FZ1 valve adjusting

LOL
I love it when I see guys completely disassemble a bike INSIDE THEIR HOME!!!
LOL
Looks like this guy has an apartment but I have seen several pics of guys who park their bikes inside their homes. HAHAHA!!!! I may have to try that idea. I just know that I will be battling a woman when I do it. :fencers:
 
Wow..that's impressive! I'm not so
Sure I'm going to tackle the valve adjustment myself when it comes due, even though I've done and will do a majority of the maintenance myself. I'm a little intimidated by that task. :)
 
The biggest problem with the valve adjustment on the Fz1 is how tight the valve train is on these things and the amount of stuff that has to be removed just to do the check, let alone the actual shim replacement if you have to do any. I would plan this for at least a week of down time and maybe more if getting the shims is a problem. I wonder if anyone has got a price from a dealer for this "little" task?
 
I'm due right now but am still undecided as to how I'm going to tackle it. I'm thinking to just take it to Ivan's and pay the money so I'm not "down" for a long period of time. I'll have to call today and find out what he charges and what the "down time" is. At least now, Richie can follow me in the car if I have to leave it there.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
I'm due right now but am still undecided as to how I'm going to tackle it. I'm thinking to just take it to Ivan's and pay the money so I'm not "down" for a long period of time. I'll have to call today and find out what he charges and what the "down time" is. At least now, Richie can follow me in the car if I have to leave it there.
Click to expand...

I think you're not going to like what he charges. Unfortunately on these bikes it's a long process to check the valve clearance and even longer if they need to actually be adjusted as the cams need to come out. Knowing all this I'm not looking forward to adjusting the valves on my YZF1000. And not to discourage you from having them checked, but based on the way your bike runs and starts up, I'm going to say the clearances are probably good.
 
Valves shmalves, you don't need to adjust your valves. Just ask the guy on the other board who's never adjusted or checked them over 80K+ miles of riding. :)

Sent from my MB508 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the link, it will be very helpful for those who plan to do this service on their FZ! I'm glad I have over 20k miles before I have to have my valves checked, lol. I've done custom drivetrain swaps and wiring on sports cars, but I have no desire to adjust the valves on this bike. I'll likely pay a pro to adjust the valves on the FZ when the time comes just to save myself the time-consuming headache. I know of a local guy who works only on bikes that will do it for $200 or less.
 
I made a call today and it would run me between 2 to 3 and change if I need any shims and the bike would be down two to three days. I'm told that the most would still be less than 400 bucks. So if the bike is within spec I'm looking at $200 dollars, and if the cams need to be pulled, $300 or more. Most of the price is labor. So I may just bite the bullet and go for it and hope that it's within spec. I have some more dough coming from the accident last year so I may just bring it in and have it done. The bike does sound perfect as it runs now but the last thing I want is headaches later because I chose to save some money now.
 
I know a local guy who'll check them for £10.
He picks your bike up at night, then races the locals using it.
The bike is then left in his courtyard overnight.
If it rattles on start up - they need adjusting. If not - they don't.
Simple as

Mind you - he doesn't adjust them, just tells you if they need it.

you may think that's bad

A good mate of mine painted all the nuts and bolts around his tank before putting his Aprilia Touno Factory into the local main dealer for a major service

He was charged £250 ish pounds for the full service & valve check.

Before he left the dealer, he lifted the seat & showed the service manager the paint marks on the tank nuts & bolts had not been broken.

Luckily he paid by cheque.

The cheque was ripped up & he spent the following Saturday morning watching the Aprilia specialist giving his bike a full service and valve clearance check.

Unfortunately these dodgy practices appear to be returning to the trade.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
I made a call today and it would run me between 2 to 3 and change if I need any shims and the bike would be down two to three days. I'm told that the most would still be less than 400 bucks. So if the bike is within spec I'm looking at $200 dollars, and if the cams need to be pulled, $300 or more. Most of the price is labor. So I may just bite the bullet and go for it and hope that it's within spec. I have some more dough coming from the accident last year so I may just bring it in and have it done. The bike does sound perfect as it runs now but the last thing I want is headaches later because I chose to save some money now.
Click to expand...

You're right Billy most of it is labor. The shims themselves are relatively cheap. Why don't you give it a try yourself? At least checking them. There's a good chance your valves will be within spec. These feeler gauges look like they'll work good since they tapper at the ends:

Metric Gap Thickness Feeler Gauge Blades 0.02-1mm Tool - eBay (item 230596348637 end time Apr-11-11 12:37:06 PDT)
 
NJFZ1 said:
You're right Billy most of it is labor. The shims themselves are relatively cheap. Why don't you give it a try yourself? At least checking them. There's a good chance your valves will be within spec. These feeler gauges look like they'll work good since they tapper at the ends:

Metric Gap Thickness Feeler Gauge Blades 0.02-1mm Tool - eBay (item 230596348637 end time Apr-11-11 12:37:06 PDT)
Click to expand...

I would T, but it's one of those things where I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it solo. I did adjust my scooter when it came time but that was a simple single cylinder 150cc and didn't use a bucket and shim system so making the adjustment was a breeze. This is a little more entailed and I'm not so sure I'd be confident enough doing it myself. Will you be tackling the YZF on your own?
 
The whole thing is ~ if they don't rattle on cold start up, they're OK

Ask a man that knows - he'll say the same

:icon_beer:
 
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