Valve Adjustment Interval

[wetpanda]

I adjusted my valves to the max clearance back in October (10,000 miles ago). I know the manual says that the valve clearance should be checked every 6,000 miles; however, when I did mine a friend helped me and supposedly I don't have to worry about them for a "long time." My question is: how long do you think a "long time" is and when should I check them again? [I also emailed him but I haven't recieved a reply yet so figured I would try this and see what you think.] Thanks.

[docsherlock]

Er, what bike is it?

I would set to middle of clearance as with wear on the top end, clearances will open up if that exceeds valve seat wear.

Just check 'em every 10k - it ain't hard.

[navalarchitect]

For KLR 650 I find you can go 20,000km (12,000 miles) before the valve clearances change enough to warrant re-setting them

Hope this helps.

[wetpanda]

Thanks for the replies guys. It's a KLR 650 '07... sorry, I just assumed it was a KLR thread but that was a bold assumption.

Anyway, I'm on the road and that's why it's kind of pain to find a place to check them- I don't really trust mechanics. Looks like they're due so I'll find a place to check them... maybe in Sao Paulo.

Thanks again!

[AndyT]

I set up my 2000 KLR 650 to the loose end of spec at 10,000 miles. I t now has 66,000 on it, and while I've checked them several times, I haven't had to adjust them in all that time. They have closed up some, but still in spec. I would just ride it, unless you piling up serious miles.

[markharf]

My KLR needed valve shims changed around 10,000, again around 70,000 miles. I checked frequently at first, less often after. Contrary to advice given in #2 above, always adjust to the loosest possible spec, not the middle of the range.

You'll notice that some seem to need adjusting more often than others. I don't know what the difference is (Different riding styles? Gas or oil? Engine? Altitude?), but once I got used to things I continued to check every 10 or 15k miles, just in case.

Mark