[Barry]

I have an 03 Vl 800. The old girl has a little over 30 000 kms on her. I'm not sure when the last time the valves were looked at yet alone adjusted. Are there any cues I should be looking, or listening for? Also, if I get my local shop to do this for me, how much should this service cost, give or take?

One more question (for now), how many miles (km's) can a person reasonably expect to put on an engine like this, if it's well maintained, before he should be considering a rebuild?

B.


P.S If there is anybody up around Cranbrook B.C that knows how to adjust the valves, would like to have them look over my shoulder to keep me on the right path as i did it myself. I'll bring the beer.......

 

[ppasel]

A basic rule of thumb is that if it sounds like an "angry sewing machine" they're probably OK.

 

[vl800rider]

Valves

I also have a 03 volusia with about 18,000 km on it, and I also have the same questions you have. I purchased the bike last fall and it is the first bike for me. I'm giving it a major maintenance check over this spring, oil, filters, brake fuilds, gear oil, clutch, brakes, etc. I also going to synthetic oil. But I am also wondering about values and how many miles you can put on a bike engine if properly taken care off, before the engine is used up.

 

[Psyc0]

I believe that We have several members at present with anywhere from 40,000+ miles, to over 60,000+ miles on their Volusia motorcycles.
One of our members had over 70,000 miles before the engine finally died.

Several members have replaced the engine at least once, and continued riding the machine.

Hope this helps to answer Your question.

 

[Barry]

I actually thought there would be more responses to this post. Usually this site is very helpful. I also swiched over to a synthetic oil. I used Royal Purple. It's kind of pricey, but from what I've been able to gather from friends and a little research, it' arguably one of the best syns out there.

Congrats on the new bike. I bought mine last spring and have absolutley no regrets. Theres also a ton of aftermarket parts out there for this bike, and most are pretty reasonably priced.

Take care,

B.

 

[OTG]

You should at least check the valves yourself. Cost for a mechanic in USD is around $200 and up depending on the market. You can do it yourself with about 6 hours of time and a lot of patience.

 

[Boxwrench]

and the J. Paige method.

"If you do the math, you convert the pitch of the screw into degrees of rotation. .75mm pitch = .02952756" per revolution = .000082" per degree intake .003" to .005" = 36-60 degrees (call it 45) exhaust .007" to .009" = 85-109 degrees (call it 90) Sooo, to achieve the clearance for the intake valve, loosen the locknut, screw the tappet down until it touches the top of the valve, and then back it off 45 degrees (1/8 turn) Same thing for the exhaust, back off 90 degrees (1/4 turn)"

 

[Psyc0]

I actually thought there would be more responses to this post. Usually this site is very helpful.

It's Springtime, and lot's of folks are spiffing up their machines and riding after a long winter's nap. :wink:

 

[Barry]

ohh, thanks Boxwrench..... you make it sound easy..... lmao.

For the record, I would like to do it myself. It's just that screwing up could cause alot of damage I suppose, so it would be nice to have a little experience looking over my shoulder in case I get stuck or hung up on something. In other words, someone to throw my a lifeline if I fall into it up to my eyeballs. LOL

 

[orca]

I just did mine sat. and it is totally frustrating at first. After a beer and break a few deep breaths it goes pretty quick. The worst part of the whole thing is getting the dam valve covers off without jacking up the bolts or your knuckles. Good luck with it.

 

[Bob Penn]

I did my valves twice in the last 2 weeks. The first time I tried the feeler gauge thing. I put it together and it ran, but I wasn't happy with the sounds it was making. So I went to the dealer and bought the proper wrench part #09917-10410. I had tried the bent deck screw and the credit card but there was play in both of them. When your talking .004 there's not much room for play. For $19.00 I wasn't going that route again.
The first thing is to remember it's a four cycle engine meaning be sure the Ft or Rt on the timing wheel is centered on the relaxed stroke. You will feel the rocker arm is loose and there is play when you wiggle it. That's the way you want it. On the compression stroke it is tight.
The other tip I found was to loosen the lock nut and tighten the adjustment screw with your fingers. That way you can feel when it makes contact with the valve. Remember you only want to make contact your not tightening it down.
Then use the J peige method. With the tool it's easy. 90 degrees (exhaust) is a right angle 45 (intake) is half of that. With the tool you can hold the screw tightly in place while tightening down the lock nut.
Other tools that made it easier are an 8mm and 10mm boxwrenchs that are bent down like what we used to call brake wrenches.
Checked it with the feeler gauge and it was right on 004 and 008. Considering the tolerence is .003 - .005 and .007 - .009 you do have room for individual feel.
I started the job at 11am and was done at 2:15pm
Runs great.