| Author | Message | ||
     Willmrx |
What is the cost of having your valves checked and how many hours of labor should it take? I just finished doing it myself and it took me about a 12 hours, but some of that time was cleaning things while I had the engine rotated. | ||
| Squish |
Good question. I also wander what an independent mechanic will want for the valve adjust job on an 1125. HD dealerships are probably not likely to be motivated to work Rotax engines. | ||
| Sprintst |
as I recall, I had a check done for about $550 | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I'd be afraid to trust it to anyone else. | ||
| Squish |
Figor, I saw your profile service dealership and I agree with you. I have been swamped with work, don’t see a letup in the work in the foreseeable future and don’t feel like dealing with the valve adjust; hopefully, I can find an indie mechanic I can trust when the time comes. My bike has 7.5K miles on it. Other board members have reported their 1125 valve lash levels were getting tight relatively early. Don’t know how much time I have left until I need to check it. John | ||
| Bullettooth023 |
Squish Contact Moto enthusiast in SoCal. They are a Buell friendly shop. They should be able to help you out. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I'm going to check my valves this winter. I'll be pissed if they are all in spec. LOL | ||
| Terrys1980 |
From what I read most only had 1 valve that was close to being out of spec at the 6800 mile service. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
All mine were in spec IIRC on the first check, which was done at the dealer when they swapped out a camshaft under warranty. Would be interesting to collect some data on those who have gone thru the 24,000 valve check. I'd forego it if everyone reports their valves were still in spec at 24,000 miles. | ||
| Ebmachine |
I checked my valve clearance at 15K.Two exhaust valves were slightly out of tolerance on the tight side. The other two exhaust valves were close to getting tight. I adjusted all of the exhaust valves to mid/loose side of the tolerance. It took me all weekend. If I do it again, I can do it in 6 to 8 hours. I bought the shims at HD. I think the VRod uses the same valve shims. At least that is what HD told me. | ||
| Bullettooth023 |
Eb Yes the vrod shims are the same. I bought the kit from hotcams so I would have them as needed. I think its $60, worth it if you plan on doing them yourself. I check my race bike twice a year and tend to run it at the tighter side of the spec, | ||
| Ebmachine |
If you adjust your valves frequently, you can get away with running on the tight side of the tolerance. I adjust them on the loose side of the tolerance because as the valve pounds into the seat, they will move tighter rather than looser, especially if you run it at high rpm. A good valve job will minimize the tightening effect after the initial valve adjustment at around 5K. | ||
| Willmrx |
I all so got a hotcams shim kit, makes it a lot easier. I have done a total of four valves adjustments on the 1125r, mine twice any two of my buddies. Six hour seems way quick, then next time I do one I will see how fast I can do it. I have a motorcycle lift so that makes it easier too. | ||
| Glendeco |
Hi guys, Glendeco here. I am a new member and 1125r owner. Willmrx told me about this site and been looking it over. Just want to say thanks and what an asset for having this site as a Buell owner. Most cookie cutter street bike owners do nothing but bag on Buell. I have read about Erik over the years as a teen, and always admired the guys that would build garage bikes. Now fast forward, I own one! It's been the fastest, and best handling bike I've ever owned, and I've owned a few. That being said, thanks for the valve job Will, and thanks for telling me about this site. Cyber fist pump to all my Buell brothers. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Is the "Hotcams" kit something different from the V-rod kit, or is Hotcams a vendor that sells the V-rd shim kit? Also, can someone please explain in simple terms how the valves tend to tighten over time? The opposite seems like it would be the case. | ||
| Willmrx |
The valves when they close, over time and wear, go deeper into the seat, making them get closer to the cam. | ||
| Jc1125r |
What is the part number for the hotcams shim kit? Also, where would a person source one from? Will be doing the valve adjustment this winter. | ||
