[psufreak100]

Hi guys,

I just dropped my Vulcan 900 off at the dealership to get the 15,000 mile valve clearance adjustment done. They told me it was gonna cost about $475! Yikes!

My question is, how important is that this adjustment is done? What if I were to just skip it? Is it something easy enough that most people could do it on their own?

Thanks!

 

[Z-In-Jax]

Have you ever adjusted valves before? On anything? It's easy enough to do once you get to them, removing the valve covers can be a pain....
Skip it, no you should at least verify that they are in spec.

 

[psufreak100]

I have never adjusted valves on anything (I'm a computer guy) but I have done other maintenance work. Like chaning brake pads, spark plugs, oil and things like that.

Sounds like it would be worth my time to learn to check and adjust the valves on my own.

 

[otrp1]

My 2009, 900 Classic owners manual says: valve check at 26,000 miles. My dealer has verified they do not need to be messed with until that time on this bike.

The service increment for valve check that includes oil change and numerous other checks is $253.00 at my dealer. Without valves the service check is $153.00.

I would go to another dealer if I were you.

 

[djh3]

Not to hard to do for a mechanicly inclined fellow. I am a mechanic by trade so I did mine. Biggest pain is in fact gaining access to valves. I took the tank off and then took of valve covers. I also cleaned and inspected the plugs while I was in there. $475 sounds EXTREEMLY high. Does that include a rebuild? lol

 

[brwdarr]

I had 2 valves out of spec. at 17,000 miles. both was exhaust valves. I would check them.

 

[stickboy]

Valves tend to go out of adjustment more towards the beginning of the engine life as things are "settling in". After a while, the seats tend to be pushed in more, and the valves do not tend to go out of adjustment as often. But while the engine is new, it is pretty important to keep up on it.

If the valves do go out of adjustment (the clearance will get too tight), the bike will start running rougher and having other issues. Hard starts are a common problem as well. If the valves get too tight, they don't close properly, allowing heat to transfer to the heads, and you can end up burning valves. That is an expensive repair bill...

 

[windsurfdog]

PSU,

Do it yourself! Read this, buy a shim kit for $90 and invest 2-3 hours of time. Sounds like my limited wrenching skills closely resemble yours and adjusting the valves was no problem for me.

BTW, I waited until 22,000 miles to check mine and only had to adjust 2 of 4.

Good luck!

 

[alex915]

I'm at 15,000 already and I know I'm going to need to have them checked soon. Will ask the dealer how much and if "too much", I'll go ahead and do them myself. Thanks for the link!

 

[djh3]

THe valves in this are very simular to the engine in my Legends Car. It runs a Yamaha FJ 1200. I have never bought a "kit". I mesure out the valves, use the chart to find out what needs to go in if they are out of tolerance and then order just the shims I need. Big problem now is I dont have the "special tool" the compress and remove the buckets. I wonder if by some sill chance the 2 use the same shims. Naaaa never happen right?

 

[NewRoadie]

THe valves in this are very simular to the engine in my Legends Car. It runs a Yamaha FJ 1200. I have never bought a "kit". I mesure out the valves, use the chart to find out what needs to go in if they are out of tolerance and then order just the shims I need. Big problem now is I dont have the "special tool" the compress and remove the buckets. I wonder if by some sill chance the 2 use the same shims. Naaaa never happen right?

The cool thing about the 900 rocker arms is they push out of the way of the shims with slight pressure. Easy enough to do, but don't drop the shim-use a small magnet!!

This is the cylinder head (valve) cover under the chrome piece for each cylinder

This is under the cylinder head (valve) cover. You can see the little 'disc' under the tip of the rocker arm-this is the 'shim' that needs to be changed IF your valve clearance is not correct. (This is the rear cylinder looking at it from the kickstand side-notice the ignition switch?)

 

[djh3]

Oh yea now I remember. DAAAA Like I said, its been a lond time ago since I did mine. over 5K ago. I agree on the rag in the top of the motor idea. Should help keep anything from dropping into where you dont want it.

 

[besligar]

I just had mine done at 45 000 km, it had 6 out of the 8 valves needing adjustment, 3 were to tight, and 3 were to loose. I noticed that the bike was harder to start and didn't have the same power before they were adjusted.

 

[Vulcan900]

I had Z and team do the first check at like 16,000 miles, all in spec as I remember. He suggested I do it myself next time. After seeing a few posts detailing the process it looks easy enough to me.

Working on a new machine from a class that I had never worked on before was initially intimidating. I am finding out motorcycles aren't much different than anything else I have worked on. Bolts, nuts, wires, sensors, hoses, bearings, etc… their all the same no mater what they are attached to... until you have to split the case. I don't think I would tackle that yet unless I could afford to screw it up.

 

[ScooterDude]

Thanks for the how to guys. I'm planning on tackling mine very soon as well.

 

[psufreak100]

Well guys, I'm a FOOL!!! I should've checked on this thread but instead I decided to squeeze my bike in with the dealer (Don's Kawasaki in Hellam, PA) because they were booking up quick.

They charged me $475 for the valve inspection and adjustment!

I called around to some other shops and most were doing it for under $200 (estimating at 2 to 2.5 hour job for a professional)... I feel like a fool.

Gonna see if I can talk to them about it... any suggestions?

 

[djh3]

I would definatly ask them why they are twice as much as others you checked with. Did they give you a "free" lunch?

 

[psufreak100]

I would definatly ask them why they are twice as much as others you checked with. Did they give you a "free" lunch?

I'm going to ask them boss man tomorrow... I'll see what the deal is.