Valves at 30k

[Ugarte]

I will turn over the 30 thousand mile mark this week. The maintenance schedule calls for another valve check. I had one done at 10k and everything was fine. I am tempted to just forego this valve check and put it off till 50k or ?

I can think of other things I would rather spend $450 on.....like gas for instance, since it is very likely I will get another A OK on the valves again. I figure the most change in valve clearance will happen in the first few thousand miles and after that things will likely settle down.

Waiting for pearls of wisdom here to help in my decision..... :wink:

[vonbonds]

Ugarte, you are way ahead of me now on the miles, good for you! I am at 26K and am contemplating the same thing. Here is what I am going to do. No matter how many miles I do this year I will just keep on going. Once winter hits and I can't ride anymore due to salt I will check the valves out then. I figure at most I would have 32-35K on the bike since I split some of the miles with my Thunderbird Sport.

Go with your heart though, don't let us talk you into or out of anything. If your heart will feel better checking them out go for it. If you can live without the check and sleep worry free then do that.

Tom

[HOTRODSRJ]

As a A&P mechanic and a professional performance engine builder I would like to throw in my opinion FWIW.

Shim bucket valve trains are very stable after initial run-in periods. The initial period should be where you want to check them for any clearance issues and most likely there won't be any. Also, the profuse use of super-hardened media valves and contact surfaces and closer clearances takes the errors out of the equation as well....stack that on top of super lubricants such as synthetic oils...and trusting electronic fuel injection systems (which prevent carbon build-up under the valves causing variances) I will skip my valve clearance check after the initial looksie.

[Toystoretom]

FWIW... many cars with this setup (Bucket and shim) go their entire life without ever being checked... 200,000 miles and more. If the old girl is runnin' good... :-D

[Diego]

> I can think of other things I would rather spend $450 on.....like gas for instance

Surely an extra tankful one way or another won't matter that much...

:hammer: :wink:

[Ugarte]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am going to take Vonbonds advice and go with my heart....my cheap scottish heart.....which says that hotrod and Tomo know the score on this and I should forego the valve check. :-D

[rockenrobert]

If the valves get out of adjustment you will hear them tick,tick.
rockenrobert

On 2006-06-15 20:59, rockenrobert wrote:
If the valves get out of adjustment you will hear them tick,tick.
rockenrobert

Only when they are getting loose, your not going to hear anything when they get tight and that is very bad for the motor!

[Royal-R3]

Waiting for pearls of wisdom here to help in my decision..... :wink:
[/quote]

Ugarte;

Personally, I am an advocate of 'preventive maintenance' which contributes to a well performance machine as ours. You could always make a call to Lexington Motorsports, in Lexington, KY (859) 253-0322 and ask for Mike in Service.. Their hours are 9am to 6pm our time(eastern). He is the 'only' one that services the Triumphs. I just had my valves adjusted for the 10,000 mile service. He indicated that for this engine design, the valve / cam adjustment is the most important. So, I would properly adjusted valves, is critical... I am willing to do what it takes. Now, the $450.00 is another issue altogether. Lexington Motorsports is 100 miles from me, so I make a road trip out of it. Maybe You can make a road trip out of it...finding a dealer that will offer better pricing? You could even stay overnight so the engine is cool enough for them work on it.