| Willmrx |
Hotcams part# HCSHIM31 http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOTCAMS-Valve-Shim-Kits-HC SHIM31-Shims-10-00mm-OD-KTM-RC8-530-690-990-/30159 1191583 I hope this helps. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Willmrx -"The valves when they close, over time and wear, go deeper into the seat, making them get closer to the cam." I was told by a mechanic (racer) that the valve seat collapses over time. The more RPM's the faster the collapse. Having the valves set at the absolute loosest end of the specified range would give a longer service interval, right? | ||
| Reepicheep |
I have a klr250 valve here on my desk that has worn dramatically (but was still sealing when pulled). Most of the outer rim was long gone, but it was still sealing, because as material was being eroded, the valve just seated deeper in the head. So yes, bigger gap buys more time. | ||
| Livers |
For anyone doing this themselves, look over your cams real good. I saw an '09 with just over 29 thousand miles on it this spring, 3 of the cams showed significant pitting. We replaced them all. | ||
| Willmrx |
When Glendeco bought his 1125R we did a valve adjustment on it, we found some of them were in the .020s on both the exhaust and intake. Not to mention, all of the valve covers screws heads were striped. | ||
| Socoken |
I just bought a service manual and I am looking to do mine for the first time. Can the valve cover/rocker box gaskets be re-used, or should they be replaced? Any specialty tools that would make things easier? Any spark plug upgrades or is OEM the way to go? Thanks! Ken | ||
| Squish |
William or Glenn, When you did the valve adjust on Glenn's bike, were the valves adjusted prior in time? It sounds like they were since the valve cover screw heads were all stripped. William, Thanks for the post with the valve shim kit for sale on eBay. | ||
| Stevel |
A little history here. At the start of the 20th century when gasoline motors came into use, white gas, as it was called, was all that was available. White gasoline was unleaded gas. Tetraethyl lead was introduced in the '30s to reduce valve seat recession. Tetraethyl lead when burned, creates lead bromide ash. This ash acts as a dry lubricant, which greatly reduced the recession problem. Remember at that time the valve seats were cut directly in the iron head castings. Very few engines were made with austenitic steel valves and hard seat inserts. When lead was banned for use in gasoline, guess what, valve recession again became am issue. Although the lead additive does increase the octane level of the fuel, that was not the primary reason for its use.. Today, we use valve and seat alloys that can withstand the temperatures and wear much better than the earlier materials, but this valve recession thing has still not gone away completely. However, I rarely see evidence of this issue with motorcycle engines. They simply don't see enough mileage. | ||
| Dannybuell |
IDK. RIP Ethel. The IL-4 Racers seem to think their heads are gone at 15,000 miles. Today's IL-4s turn an incredible amount of RPMs compared to the typical car or harleys 5500-6000 RPMs. The number of valve closing cycles is at least 2 times more for the 11,000 RPM Rotax. An IL-4, 2.5 times more closing cycles? | ||
| Willmrx |
Socoken, I have reused the valve cover gaskets. I take them out and clean them with hot water and Dawn dish soap and do the same with the valve covers. I have know idea about what spark plug is the best, I just use the stock ones. I typically replace them about every 2500 miles. For special tools. I took a feeler gauge about .007 cut it length wise and bent it kind of spoon like shape and use it to put the shims back in place. I put grease on the shim and then stick it on the modified feeler gauge. | ||
| Willmrx |
Squish, Yes his bike had been messed with! And, you are welcome. | ||
| Socoken |
Thanks for the info, Will! | ||
| Ebmachine |
Use Stock Spark Plugs per EBR: NGK-CR9EKB Gap 0.032". The stock plugs provide a better spark than platinum or iridium. The main reason one goes to iridium plugs is they don't erode as quickly and maintain a constant gap longer. The Buell 1125 needs the valves adjusted every 12.4 K, so changing the plugs at 12.4 K will ensure they don't erode. NGK-CR9EKB are the best plugs for your bike. (Message edited by Ebmachine on August 31, 2016) |
