valve inspection report at 16405 miles

[wanderer]

Tracer 900GT purchased new two years ago, 28 December 2018. I took it to the local shop for the 16000 mile service at 16405 miles, and asked them to add the early valve inspection.  Based on what I've read here, the results seem predictable, tight exhaust, in-spec intake.

exhaust (spec 10-12 [units .001 inch]): 4 7 5 8 5 9

intake (spec 4-8 [units .001 inch]): 6 5 5 5 5 5

exhaust was all adjusted to 11 ("these go to 11"), intake unchanged.

 

[whisperquiet]

It is absurd that the exhaust valve clearances are that tight with such low mileage.  I think mine will be checked early and shimmed as needed.

[koth442]

It seems like once the tight valves are rectified, they stay in spec. I wonder if the valves are growing or the seats compressing (allowing more retraction of the valve).

[texscottyd]

Thanks for the info @wanderer.   I’m at 20k miles now without having checked valve clearances, but increasingly I think I won’t wait until the 24k recommendation.   Will be interesting to see what I find... 

[koth442]

14 hours ago, texscottyd said:

Thanks for the info @wanderer.   I’m at 20k miles now without having checked valve clearances, but increasingly I think I won’t wait until the 24k recommendation.   Will be interesting to see what I find... 

I will be surprised if your exhaust valves are NOT tight.

[peteinpa]

I'm already tentatively plannning to do my valves next winter even if I only have 10k miles on it.

This is not right. Yamaha knows something but isn't talking it will cost them $$$$$$.

Valve clearances tighten when seats flatten, get hammered deeper into the head, or erode away.  The valves can dish deeper or the edges erode. None of this is normal.

once the clearance gets too tight on exhaust valves combustion heat will act like a blowtorch and burn a chunk out of the valve.

I previously owned 2 Hondas with shim under bucket valves. 1 went 80k miles and 1 went 70k miles with NO CHANGE in clearance measurements. On the forums they quit bothering to check them.

I hope I didn't make a mistake buying this bike.

[koth442]

1 hour ago, peteinpa said:

I hope I didn't make a mistake buying this bike.

Nah. Cases of engine failure are rare. On this forum Vinnie and Rusty Shackles are the only two to have issues. Of the hundreds of members on this forum, that's a very very small percentage. Additionally, Olddawg (spelling?) has 230,000 miles on his FJ last time he checked in. 

Once the valves are adjusted, they seem to stay in spec. My guess is the valve seats "settle" in the first few thousand miles requiring an early adjustment.

[Merciless]

I have some questions because it is too soon for valve inspection... Do you have full exhaust and ecu flash? 

[Ride365]

On 12/27/2020 at 9:09 AM, peteinpa said:

I'm already tentatively plannning to do my valves next winter even if I only have 10k miles on it.

This is not right. Yamaha knows something but isn't talking it will cost them $$$$$$.

Valve clearances tighten when seats flatten, get hammered deeper into the head, or erode away.  The valves can dish deeper or the edges erode. None of this is normal.

once the clearance gets too tight on exhaust valves combustion heat will act like a blowtorch and burn a chunk out of the valve.

I previously owned 2 Hondas with shim under bucket valves. 1 went 80k miles and 1 went 70k miles with NO CHANGE in clearance measurements. On the forums they quit bothering to check them.

I hope I didn't make a mistake buying this bike.

Nah......local very reputable independent motorcycle mechanic I use says that most any engine he checks valves has tight exhaust valves, in particular high revving race derived engines. He also mentioned that once everything is adjusted to middle spec, most shim under bucket valves don't vary much from there on out unless you are doing track days. We check valves for a reason, both for peace of mind and engine longevity.......there is no defect with this engine.

[wanderer]

11 hours ago, Merciless said:

I have some questions because it is too soon for valve inspection... Do you have full exhaust and ecu flash? 

My exhaust and ECU are stock.

[Rick123]

It is definitely not right if Yamaha calls for valve check at 25000 miles and they are to tight at 10 or 15 000 miles. It is just ridiculous IMHO.

[betoney]

27 minutes ago, Rick123 said:

It is definitely not right if Yamaha calls for valve check at 25000 miles and they are to tight at 10 or 15 000 miles. It is just ridiculous IMHO.

The good news is, if they are tight at the first check, when they are set to mid range tolerance they seem to stay in spec.  Mine were tight on the first check, within spec on the 2nd check and we will see what they are like on the 3rd check next year.  Mine were checked at 23k, 44k and I should be close to 65k a year from now for the 3rd check.  If they are still in spec at 65k then I will lengthen the current check interval. 

[Ride365]

1 hour ago, Rick123 said:

It is definitely not right if Yamaha calls for valve check at 25000 miles and they are to tight at 10 or 15 000 miles. It is just ridiculous IMHO.

No different than the Stroms, as most have tight valves at Suzuki's recommended mileage check as well.  As for me waiting 25k miles to do the first check, I'll likely do it earlier......ya know just out of curiosity. 🤓

Edited December 28, 2020 by Ride365