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How many miles until you checked valve lash

  • 10,000-15,000 miles

    Votes: 114 26%

  • 15,000-20,000 miles

    Votes: 112 26%

  • 20,000-25,000 miles

    Votes: 83 19%

  • 25,000-30,000 miles

    Votes: 40 9.3%

  • Over 30,000 miles

    Votes: 82 19%
  • Total voters
    431

Valve lash interval poll

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155K views 202 replies 103 participants last post by  knight rod rob  
#1 ·
I have a few questions for you about having your valve lash checked.

1st) This poll is for how many miles you have ridden before checking the valve lash without negative results for not following the recommended service interval.

2nd) For those of you who have exceeded the service recommendation, please post up what the findings were when checked, How many shims were changed. How much of an adjustment was needed with the changed shims?

There have been many times I have seen people post how far beyond the service recommendation they went without issues. This will collect all this information in one spot.
 
#3 ·
I have an '02 so the recommended interval was 10,000 miles. I'm a conservative rider and have a knack for understanding what my engine is doing, so waited until 17,000 miles to check the first time. According to my dealer no adjustment was required. I waited until 40,000 for the second check, which I did myself with some expert help from a (certified) friend. Five of the eight valves were just out of spec. All were out on the 'too much clearance' side so I feel that these systems wear just like most other valve trains and gain clearance rather than losing it.

Based on my findings, I think a conservative rider can go 20,000 miles between checks, and a more aggressive rider should probably stay closer to the manufacturer's recommendation, i.e., should check clearances at least every 15,000 miles. Those with modified valve trains with heavy springs, etc., are on their own.:D

This is just my own opinion, and not official in any way. My opinion is based on one machine which did require minor adjustment after 40,000 miles.:)
 
#5 ·
I try to do mine every 30k or so even if they didn't need it then. The valve lash checking is way off and my fear has always been that dealers are setting them wrong because they keep saying the gap is greater and not less as it should be.
 
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#16 ·
Are you thinking modern multivalve bike engine here? While valve recession is one factor, so is lobe and bucket wear, on most of 'em at least.
 
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#6 ·
I checked mine just over 20k and all valves were in spec no adjustment needed
 
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#7 ·
You might already know the attachment, it shows the valve lash course in 64.000 miles endurance test. This is from a most valuable article "Revolution Engine <br /> The New Water-Cooled Four-Valve Engine from Harley-Davidson", MTZ worldwide Edition: 2003-03 which can be purchased here:
The authors are the heads of the Porsche engineering team who helped developing the revo engine: Klaus Fuoss; Wolfgang Schnepf; Manfred Schürmann; Johannes Weyandt; Patrick D. Keller




Despite the bad quality it is obvious that both intake and exhaust valve lashes do remain within their tolerances.
Nevertheless I find it advisable to verify the initial settings after 250 operating hours.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Jan-Dirk said:
Nevertheless I find it advisable to verify the initial settings after 250 operating hours.
Click to expand...
How am I going to calculate 250 operating hours? :confused:
 
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#10 ·
well at a constant 120 mph thats 30,000 miles. ahaha im just messin
 
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#11 ·
Cowboy Klaus, I haven't talked to that guy in a couple years. Very cool cat. He was the lead design engineer for Porsche which is a very formal company. Klaus, would work in shredded jeans, t shirts, and a wicked mullet. Very into 80-90 rock! He did what ever he wanted because he is such and incredible design artist.

Back on topic, post up your experiences with lash please!
 
#21 ·
Not exactly......I had bad cams. They were pitted and replaced under warranty at 18K miles.
 
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#17 ·
i checked my 02 at 8000km.the left rear exh valve was at min recomended clearance.the rest were ok.i rechecked at 30000km and the clearances were the same.i reset the min valve to mid way between tolerances.the bike has now nearly 100000 km and i havent been back inside it..i truely believe that its a waste of money and time doing regular rechecks once those early rechecks have been done to confirm all is ok..
 
#19 ·
13k on my '04. Haven't checked yet.
 
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#20 ·
Mine's at 25K... I'll be checking it next week if my $%$&^@ parts and gaskets ever come in!
 
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#24 ·
I have 20,000 hard miles and I'm curious about what I should do. The engine sounds the same. Will it develop some valve train noise when it wears? I don't have much faith in the local dealers knowing what to do with it.
 
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#25 ·
What I found

My bike is a 1320 big bore which was installed at about 2,000 miles.

I had the bike ~CHECKED~ at the local HD shop, they had said all was fine on 11/05/2006 at 17,459 miles, that check including routine oil change cost me $669.80

On 10/16/2007 I pulled my engine to investigate why I had severe leak-down losses with only 23,733 miles on the clock.

The leak down issues was attributed to damaged Pistons, broken skirts.

The Valve Lash was way-out, note the head was a special modified, 1mm over sized valve setup done at the time of the big Bore, also the cams were aftermarket.


Image
 

Attachments

#30 ·
TaxmanHog said:
My bike is a 1320 big bore which was installed at about 2,000 miles.

I had the bike ~CHECKED~ at the local HD shop, they had said all was fine on 11/05/2006 at 17,459 miles, that check including routine oil change cost me $669.80

On 10/16/2007 I pulled my engine to investigate why I had severe leak-down losses with only 23,733 miles on the clock.

The leak down issues was attributed to damaged Pistons, broken skirts.

The Valve Lash was way-out, note the head was a special modified, 1mm over sized valve setup done at the time of the big Bore, also the cams were aftermarket.


Image
Click to expand...
i have seen valve lash tighten up prematurely with some shops valve jobs . i have no idea why because i haven`t had that problem. i have a customer with 20.000 miles on an 88 cu in motor i built that has had no problems . one thing that must be checked carefully is clearance between the piston skirts at bdc.
 
#29 ·
i have checked the valve lash on a lot of v-rods. at 10,000 miles only a few have required adjustment and i have never had to change more than 2 valves out of the 8. at 12,000 miles maybe one out of three require adjustment. still if it was my bike i would have them checked by 15,000 miles just to be sure. i haven`t seen a problem with a v-rod yet but i have seen some metric bikes with badly damaged valve seats because the lash hadn`t been checked. just my two cents.
 
#31 ·
lbrown said:
i have checked the valve lash on a lot of v-rods. at 10,000 miles only a few have required adjustment and i have never had to change more than 2 valves out of the 8. at 12,000 miles maybe one out of three require adjustment. still if it was my bike i would have them checked by 15,000 miles just to be sure. i haven`t seen a problem with a v-rod yet but i have seen some metric bikes with badly damaged valve seats because the lash hadn`t been checked. just my two cents.
Click to expand...
Perfect time for head work....;)
 
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#35 ·
I waited until 18k (06 Streetrod) and found all of my cams pitted on the nose. I blame it on Lonnie, because I have to run the shit out of my bike trying to keep up with him. I think they must not have been heat treated properly. If I had checked them at 12k I probably would have seen some damage then. The moral of the story is, if you don't want to pay for them yourself you should check the clearance when the manual says to or at least before the warranty runs out. I have to say other than the oil pump the rest of the engine looks like new.
 
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