bought the bike recently. I just did a tune up. Oil change, front/rear brake flush, clutch flush, and new air filter. I noticed that there was only 1~1.5 quarts of oil in the engine, good thing I didn't run it much until the tune up. When should the valves be adjusted? I'm wondering whether the engine is eat oil due to valves being out of spec.

Plus, anything else I should check @ 36k miles?

 

1.5 quarts at most is a LOW number IMHO, and cause for concern. checking valve clearance cannot hurt.

beyond that, I'd be looking the motor over carefully, wash with some degreaser and look closely for oil leaks, or signs thereof. I've had engines that leak oil, in fact I'm accustomd to it now. but its definitely not a good thing.

 

How much does getting valves clearance checked on 6th gen VFR? I heard that its more expensive due to VTEC.

I think its internal to the engine because it does not leak oil before and after the oil change. It was running Motul with the last 2 owners and is now running a Synthetic blend, I forgot the brand. I'll switch back to Motul later. I'll look at picking up a degreaser, but I don't see oil build up or dark dirt spots/dribbles on the engine that are synonymous with oil leaks.

 

valve check interval

the Honda tech manual sets the service interval for checking the valve clearances at 16,000. If you don't have the service records to verify that it was done at 16 and 32K, it would be a good idea to do it. It is a bit more complicated and expensive than on the 5th generations and earlier. It's shim-and-bucket, but I think the cams have to be removed, then the VTEC lifters locked in the open position so the clearance can be measured.
valve clearance issues shouldn't affect oil consumption, unless the guides are worn enough to let oil past. You'd be getting white smoke at startup.
good luck

 

It kinda makes me wonder why honda didn't make a pressure lock service system that they could just add hydraulic pressure to lock the pins and a secondary electronic switch to modulate the solenoid. Would have made the techs job a whole lot easier if they could just "Pump" it up on a service port. Its really lazy engineering when you don't design the bike to be service friendly.

I'm pretty impressed with the location of my wife's FZ6R oil filter and drain plug. Which shows credit to Yamaha and its engine design team. Your not sticking your hands/wrench through a maze of exhaust when they are hot to drain your bikes oil.

 

+ 1 on this question. I'm getting close to 16k and will need to have this done soon.

 

1 - 1.5 qts is OMFG low! Wow!