Long miles between valve adjustment

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Dec 16, 2010
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Port Townsend, Washington
I picked up my bike this morning from the shop. I'm at 49,560 miles, closing in on the coveted 50K sticker. I asked the mechanic to change all fluids, tighten everything up and check/set the valves. The last time I had the valves set was at 30k. All valves were in spec after 20K miles, no adjustment made. I asked him how this could be and he replied, "Because it's a Honda." I'll have the valves checked again at 70k.

Terry
 

Woodaddict

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No problem I snuck up on valve checks, 8K, 20K, 35K, next will be about 40 , now at 168K miles
 

DirtFlier

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It's normal for the greatest wear to occur during the first 10k-20k miles then the valve clearances settle-in.

Whenever I've checked it, I've found one of two exhaust valves barely on the loose side of the tolerance but all the intakes were OK. Being loose is much better than being tight!
 
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Woodaddict

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for those with inquiring minds......just completed my recent valve check. not by me , but a Honda mechanic who also works from home. mileage is 170,782, last check was 127,834, difference of 42,948. my longest interval yet in miles. for those who don't know clearances, intakes are .005-.007 and exhaust are .007-.009. 3 intakes were .006, 1 was .005. 2 exhaust were .007 and 2 were .006. i'll take that.
 

Woodaddict

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I keep loosing post, so have to continue here. at previous check thought I heard valve noise, so had them listen for that, but they could not hear anything. (done by different person). this time my guy heard what sounds like piston slap. happens near cold, and slowing down for stop sign. thought it might be cam chain noise, but I think he found the noise problem. he said cam chains ok
 

junglejim

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That is pretty impressive Dave. You stretched the inspection interval much longer than most do and still were pretty good. It looks like your exhaust valves tent to wear in (tighten) so I'd keep an eye on them to aviod burinig them (the voice of experience).

The other impressive number is your total mileage. Good job.
 

Woodaddict

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That is pretty impressive Dave. You stretched the inspection interval much longer than most do and still were pretty good. It looks like your exhaust valves tent to wear in (tighten) so I'd keep an eye on them to aviod burinig them (the voice of experience).

The other impressive number is your total mileage. Good job.
see......now you want your NT back!!!
 
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Thanks great news, as I was worried mine have never been log book checked. My NT700V has only 38,000 kilometres on her. Planning on checking valve clearances@ 40,000 kilometres now that I've read your story. Cheers from Trev of OZ, downunder.
 

Woodaddict

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UPDATE on vale check. this is my 2nd NT, went from about 11,000 miles to about 72,000 miles (so about 61,000 miles). Since I'm already familiar with the NT great interval checks, (in post #4 with 1st NT) went 42,948 interval.
Intake right in spec, exhaust were .001 under low limit, which is ok, my private mechanic brought them to middle of tolerance. He was very interested to check them when I told him interval was 61,000 miles. Said you can't do that with Kawasaki or Suzuki, they use softer valve seats material
 

DirtFlier

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My '06 Accord (4-cyl VTEC engine) had a valve clearance inspection @ 100k miles per the maintenance schedule. The inspection was "listen for abnormal clicking and adjust if necessary." :)

As regards the NTs long valve clearance interval in the real world, my guess is that many (most?) owners short shift them and revving to the max in the gears is rare which helps avoid unnecessary wear on the cams, rockers, and valve stems - at least that's true for me. The difference between upshifting at 4,000 vs 6,000 is HUGE as regards how many times the valves have to cycle open & close!

The last time I checked valve clearance was Sept 2021 @ 78k miles and one exhaust was looser than the others but still within tolerance. Prior to that, it was checked in July 2017 @ 61k miles and one exhaust valve was loose and needed adjustment. Thankfuly, it was on the rear cyl because I hate trying to adj the exhaust valves for the front cyl since it's so difficult to see what you're doing! The 17k miles in four years is because I have a 2nd bike (NC700XD) and it gets ridden from March-to-November and often on longer rides.
 
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My wife and I both bought NT700Vs in the last five months. Hers 2009 with 30,000km, mine 2007 with 78,000km. I didn't know/trust when clearances had last been done, so I checked them all out last week. On each bike 6 of the 8 clearances were within spec and the other 2 only just outside of the specs. It bodes well. Twin_NTs.jpg
 
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Gee, it turns out the NT is actually easy to maintain after all! Who knew?

I've done 3 valve adjusts so far, last time only one of the 8 needed adjustment, will not bother checking them for another 32k miles.
 

Coyote Chris

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It's normal for the greatest wear to occur during the first 10k-20k miles then the valve clearances settle-in.

Whenever I've checked it, I've found one of two exhaust valves barely on the loose side of the tolerance but all the intakes were OK. Being loose is much better than being tight!
Certainly true but loose valves have their price. Wanna take a wack at what the down side is? Hint: Its not performance.
 

Coyote Chris

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I picked up my bike this morning from the shop. I'm at 49,560 miles, closing in on the coveted 50K sticker. I asked the mechanic to change all fluids, tighten everything up and check/set the valves. The last time I had the valves set was at 30k. All valves were in spec after 20K miles, no adjustment made. I asked him how this could be and he replied, "Because it's a Honda." I'll have the valves checked again at 70k.

Terry
What were the charges?
 
Joined
Jun 24, 2019
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Kaslo, British Columbia
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2010 silver NT700
My '06 Accord (4-cyl VTEC engine) had a valve clearance inspection @ 100k miles per the maintenance schedule. The inspection was "listen for abnormal clicking and adjust if necessary." :)

As regards the NTs long valve clearance interval in the real world, my guess is that many (most?) owners short shift them and revving to the max in the gears is rare which helps avoid unnecessary wear on the cams, rockers, and valve stems - at least that's true for me. The difference between upshifting at 4,000 vs 6,000 is HUGE as regards how many times the valves have to cycle open & close!

The last time I checked valve clearance was Sept 2021 @ 78k miles and one exhaust was looser than the others but still within tolerance. Prior to that, it was checked in July 2017 @ 61k miles and one exhaust valve was loose and needed adjustment. Thankfuly, it was on the rear cyl because I hate trying to adj the exhaust valves for the front cyl since it's so difficult to see what you're doing! The 17k miles in four years is because I have a 2nd bike (NC700XD) and it gets ridden from March-to-November and often on longer rides.
I found the front exhaust virtually impossible to adjust from the rear. I took the radiator out and did them from the front....much easier and more accurate. Changed the anti freeze at the same time.
 

DirtFlier

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HondaFan - I made this homemade extension specifically for the front cylinder's right exhaust rocker. The left rocker was OK to do and perhaps part or most of that is related to my being right handed? Anyhow, having the extra-long handle allowed me to come in from outside the fairing and have almost a straight shot. This way, I had a much more natural feel to how much drag I was feeling at the rocker arm.

P7140545.JPG
 
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