Valve Clearance inspection

Figure out maintenance issues and discuss modifications
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Mikey
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Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:27 am

The catastrophic failure of Elvis's engine put the fear of God into me. I actually opened up my owner's manual to find Honda wants you to inspect the valves every 2500 miles! Damm! That would be every oil change. That might be overkill but I checked them only once and now have like 13,000 miles. So I'll let you know what I find.

Thanks for the suggestion of just removing the left passenger foot peg to gain access into the side cover. It really makes it a PITA and I have had only one passenger since I purchased my scooter.

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TommyXP
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by TommyXP » Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:49 am

Same here.....yesterday I noted in my logs that on one SH I checked at ~2000 miles and adj. one valve .002
and the other .001 and then when checking at 15,000 they were both still 'right-on'....
Didn't check yet again as I am waiting till I put one away for the Winter and get the other out....Did change the oil though and when I checked the air cleaner I discovered that it was full of SunFlower seeds from setting all last Winter....I feed the critters year-around and go through ~ a ton of feed a year....The K & N filter was clogged with sh*t and I had been riding all Summer like that......Washed and oiled the filter and also needed air in both tires.
Went for a ride during Sunset last night and man what a difference........
I wish the intensity of that feeling of being glad to be alive while riding would carry over throughout the day!
Freedom is not something you are given. Its something you take.

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Mikey
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:21 pm

Ok I took the left foot peg off so I no longer have an excuse to put off my maintenance. After that it was pretty straight forward. The service manual states when engine is cool which is 96 degrees or less. It was 95 in the garage so I was good!

I did the lower valve first since the shims are easier to slide in. I tried .016 mm first and didn't fit. Had to get down to .012 mm so I thought that was pretty tight for the intake. Damm. Then I saw the exhaust pipe and realized that was the exhaust valve that should be .025 mm. Double Damm! That ones done.

I had to come in an cool off. I figured out if I stick the right size allen wrench in the hole on the shim, it's easier to hold it there to measure the intake.

Everything looked nice and clean with the valve cover off and I'm using full synthetic since I use only one qt. money is no object!

I think I'll check out the belt too since I'm down there. Clean up the dust if any. I brought a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift this year and it so nice to have the bike up where I can sit on a stool.

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Mikey
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:39 pm

Ok Homer Simpson moment. My gauges have two numbers on them. When I thought I was putting in a .12 mm gauge under the exhaust it was actually .012 inches or .305 mm gauge. No wonder it was tight. So they where more loose then tight. I need to get a finer gauge set since mine is in inches. It did the job. Also will check the gap on the spark plug. the electrode look nice and healthy.

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Mikey
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:49 pm

I took off the side cover and everything was nice and clean in there. The belt width was 25 mm at 12,200 miles so it is right in the middle of it's tolerance.(25.5 mm-24.5 mm) I tried to check out the clutch shoes with a little mirror but was getting dark. When I replace the drive belt in the future I'll take the rear bell off to check the surfaces.

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Mikey
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:40 am

I looked at the procedure on the Suzuki Burgman 400 to perform a valve check. It is a pretty drawn out procedure of removing the air box, and dismounting the throttle body. Then if there is a change in the tolerance, you have to remove the camshaft to replace the tappet shim. Honda made it so much easier on the SH150.

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TommyXP
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by TommyXP » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:47 am

Yikes! A simple known necessary maintenance procedure turned into a major project. Certainly an incentive not to do it oneself and rather to have some stealership task some rookie 'mechanic' to the job and imagine the expen$e and personal logistics/inconvenience involved.
I notice a number of simplified engineering features expressed by Honda that indicate to me that they are 'leaps-and-bounds' ahead of ALL other manufacturers and that little known FACT greatly increases the pleasure of my overall riding experience......
Freedom is not something you are given. Its something you take.

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NADman
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by NADman » Wed Oct 10, 2018 2:34 pm

I wish the intensity of that feeling of being glad to be alive while riding would carry over throughout the day!

Me too.

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Mikey
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Re: Valve Clearance inspection

Post by Mikey » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:25 am

Yesterday evening I actually went in and rechecked my readings on my valve adjustment. It is so incredibly easy once you remove the left foot peg assembly. Plus I have a Harbor Freight motorcycle stand now to raise the scoot a bit so I can sit on a stool.

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