[How To] Checking the valves

elizilla

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Here is a post I made in the other forum, last winter, about my first valve check:

So I just finished the first valve check.

The bodywork came off quickly, and went back on quickly. Familiarity made a huge difference here. I didn't take the tank altogether off - I just lifted it and propped it with a piece of wood. The tank was only about a third full so it wasn't even heavy. No problems there.

Next, the airbox comes off. First you take off the lid. Then, inside the airbox there are two snorkel-like things, one for each throttle body. They are each held in place by two screws. The screws come off and the snorkels come out. There is a white sensor on the front left side that I found easier to unscrew from the airbox, than to get the electrical connector loose. There is a fitting with a sensor and three hoses, that snaps into a hook on the rear left corner of the airbox. Unhook the hose that goes to the airbox, and then just pop this assembly out of the hook. There's a sensor on the middle right that unplugs easily, and a small hose behind it that comes off easily. And there's a fuel hose that snaps into a clamp at the rear right, that just pulls out (you don't have to unhook this hose, just pull it out of the clamp on the corner of the airbox. And a hose at the back, undo this one last. Once all these things are off, the bottom half of the airbox lifts out.

There's a plastic shield that snaps in place on top of the rear cylinder. Pull this off, and the cylinder cover is now accessible. Two screws and it's off.

There are two ports on the alternator cover that you open, the center one turns the motor and the upper one is a porthole to see where it's at. Turn it to the right spot and check the valves in the rear cylinder. Mine were all in spec. Then put the cover back on the rear cylinder.

Disconnect the throttle cables, and the two hose clamps, and the throttle bodies lift out (well, they kinda rock out - but they did come loose without too much difficulty). The screw for the clamp on the front intake is VERY hard to reach. Here's a picture of the front cylinder, open:



You can see this problem screw in the picture, just to the right of the valves, on the intake. I couldn't photograph it with the throttle body in place; the camera wouldn't be able to see it. I went in from the right side with this tool:



This ratcheting screwdriver came with shorter bits. The longer bit that I used and pictured here, was from a box I had bought to use with my cordless drill, but it fit the screwdriver handle, thank goodness! It was a slow job, ratcheting the screwdriver one click at a time, forever. I think the skin is going to peel off my thumb from holding it in place. But I got it loose.

I didn't disconnect any of the fuel lines. I just moved the throttle bodies back and set them on top of the rear cylinder.

The front cylinder has a plastic shield on top of it as well. The trick to removing this shield is to look in from the front of the bike, and disconnect the two tabs that hold it in place on the top edge of the radiator. Once these tabs are popped loose, go back to the under-tank side and pull it out.

The front cylinder cover was not hard to pull out. But the space underneath is very confined. I was glad the valves were in spec, because it would have been a pain to adjust them in there.

Putting it back together was the reverse of taking it apart. The most difficult part was dealing with all the small hoses that run across the top of the throttle bodies, with T connectors, and if you don't get them all into place perfectly, the airbox doesn't want to fit back on correctly.

It took me several hours to do all this on Sunday. I think this will go much quicker, next time, though, since I will know more about what's in there. Note to self: Don't forget to put the plastic heat shields back in, because if you do you'll have to go in again. Also, careful of the tiny hose that goes into the right hand side of the airbox - if it's not routed correctly it won't stay on, and the bike doesn't run worth a darn if that hose pops off!

I also did the first oil change. As has already been reported, it was a pain to get the oil filter off. The centerstand blocks access, whether it's up or down. Here are the tools I used to get it off:



Usually I use this filter wrench with a socket, but there wasn't room for a socket in there, so I was glad that it also had a hex fitting so I could use that ratcheting box wrench. There wasn't a lot of room to swing the wrench, so the ratcheting was handy.

The oil that came out was pretty nasty looking, so I'm glad I didn't put off changing it. It shifts so nicely with the fresh oil!
 

Raycad

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Thanks, Catherine, for transfering this thread from the other forum; it was one of the best information there. Good pictures, clear and concise text. Your hard work won't be in vain!

Ray
 
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Thanks, Catherine, for transfering this thread from the other forum; it was one of the best information there. Good pictures, clear and concise text. Your hard work won't be in vain!

Ray
+1 Catherine's post was very helpful to me when I did mine.
 
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I have a feeling that valve adjustments is the ONE thing I might have the dealer do.

I think I can do everything else.
 

Stex

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I have reached 600 miles with my new NT...................is everyone inspecting valves at 6 as recommended and what have been the results?
Thanks,
Eddie
 

Mellow

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That's soo much easier than an ST valve check.. you don't know how easy you got it... I hate bucket/shim setups...
 

