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| | Valve Adjustments M800 | |
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+3Twojobmick Mr Intruder StevieH 7 posters | Author | Message |
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StevieH Member

 | Subject: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:34 pm | |
| Hi Could anyone advise me on valve adjustments and how important it is to get them checked. The bike has now done 9,500 miles and had the valves done and checked at 600 miles. I have serviced the bike every 2,000 miles with oil and filter and check everything myself as I used to be an engineer. I have never done the valves on one of these,but when I phoned up the local dealer and they wanted a £150 I nearly fell over. Some folks say that they have run these engines for 20+ thousand miles without touching the valves and others say different. I have looked up on how to adjust them and it does'nt look too bad,but that is in theory and not in practise LOL What would you recommend ?? would you leave alone as the bike is quite or would you attempt them myself or???????? Many Thanks Steve/UK | |
|  | | Mr Intruder Suzuki800.com Founder ... & ... Senior Administrator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:49 pm | |
| Hi Steve pop in to the Here and introduce your self mate, we like it that way! As for the valves, yes you are technically overdue with the valve adjustment but I wouldn't panic about it. Any way its an east enough job especially for a man of your background & there is a pdf manual in this section for download should you so wish. | |
|  | | StevieH Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:24 am | |
| Hi Whats the worst that can go wrong with valves if I dont get them checked?? i am going to check them,but just wondered what sort of miles people on here have done on their bikes between valve services. Thanks StevieH | |
|  | | Mr Intruder Suzuki800.com Founder ... & ... Senior Administrator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:56 am | |
| - StevieH wrote:
- Whats the worst that can go wrong with valves if I dont get them checked??
Gotta be honest Steve and say I don't honestly know! However what I do know is: ..................................... ..................................... performance will suffer ..................................... Bad fuel economy ..................................... Loss of power ..................................... They must be checked only when engine is cold ..................................... As the engine wears they usually get tighter, however they may become looser, if they do you will you will think someone has swapped your motor out for a very old Singer sawing machine. The problem you have if you don't know what your listening for, is that even on a good day the top of the engine sounds a little bit like a Sawing machine. Sorry I ain't much help, bear with us and I am sure a better answer will come along | |
|  | | StevieH Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:04 pm | |
| Thanks for any info you can give me on this as it is very much appreciated.!! StevieH | |
|  | | Twojobmick Valued VIP Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:46 pm | |
| Stevie, My bikes now at 20,000 miles and hasn't had a valve check that I know of ( bike had 6400 miles when I got it ) with no ill effects so far. Having said that I am going to put mine in to a mechanic for them checking / adjusting later this year as I don't fancy the job myself and ideally they do need to be checked. Won't give it to a dealer though, I've got a couple of local motorcycle mechanics ( call them back street garages if you like ) one of which I've used before with success. They'll be getting the job, it'll be a fraction of the cost of a main dealer. To sum up about incorrect valve clearances .... valves are designed to lose most of their heat through the valve seat in the cylinder head. If there is too little clearance the valve doesn't seat fully it will start to get hotter and hotter. Sooner or later the valve starts to melt or burn. If the clearance is too much the valve train components will be hammered every time the valve opens. 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. In summary they need to be correct to ensure the longevity of the motor. Due to the mileage on mine I'm going to get mine done just to make sure. Hope this helps guys  | |
|  | | captain crash Mentally Deficient lunatic ..... & ..... Site Moderator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:53 pm | |
| Steve the ticking you should be hearing from the top of the engine is good unless it is excessive, which is unusual as they would normally become less noise prominent with wear. As the valves become tight a the main issue is actually to do with heat in the valve area and how that heat can get away. Think of it like this if they become tight with wear then they will become even hotter than usual because the possibility for the expansion that hot metal requires has been reduced which in turn makes them even hotter. This will cause the valve to become burnt. If on the other hand which is more unusual on these bikes the clearance becomes greater then the ticking becomes much more prominent then the whole valve train so to speak is under pressure with excessive wear due to the whole area reaping the damage from the tapping/banging affect that is happening every time the valve opens.
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|  | | captain crash Mentally Deficient lunatic ..... & ..... Site Moderator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:55 pm | |
| Frigg me Mick I just spent ages typing that out so that it would make sense only to find you got in before me  ..........  | |
|  | | Mr Intruder Suzuki800.com Founder ... & ... Senior Administrator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:30 pm | |
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|  | | StevieH Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:08 pm | |
| Nice One Guy's Read all your posts and they all make good sense,but had to have a bit of a chuckle the way you all have a laugh with one another. There's nothing like a bit of good humour,that's the way I like it. StevieH | |
|  | | Twojobmick Valued VIP Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:35 am | |
| Sorry Cap'n, but it took me just as long to type !! My typing technique is the " Eagle" method ( ie - circle twice, then drop ) so I'm not the quickest typist there is At least we both said the same thing like Mr I said  , thats the most important thing | |
|  | | reubenrocket Prospect

 | Subject: handy valve tool Wed May 02, 2012 5:10 pm | |
| While undertaking the valve adjustment I found a good idea on YouTube and decided to make a custom tool. I used a square drive screw and attached it to a scrap piece I found in my garage for a handle. A little gorilla glue and presto! A custom tool that I didn't have to pay for. And it works great for getting the valves set at the proper clearance. I will post a pic's. | |
|  | | StevieH Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed May 02, 2012 5:40 pm | |
| Many Thanks for that I look forward to the pic's Thanks Steve | |
|  | | reubenrocket Prospect

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed May 02, 2012 6:17 pm | |
| Sorry, posting has been tough to figure out from my phone...  | |
|  | | captain crash Mentally Deficient lunatic ..... & ..... Site Moderator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed May 02, 2012 10:13 pm | |
| I don't really understand what that is or how it works, am I being stupid? | |
|  | | reubenrocket Prospect

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Wed May 02, 2012 10:56 pm | |
| Three items are needed to adjust the valves (once they are exposed) a feeler gauge a 10mm box end wrench and a tiny wrench to fit on the top of the valve. Since the smallest wrench I have is a 6mm (which is way too large) and I did not want to buy a specialty wrench, I made this. Pliers or a crescent wrench can round the edges on the valve adjusters. This tool takes the place of item B from the manual photo below.  | |
|  | | captain crash Mentally Deficient lunatic ..... & ..... Site Moderator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Thu May 03, 2012 11:12 am | |
| Gotcha, very clever | |
|  | | CycleBiker Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Mon May 07, 2012 11:05 pm | |
| Valves burn when the adjustment becomes too tight preventing the valve from closing properly and the escaping gases erode the valve lip.
The problem with these bikes is that the valves become quieter as they become tighter over time so people don't realise there's a problem. I think the biggest problem is for those who skip the 600 mile adjustment. | |
|  | | captain crash Mentally Deficient lunatic ..... & ..... Site Moderator

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Tue May 08, 2012 11:19 am | |
| - CycleBiker wrote:
- I think the biggest problem is for those who skip the 600 mile adjustment.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I don't think the UK dealerships do not do a valve check at 600 miles? | |
|  | | Bunso Steel Valued Member

 | Subject: Re: Valve Adjustments M800 Tue May 08, 2012 1:29 pm | |
| Steve Jordan, The dealer I got mine from asked me to get the Valves checked at 3000 miles, but Im pretty sure the owners manual suggests a 600 mile 'tightening up', after initial break in, dunno if that does or does not include valve check | |
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