Valve Adjustment Waaaaay Overdue - Looking for advice

Hello Fellow VFR Addicts,
I have had the sixth generation (2002) Model.
The trouble I am having is where to do the valve adjustment...
Bought the bike with 8500 miles on it (assuming no valve job was done up to that point).
Had it into the local Honda shop around 20000 miles and again around 45000.
Both time I was told the valves were in specs.
The bike has 56000 on it now and I am starting to hear a bit of what sounds to me like the timing chain. The bike has been running rich for some time now (I can smell the fuel in the exhaust)
So my gut is telling me its way overdue, and not to take it to the same shop.
When do you usually run the valves out of spec?
Also, any good mechanic in the Sacramento California area to tackle the V-tech valves?
Thank you,
D

 

Actually its quite common, I believe Honda did a recall on them for certain years. Valve adjustment will have NO influence on fuelling, you can't smell a bikes exhaust at speed, at idle it may well smell rich as combustion is no where near ideal at idle.

It's called Valve inspection, because from the manufacturers testing prior to release their test mules showed signs of needing adjustment at X mileage. That being 16K miles on 5th Gens, I assume 6th gen is the same. A shop should NEVER tell you the valves are in spec without providing you a measurement sheet.

Many owners on this & other boards have adopted the common myth that VFR's don't need adjustment at X miles. That is nonsense, just because a valve is within a tolerance, does not mean it can't be adjusted or benefit from adjustment. The 5th Gen inlets are 0.13-0.16mm but would have left the factory as close to 0.13mm as shim sizes would allow & thus if you measure at 16K miles & the reading is greater than 0.15, but less than 0.16mm it would be considered in spec, but would benefit from being adjusted to 0.13 or as close as possible. This reduces valve to seat impact speeds & reduces valve seat regression rates. It also brings the engine valve timing closer to the design spec & the closer all valves are to each other in adjustment the better the engine will run & the more power it will make with less vibration.

But it's your engine & your money, so only you can decide what to do.

 

Make sence. I just talked to a certified Honda mechanic just yesterday and he said that he has checked over two dozen VFR's and not one needed any adjusting. He also said that just keep an ear open to any unusual noises. At $90 dlars an hour and a six hour job..it can get alittle pricey. Im still on the fence...my bike only has 12000 miles on it.we will see at 20000 ...maybe

 

The smell of fuel makes me ask if is coming up to operating temp?

 

Thank you all for your replies.
Tinkering:at what mileage does the tensioner usually give?

Mohawk: thanks for the rich smell at idle explanation. I agree with you on the measurement sheet tht I should have gotten from the shop. According to them it was within spec and they never wrote the actual measurement... I bought it once at 20000 miles... But it seemed kind of shady at 45000 miles... Now I am trying to figure out whether the shop is worth talkin to again?

Duccman: there are two types of valves on the 6th generation model; the one intake and one exhaust that always operate (these are shimmed look at mohawk's post above) and one intake and one exhaust that are v-tech valves. These are tricky... First of all they are not shimmed so it's a matter of getting a new valve bucket if these are out of speck.. Second of all, in order to measure these, first the timing has to be broken (I.e. the cam shaft has to be taken off along with the timing chain and tensioner), secondly a special Honda key ($18 bucks a piece I believe) has to be inserted under the bucket of each (8!!) of the v-tech valves, then one gets to put the darn thing back together(set the timing etc), rotate the engine a couple of times by the crank, and only then measure the clearance on the said v-tech valves....
My theory here is: the v-tech kicks in around 7000 rpm (oil pressure actuated I believe). So unless you are always running the rpms that high, these valves typically should wear slower than the regular ones.

Toe cutter: the temperature seems fine... Off course I get the smell of I burned fuel while warming up the bike... But at idle at a coffee shop after a ride? Seems like something is off considering the mileage... Any tips?
Also, I notice you are also from Sacramento... Where do you take your bike for a valve service?

Best
D

 

The servicing listed in the manual for my 2007 VFR stipulates a valve clearance inspection is carried out every 16 thousand miles (20 thousand KM). I assume the regime will be similar for a 2002 model.

The notes in the manual explain clearly what Honda thinks should be done - namely to "Inspect and clean, adjust, lubricate or replace IF necessary". As a result that is probably what most Honda dealerships will do for you when that service falls due.

In essence they will simply "inspect" the valve clearances and, if find they are within the specified range then that is it. Only if the find the valve clearances are outside the specs will any adjustment take place. I doubt very much that they would ever bother to make any adjustment to "in-range clearances" to achieve the optimum sweet spot within that range. Unless of course the mechanic was working on their own bike - or being paid handsomely to prepare a bike for race use. (I guess it might happen if you have the work done by the most saintly of mechanics).

That is why the vast majority of vtec VFRs subjected to that initial inspection at 16k miles are found to be "within spec". My own VFR is now well past 60,000 miles and has had the inspections carried out at the recommended intervals and surprise surprise it has never required any adjustment. I guess if you are thrashing your VFR on a daily basis then the recommended 16k inspections make a lot of sense. But for a bike with a less stressful life like mine simply racking up the miles doing long distance touring I suspect the inspection regime is OTT and very expensive.

But as others have said its your bike - and you need to make your own decisions.

Finally if you have noticed that your bike sounds different and is running rich, then I would definitely get the bike checked by a mechanic.

It may be something entirely unrelated to the valve clearance but hopefully a competent mechanic will be able to track down and fix whatever is wrong.

Hopefully some of the regulars your side of the Pond will be able to recommend an alternative dealership in Sacramento...

 

arty2: Someone needs a Sacramental VFR expert ?? Beer deal !!! :drinker: :drinker:

If TC has time to diddle with the vtec stuff, you're in good hands.

 

I have heard that its a motor out operation if a shim needs to be swapped, You may have to bring some 20 year old Scotch or something for TC to do it. :drinkers:

 

I will quote myself...."I would rather crash my bike and spend the insurance money on hookers and beer than check the valves again"

 

All jokes aside (I really will crash this fucker) I sold a 2002 with 127k on it that was almost spot on last year and is still running today with another 15k on it. Valve clearance is not the issue. Vfours with a bad tensioner are not as obvious as as an in line four, the idle is not as poorly affected but the noise is still in time with the drop in RPM. Welcome to come by.......we can take a listen to it.

 

Im with you Toe ....your a funny Man

 

my cam chain tensioners gave out some where after 30,000 miles. it sounded awful. like the engine was coming apart. it doesnt happen all at once, but eventually gets to the point of enough is enough. i swapped both of mine out around 35000 miles. it wasnt a bad job. i didnt have to pull the throttle bodies, and the rear one only took a few minutes. id recomend doing them before the valve inspection just to rule out that noise.

 

Any reliable shop should have given you a sheet that showed you the measured clearance of each valve that they checked. I would never revisit a shop that did not, there's a good possibility that a shop that doesn't give you this data never did anything. If you do take it to another shop for clearance check demand to be given the actual measurements for each valve, better yet consider checking them yourself.