Stex

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I sold my ST1300 to buy the NT...............it was a great bike...........couple years ago I rode it to Banff in Canada, 5800 miles in 11 days, averaged about 55mpg. I've never attempted the shim type valves, that's about the only thing I'll take it to a dealer for.......I guess I should learn cause pretty soon my Goldwing will need it.......such a hassle.
 

Phil Tarman

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I have reached 600 miles with my new NT...................is everyone inspecting valves at 6 as recommended
Stex,

I think that the 600 mi check could be the most crucial. If someone had screwed up on the production line, things go could go bad pretty quickly and seriously. After the 600 mile check, from what it sounds like on the English Deauville site (deauvilleuk.org), they don't need adjusting very often. But the 600 mile check gives you an important baseline.
 
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elizilla

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Stex, I am guessing that almost no one will have to change them at 600 miles. But if they did need changing, like Phil said it will be crucial. I like to travel pretty far from home on my bike, alone. I don't want to have to worry about some maintenance I skimped on, while I'm out there. If I didn't take the bike so far from home I might not bother - I never did adjust the valves on my VFR.
 

Stex

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thanks..........that's what I was figurin', looks like I have something to do this week.....
 

slowly

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I would rather take the chance and leave them alone, than let a dealer who admits to never working on a nt have a go at it. Later when time permits would like to take on project myself.
.
 
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When I saw what was involved with the valve check (by the Honda dealer a 4 hour shop job) I must admit to being upset. If the NT was a performance bike maybe but 4 hours!? and off with the carburation assembly. Not to worry our friends from across the pond have said in other threads; you can go 25k and not touch the valves without any great concern. I intend to find out if they are correct unless I hear very strange things from within the bike. Honda makes single OHC lawnmowers and I suspect no one is messing with the valves on those engines very often.

Lorien
 

CoolNT

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Katherine,

May I ask where you purchased that little angled ratchet tool from? Additionally, for the valve check job, is there another/special tool needed?
 
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elizilla

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Ron, I thought it came from Sears but I can't find that exact one on their website. It's actually intended as a right angle screwdriver, and came with several interchanging bits that were each only about an inch long. But I also own a cordless drill that came with bits about 3" long, which fit in that screwdriver.

Here are some similar ones:
Sears - fancier and more expensive than the one I have
Harbor Freight - very cheap, would likely do the job
Amazon - also cheap and I like the lever switch better than the sliding switch in the one I have (and which is in the HF version).

Whichever you buy, you'd augment with some driver bits, like these, which should be available just about anywhere.

And while you are looking for tools to make it easier, you would do well to buy some metric feeler gauges. You can do it with the SAE ones but it's a nuisance. And plan on taking them out of their little fan holder, and bending them as needed. Attach a string or wire to each one so you can't drop it down somewhere and lose it. They won't go neatly back in the holder when you are done. :)

And if you have to change any, Honda makes a valve adjusting tool that is basically just an offset box wrench with a long handle. You can do it with one of these if you have a set, or even with non-offset box wrenches. You can't do it with sockets because there's a screw on the end that you have to hold while you tighten. I own this Honda tool but someone has borrowed it and is blowing off my demands that he give it back. But I didn't have to adjust any last year, and I do own some generic offset box wrenches so if I have to change any this year, I will manage.
 

CoolNT

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Awesome Katherine. Thanks so much for taking the time to help find these. As far as the feeler gauges, I guess I can pick up a set at like NAPA, etc. right? As for offset, I'll probably buy a cheap set from HF.
 
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elizilla

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My local auto parts store only had one kind of feeler gauges. They are marked for both SAE and metric - it's just that the SAE sizes are even amounts, and the metric sizes are things like "0.09876mm" and there aren't very many selections in the range we need. That's what I used, though, because that's what I had. Over the summer I was at the local motorcycle shop and they had a display by the cash register that included metric feeler gauges, and they weren't expensive, so I impulse-bought two sets. :)

The main advantage of the Honda tool, for adjusting the valves, is that it's so long. All that leverage is good for getting the locknuts precise and properly tightened. I once had one of them work loose after a valve adjustment. Since that bike was an older bike with very high miles, and good used ones just like it were cheap, I ended up buying another bike rather than trying to fix the screwed up valve. I used the bad valve bike as a parts bike.
 
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CoolNT

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I'm going down to my dealer today, since I'll be in that area any way and will inquire about the gauges.
 
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