Buying a 2002

Looking at buying a 2002 VFR800 ABS. Great shape, all the features I'm looking for. About 53K km. Price is a little hi but i can negotiate a bit.

My only concern is potential VTEC issues. The current owner has maintained the bike well, but has never had the valve clearances checked. Bike starts & runs great- no obvious clicking. I only expected put 5-6 km per year on the bike & won't be stressing.
I'm not in a position to have the clearance checked before purchasing.

While I do most of my own maintenance, checking the clearances might be a bit of a stretch. And changing shims definitely is. And having a shop do it is expensive

What's the worst that can happen? Are there any obvious symptoms of valve clearance issues before serious harm occurs.

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I recently finished a rebuild of an 04 with 63k miles. previous owner did nothing but oil changes

cold starts used to sound a little iffy but after I replaced both chain tensioners and filled with fresh honda oil it runs like new

there are videos on resetting the spring tension but I just bit the bullet and bought new ones. they're about 100 each

dumped about as much in parts as I got the bike for (2500) but now wouldn't trade it for anything else. took about a year of nights and weekends to get it done

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I have on 02 with ~55km and no valve checks... runs as new... love it...i've had it for about 8years and put on half the mileage. PO was not gentle to it.

 

I can only comment on what I have found with my 2006 which is now well past 200,000 km and rising. Over the years it has only had 3 very expensive valve checks carried out by garages since new. In every case they found the valves were still within spec with no need to replace any shims.

Whether the bike you are considering will be as fortunate really does depend on how you/previous owners ride.

If your bike is going to be routinely bouncing off the rev limiter then definitely budget for a full VTEC valve check with probably a few needing adjustment.

Mr H has no incentive to underprescribe servicing intervals as he wants to protect his reputation for making reliable motorcycles, and the more work is specified in the schedule, the more work will end up in their dealership service departments. It also helps defend against warranty claims if they can point ot work not being done as prescribed. Inherently it is in there own interest to specify a sevicing requirement which will tollerate even the most severe abuse by the owner, such as motorbike being used as a loan bike for daily track day sessions. For most riders that may well entail excessive servicing, but do they care - as they won't be paying, and it means more profit for their dealers and parts suppliers?

If however you ride mostly below the vtec threshold (it is possible to cruise at 80mph in 6th gear still just below the vtec) and only use vtec for an occasional burst to overtake, then those valves will hardly wear out ever, provided you do not scrimp on completing regular quality oil and filter changes. That is why i have found it fine to skip every other vtec valve check!

SkiMad

 

I've got almost 100k on my '02 and have never checked the valves in the last 50k that I have had it. Seems fine to me and runs well. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Im going to join the club

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